PLASTINUM injection moulding solutions:

PLASTINUM Gas Injection Moulding with Inner Cooling 

PLASTINUM^® Gas Injection Moulding (GIM) with Inner Cooling enhances the efficiency of traditional GIM operations with a patented inner cooling process step. Here, high-pressure nitrogen is pushed through the gas channel, accelerating cooling cycles by up to 30%. Advanced injector technologies complement our PLASTINUM inner cooling solution for even greater process efficiency.

PLASTINUM Gas Injection Moulding with N₂

PLASTINUM^® Gas Injection Moulding (GIM) with N2 offers customers a range of highly efficient, dedicated solutions to supply high-pressure nitrogen to GIM applications. Our PRESUS^® N family of cost-effective, high-pressure gas supply solutions pressurises liquid nitrogen to clearly outperform the economic efficiency of gas compressors. Customers can rely on us for total gas supply solutions including cylinders, tanks, supply lines, evaporators and control units.

Benefits
•    Complete high-pressure supply system
•    Cost savings compared with gas compressors
•    Elimination of contamination and oxidation
•    Elimination of water handling issues associated with water injection moulding

PLASTINUM Gas Injection Moulding with CO₂

Our patented PLASTINUM^® Gas Injection Moulding (GIM) with CO2 solution takes efficiency to the next level by replacing gaseous nitrogen (N2) with liquid carbon dioxide (CO2). While matching the heat removal capacity and cycle times of water injection moulding, carbon dioxide does not leave any moisture on the products or tools, thus eliminating an additional drying step in the fluid injection cycle. CO2 has a much greater cooling capacity than nitrogen due to its much higher density, higher specific heat capacity and high expansion cooling capacity during depressurisation at the end of the cycle. This allows the part to cool down much more quickly. Gas injection moulding installations that use CO2 not only require a suitable carbon dioxide supply scheme, they also need pressure and control modules and gas injectors that are optimised for CO2.

To meet these needs, we developed our PLASTINUM GIM CO2 pressure control units and injectors in close collaboration with our OEM partners.

Benefits
•    Enhanced cooling power
•    Cycle times accelerated by up to 40%
•    Elimination of water handling issues associated with water injection moulding

PLASTINUM Injection Moulding Inerting

PLASTINUM^® Injection Moulding Inerting is an innovative method to enhance the quality and productivity of injection moulding processes in general and gas injection moulding in particular.
It does this by purging cavities with an inert gas prior to polymer injection. In the gas injection moulding process, this suppresses the formation of undesirable oxides, which lead to injector clogging, high scrap rates and lengthy downtime in the case of certain polymers (e.g. PC, ABS and PA).
PLASTINUM Injection Moulding Inerting thus reduces downtime as a result of contamination caused by oxidation and increases process stability.

Benefits
•    Less clogging of gas injectors
•    Less downtime
•    Enhanced quality and productivity
•    Less maintenance effort

PLASTINUM Spot Cooling with CO₂

Our PLASTINUM^® Spot Cooling solution advances temperature control in injection moulding by ensuring uniform temperature distribution on the mould cavity surface. It uses liquid carbon dioxide (LIC) as an effective cooling medium for hotspots. Comprising control devices, distributors, solenoid valves and capillary tubes, our spot cooling package can be easily retrofitted to existing installations.
Supplementing conventional water cooling, this patented solution is ideal for areas of injection-moulded products that are difficult to access or prone to material accumulation. In other words, areas where water or other cooling methods are ineffective or cannot be implemented.

PLASTINUM Spot Cooling can accelerate cycle times by up to 50% depending on the part geometry and material. In addition, carbon dioxide (CO₂) results in more even temperature distribution along the mould surface. This greatly enhances the quality of the moulded part by eliminating surface defects, sink marks and warpage.

Benefits
•    Significant reduction of cooling times
•    Uniform temperature in mould and moulding
•    Higher quality and efficiency
•    Intensive heat removal in problem areas (thin and long cores, material accumulations)
•    Thin, flexible pipes, standard sizes
•    Easy installation, retrofitting is often possible
•    No sealing required

PLASTINUM Dynamic Temperature Control with CO₂

Dynamic temperature control of moulds or certain areas of the mould is becoming increasingly popular because it enables the production of high-quality surfaces. By actively heating the mould surface or parts of it, dynamic temperature control can eliminate joint lines or produce a high gloss finish, for example.
Our PLASTINUM^® Dynamic Temperature Control solution increases the efficiency of dynamic injection moulding by using carbon dioxide both for heating and cooling. This allows operators to minimise cycle times by installing the heating and cooling channels in close proximity to the mould surface. The compact design is particularly interesting for small and complex mould inserts, translating into cost and environmental benefits.

Benefits
•    Significant reduction of cooling times
•    Uniform temperature in mould and moulding
•    Higher quality and efficiency
•    Intensive heat removal in problem areas (thin and long cores, material accumulations)
•    Thin, flexible pipes, standard sizes
•    Easy installation, retrofitting is often possible
•    No sealing required

PLASTINUM foaming solutions:

PLASTINUM Foam Injection Moulding

Jointly developed by Linde and Kunststoff-Institut Lüdenscheid, PLASTINUM^® Foam Injection Moulding technology combines the benefits of simple chemical foaming with the efficiency gains of physical foaming. After drying, the plastic granulate is impregnated with the blowing agent carbon dioxide (CO2) in a pressure vessel (autoclave) upstream of the injection moulding machine. The amount absorbed by the granulate depends on the plastic material, pressure, temperature and impregnation time. The CO2 typically remains in the granulate for a period of more than two hours after it has been loaded and the pressure released. This extended holding time enables a highly stable and reproducible process.

Benefits of PLASTINUM Foam Injection Moulding technology
•    Ease of installation and operation – can be retrofitted to almost all machines regardless of the manufacturer
•    Few or no modifications to existing machinery required
•    Up to 60% lower costs than alternative physical foaming solutions
•    Increased production flexibility as several injection moulding machines can be supplied simultaneously
•    Maximum return on capital investment as the same machine can be used in both foaming and compaction mode

PLASTINUM Extrusion Foaming with CO₂

Our PLASTINUM^® Extrusion Foaming portfolio was designed specifically to meet the challenges of precisely metering liquid carbon dioxide (LIC) into the extruder. A constant mass flow of carbon dioxide is crucial for uniform, predictable foaming results. Based on our long-standing knowledge and experience in this field, we offer a one-stop solution extending from an LIC bulk tank to a DSD high-pressure metering unit. For customers who already have a metering pump in place, we offer a state-of-the-art supply system for bubble-free liquid CO2 at a defined pressure.

End-to-end offering
Our PLASTINUM Extrusion Foaming solution comprises a customised LIC storage and supply system, a pressure boosting unit and a high-pressure flow metering system. At the first stage, our PRESUS^® C pump system increases the LIC pressure and delivers LIC in a bubble-free state. In the second stage, our proven DSD 400 or DSD 500 high-pressure metering unit supplies a stable mass flow of LIC into the extruder, irrespective of pressure fluctuations in the extruder.

Benefits
•    Complete solution from one supplier
o    No need to integrate several items of equipment from different suppliers
o    No risk of ill-defined interfaces and delivery restrictions
•    Highly reliable equipment, proven at many reference customers all over the world
•    Very precise metering performance – irrespective of ambient temperature and climate
•    Easy and inexpensive installation

PLASTINUM Polyurethane Foaming with CO₂

Our PLASTINUM^® Polyurethane Foaming solution is custom-designed for PUR foaming processes that require consistently high quality standards. Our special supply pumps are engineered to deliver liquid carbon dioxide (LIC) at the flow rate and pressure required to supply metering pumps for continuous slabstock lines producing low-density foams for mattresses, for instance. Particularly for dynamic discontinuous processes, we offer dedicated LIC metering systems that deliver the highest accuracy standards.

All-in package
Our PLASTINUM Polyurethane Foaming solution for slabstock customers comprises a customised LIC storage and supply system, which generally consists of a bulk tank, a dedicated pump system and a cooling system. Our PRESUS^® C system acts as a feed pump for the downstream metering pump, increasing the LIC pressure and delivering the required volume of LIC in a bubble-free state.
Our DSD 500 metering unit, which is mainly used in extrusion foaming, is the solution of choice for customers looking for a highly dynamic and precise CO2 metering system for discontinuous processes.

Benefits
•    Supply of CO2 in liquid form without bubbles
•    Continuous supply at stable pressure (adjustable) and without fluctuations
•    Wide range of CO2 flow rates, dedicated to the needs of slabstock customers
•    Compact design, easy and inexpensive installation