Patent Report: KraussMaffei plasticizing unit simplifies nozzle center adjustment
Plasticizing unit. KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH, Munich, has applied to patent a plasticizing unit for an injection molding machine that it says simplifies adjustment of the nozzle center.
Sometimes it is necessary to swap plasticizing units in an injection molding machine. For fastening and detaching the plasticizing unit in the injection molding machine there are mounting and clamping devices.
When changing a plasticizing unit, adjusting the nozzle center can be problematic, the application states. The nozzle center must be aligned precisely in the centering ring on the fixed platen of the injection molding machine, which can involve dismantling the mold, manual adjustments and reassembly of the mold, a process that can take several hours.
The invention enables an easy and fast change of the plasticizing unit wherein the nozzle center has to be adjusted only once for each plasticizing unit, according to the application.
The plasticizing unit described in the application features a cylinder, a rotatable screw and a support element underneath the cylinder. Additionally, it has fixing and adjusting elements that produce a force-fitting and/or form-fitting connection between the fixing element and the support element.
“In the case of a change of the plasticizing unit, the fixing element remains on the plasticizing unit and therefore also the adjustment of the nozzle center which was carried out once by means of the adjusting elements is retained,” the application states.
The application also describes a specific arrangement of adjusting elements. When the plasticizing unit is reinstalled, “the nozzle centre is automatically adjusted through simple closing of the clamping elements,” the application states.
Patent application 20210268701; published Sept. 2