i-mold has developed a line of compact rotary cooling units that facilitate the cost-efficient integration of rotating cores into injection moulds.
The device's main components are a stator designed for twist-lock installation which also carries the coolant hose connectors, and the rotor which supports the cooling pipe as well as the thread for attaching the rotating core.
Available as a standardised element, the unit reduces the development cost and effort otherwise associated with the use of custom solutions. Moreover, it eliminates problems in use caused by cooling water leaks, as each unit comes leakage-tested and warranted to be leakproof by i-mold.
For multi-cavity moulds, it is possible to connect up to four rotary cooling units in series.
The new rotary cooling units are suitable for all common mechanical, hydraulic or servoelectric rotating core drives.
The unit is offered in two sizes, the SDK-034, rated for a 2 – 6 mm cooling pipe diameter, and the 45-mm-wide SDK-045 which is intended for higher coolant flow rates and accommodates cooling pipes measuring from 6 – 10 mm in diameter.
The minimum bending radius of the coolant hoses depends on the material required for the given temperature range. It is equal to 35 mm for coolant temperatures up to 60 °C, 50 mm for temperatures up to 80 °C, and 90 mm for hoses rated up to 120 °C. The maximum operating pressure is 10 bar. A suitable coolant is filtered water, with a filter fineness of 0.05 mm or below.
Andy Walter, Managing Director at i-mold, said: “With our new compact rotary cooling units we make a reliable standard device available to our customers in injection mould making which can significantly save in-house development effort without compromising on flexibility in rotating core design.”
“Being convinced of the quality of our new products, we ourselves use them for our servo-motor based system solutions including fully assembled plug-and-play unscrewing halves with their associated control system.”