The injection moulding industry has long been characterised by excessive waste and inefficiencies that drag down its efforts to go green and improve revenue. Next Chapter Manufacturing is hoping to change this with their new technology.
InnoVent Technology, developed by Next Chapter Manufacturing, aims to solve one problem that has been plaguing injection moulders for as long as there has been an injection moulding industry: gas traps. When molten resins are injected into the mould cavity, air can easily become trapped inside the mould. The trapped air can then become compressed. This is associated with a sharp rise in temperature that damages the material and can even damage the mould itself. Gas traps frequently cause cosmetic defects to the product, and functional or mechanical defects can also occur. As a result, the defective product is scrapped.
High scrap rates are not uncommon in the industry. The problem is becoming worse as injection moulders turn to recycled resins, which are gassier than virgin resins. Not only does this cause wastefulness and hamper the industry’s efforts to go green, but it also results in steep financial losses.
However, Next Chapter Manufacturing has found the solution. The company has poured countless hours of meticulous engineering into the design of its InnoVent Pins, which allow injection moulders to vent the part, not the line. These InnoVent Pins are capable of venting 10 to 15 times more gas than traditional ejector pins without clogging, and without requiring excessive maintenance and quality control investments.
InnoVent Technology is hot swappable with standard ejector pins and making the switch to InnoVent does not require any mould modifications. Even with abrasive resins, InnoVent Pins inflict noticeably less wear and tear on the mould compared to conventional ejector pins. Furthermore, not all standard pins in a mould require replacement. For a simple mould, just one InnoVent Pin is all that’s needed. A complex mould that ordinarily requires 100 standard pins only needs two to three InnoVent Pins.
Jason Murphy of Next Chapter Manufacturing stated that the company intends to revolutionise the injection moulding industry with InnoVent Technology. “Compared to standard pins, our InnoVent Pins offer so many advantages that any injection moulder using them will instantly gain a significant competitive advantage in the field,” he said. Murphy went on to note that, “InnoVent Pins offer the opportunity to please customers by going green while simultaneously eliminating gas trap-related scrap, cutting energy costs, making recycled resins more viable, and increasing profits.”
Next Chapter Manufacturing plans to debut its InnoVent Technology at the upcoming Plastics Technology Expo 2022 in Rosemont, IL. Attendees can stop by Booth 1119 to explore the newest advancements in mould venting and cooling for themselves.