StackTeck Systems Limited, known for its innovations in mold technology to provide solutions to OEMs in the consumer and packaging markets, announces an important milestone in the production of In Mold Closing (IMC) molds. StackTeck has designed and built molds totaling over 1,000 IMC cavities including global OEMs that run StackTeck molds in facilities around the world. While IMC for caps and closures has been utilized for a number of years, StackTeck has taken the technology a step further for additional applications.
While StackTeck has been building IMC flip-top molds for caps and closures for over 20 years, the company has developed the IMC technology for applications beyond caps and closures such as disposable cutlery with folding handles that lock into place for use, to reduce the size and be able to accommodate smaller packaging. In the last two years, over 90% of the flip-top molds have been ordered with IMC capability to take advantage of the technology’s precision of the closing motion, the opportunity to close the living hinge while the plastic is still hot providing a better quality part and an improved life of the hinge.
Development of the IMC technology also includes the incorporation of multiple, separate motions of the closing arms while optimizing the control of the closing force, particularly for high-cavitation molds. It also allows more motions within the mold to accommodate various parts with more complex geometry. Evolutionary designs have enabled StackTeck to reduce the footprint of the mold making design of the closing arms making it more compact and allowing higher cavitation in any given press size. This also minimizes the stroke distance required for closing, thus maintaining the fastest possible cycle times to ensure not only high quality but reduced cost to manufacture.
The closing device capability has been enhanced to provide precise guidance for special flip top applications with narrow hinges or unusual part shapes. IMC can now be applied to a broader range of applications. “StackTeck’s reputation for innovation and creativity in not only solving customers’ current challenges but anticipating our customers’ next-generation of product requirements makes StackTeck a global leader in highproduction, high complexity molds that leading OEM’s rely on to deliver big mold programs,” says Henry Rozema, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, StackTeck Systems Ltd.
StackTeck not only designs and builds the molds, but has extensive capabilities such as in-house mold qualification, process validation and full system integration (robotics and automation), with the ability to perform system evaluations in house using state-of-the-art injection molding machines. The company also offers in-house training of its customers in the set-up, operation and maintenance of these complex molding systems.
