Hot runner supplier Mold-Masters, has formalized an agreement with Ritemp™ Technologies (of Edwardstown, South Australia) through its sole Americas agent YGRENE™ Technologies Inc., for exclusive global use of their patented evaporative cooling technology in hot runner applications.
“Ritemp™ patented technology intrigued us because it had the potential to provide faster cycles times, with less energy, drastically reduced water usage and completely uniform cooling”, said Bruce Catoen, VP of Business and Product Development at Mold-Masters. “Joint developmental efforts over the last year have proven to us that these benefits are viable and we are now prepared to offer Ritemp™ hot runners commercially”.
Mold-Masters' has demonstrated a continuous commitment to product improvement with a focus on value added solutions. With their global footprint, manufacturing capacity and industry reputation for innovation, they were the ideal choice as a partner,“ said Bob Parrington, CEO of Ritemp™.
Ritemp™ technology on display at NPE 2012
A 4-cavity mold manufactured by StackTeck™ (Brampton, Ontario) will be running in the Sumitomo-Demag (Booth #2103) making a 60-mm spout at a lightning quick 7.2 seconds, a 39% improvement over a conventionally cooled mold. The required cooling to the entire mold will be 18 GPM, a 55% improvement over a conventionally cooled mold. The cell will show, for the first time, both a Ritemp™ hot-half and Ritemp™ cold half.
“By using evaporative cooling in both the hot runner and the cold half the most optimized solution is created. This type of mold would run at 11.8 seconds with conventional cooling and need 40 GPM of cooling. Based on this, the payback on this technology is far less than 1 year,” says Randy Yakimishyn, CEO of StackTeck™.
Ritemp™ Cooling Principle
With Ritemp™, heat is extracted from the mold by converting it to latent heat of vaporisation. The resultant vapour rises to the top of the mold where it is condensed by simple heat exchangers. This is an extremely efficient process. For every 1 gram of water, latent heat absorbs 540 cal/deg C. With conventional turbulent flow, 1 gram of water only absorbs 1 cal/deg C.
Ritemp™ technology reduces cycles, improves thermal uniformity and reduces coolant flow requirements
“Ritemp™ technology in mold inserts has been proven in many commercial applications to provide 30% cycle benefits and more even shrinkage while reducing coolant flow by an order of magnitude”, says Scott W. Molnar of YGRENE™ Technologies Inc., Exclusive distributor of Ritemp™ technology in the America’s. “Conventional cooling via conductive and convective heat-removal methods requires maintaining turbulent flow of water through all channels that follow the molding surface. The conventional method requires significant cooling water flow and typically does not cover the entire molding surface evenly, resulting in hot spots on the part. The result is slower cycles, more warpage and the need for copious amounts of water. The evaporative cooling process solves all that by using a phase change to increase cooling efficiency by up to 300%”, says Molnar.
According to Catoen these same benefits can now be applied to hot runners. “Using Ritemp™ technology in the hot runner provides potential advantages to both the processor and the end user of the component, in terms of part quality and cost. Using Ritemp™ technology in the hot runner can mean less cavity-to-cavity variation, much lower cooling flow rates, less plate deflection, less chance of plastic leakage and better gate quality”.
| Michael Ellis Director, Marketing & Sales Support +1 905 877 0185 x354 mellis@moldmasters.com |
