Unitary monolithically formed injection-molding apparatuses

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10076860-B2
Application number	US-201414909750-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 10, 2014
Priority date	Sep 29, 2013
Publication date	Sep 18, 2018
Grant date	Sep 18, 2018

Abstract

A unitary monolithically formed hot-runner apparatus having at least a manifold containment structure, a hot-runner manifold, at least one nozzle, and one or more spacers. In some embodiments, the manifold containment structure, hot-runner manifold, nozzle(s), and spacer(s) may be multi-material apparatuses of unitary monolithic construction. In other embodiments, a thermal expansion accommodation portion is provided for each nozzle to accommodate thermal growth. Each spacer may be formed of a material having a lower thermal conductivity than the materials of the hot-runner manifold and manifold containment structure and may be made to include a discontinuity to allow for thermal expansion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An injection-molding apparatus, comprising:
a unitary monolithic body manufactured using a freeform fabrication process, said monolithic body including:
a manifold having at least one melt channel; and
an insulation cavity formed within the monolithic body between an inner portion of said monolithic body and an outer portion of said manifold.

2. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said insulation cavity substantially surrounds said manifold.

3. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein said monolithic body has an exterior and includes a formation-material evacuation port fluidly communicating between said insulation cavity and said exterior of said monolithic body.

4. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising a closure sealingly engaged with said formation-material evacuation port.

5. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said manifold has a sprue structure formed integrally with said manifold using the freeform fabrication process, and wherein said at least one melt channel is in communication with said sprue structure.

6. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said manifold has a nozzle structure formed integrally with said manifold using the freeform fabrication process, and wherein said at least one melt channel is in communication with said nozzle structure.

7. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein said nozzle structure has a root and a longitudinal axis extending from said root, the injection-molding apparatus further comprising a thermal expansion accommodation portion designed and configured to permit bending of said nozzle structure when said nozzle structure is engaged with a valve gate and said manifold undergoes thermal growth.

8. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein said thermal expansion accommodation portion is located between said nozzle structure and said manifold.

9. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein said nozzle structure has a first elastic section modulus and said thermal expansion accommodation portion comprises a second elastic section modulus smaller than said first elastic section modulus.

10. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein said nozzle structure comprises a first material and said thermal expansion accommodation portion comprises a second material different from said first material.

11. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said nozzle structure has a root and a longitudinal axis extending from said root, the injection-molding apparatus further comprising a thermal expansion accommodation portion designed and configured to permit bending of said nozzle structure when said nozzle structure is engaged with a valve gate and said manifold undergoes thermal growth.

12. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein said thermal expansion accommodation portion is located between said nozzle structure and said manifold.

13. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein said nozzle structure extends from a flexible, resilient portion.

14. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein said nozzle structure comprises a first elastic section modulus and said thermal expansion accommodation portion comprises a second section modulus smaller than said first elastic section modulus.

15. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein said nozzle structure comprises a first material and said thermal expansion accommodation portion comprises a second material different from said first material.

16. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one spacer extending between said inner portion of said monolithic body and said outer portion of said manifold within said insulation cavity, wherein said at least one spacer is formed integrally with said monolithic body and said manifold by the freeform fabrication process.

17. The injection-molding apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein said manifold is made of a first material having a first thermal conductivity, and said at least one spacer is made of a second material having a second thermal conductivity lower than said first thermal conductivity.

18. A method of manufacturing a monolithically constructed injection-molding apparatus, the method comprising:
freeform fabricating a manifold containment structure;
freeform fabricating a manifold portion within the manifold containment structure so that, when the injection-molding apparatus is complete, the manifold portion is located within a cavity formed within the manifold containment structure; and
freeform fabricating at least one spacer extending between the manifold containment structure and the manifold within the cavity in a manner that the at least one spacer is monolithically continuous with each of the manifold containment structure and the manifold.

19. The method according to claim 18 , wherein each of said freeform fabricating steps is performed using a particulate-additive technique that results in the cavity being filled with unbonded particulate, the method further comprising removing the unbonded particulate from the cavity.

20. The method according to claim 19 , wherein said freeform fabricating a manifold containment structure includes freeform fabricating the manifold containment structure to include an evacuation port, and said removing the unbonded particulate from the cavity includes removing the unbonded particulate via the evacuation port.

21. The method according to claim 20 , wherein said removing the unbonded particulate includes at least one of: applying a vacuum to the evacuation port, forcing a gas or liquid into the evacuation port, and draining materials from the evacuation port.

22. The method according to claim 20 , further comprising, following said removing the unbonded particulate, closing the evacuation port.

23. The method according to claim 18 , wherein said freeform fabricating the manifold portion includes freeform fabricating the manifold portion with a first material having a first thermal conductivity and said freeform fabricating at least one spacer includes freeform fabricating the at least one spacer with a second material having a second thermal conductivity lower than the first thermal conductivity.

24. The method according to claim 18 , the method further comprising freeform fabricating a sprue structure as a portion of the manifold portion.

25. The method according to claim 18 , the method further comprising freeform fabricating a nozzle structure as a portion of the manifold portion.

26. The method according to claim 25 , the method further comprising forming a flexible, resilient portion from which the nozzle structure extends.

27. The method according to claim 26 , the method further comprising forming, via freeform fabrication, the nozzle structure with a first elastic section modulus and forming the flexible, resilient portion with a second elastic section modulus smaller than the first elastic section modulus.

28. The method according to claim 26 , the method further comprising forming the nozzle structure from a first material and forming the flexible, resilient portion from a second material different from the fir

Assignees

• Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd

Inventors

• Jenko Edward Joseph

Classifications

• B29C45/278 Primary

  Nozzle tips (B29C45/2735 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B23P15/007 Primary

  injection moulding tools · CPC title

• B22F10/12

  by photopolymerisation, e.g. stereolithography [SLA] or digital light processing [DLP] · CPC title

• B22F12/45

  Two or more · CPC title

• B22F10/25

  Direct deposition of metal particles, e.g. direct metal deposition [DMD] or laser engineered net shaping [LENS] · CPC title