In BP&R’s brand-new Technology Corner, Harry Harrison, Technical Manager at Haitian UK/PMM, provides a practical insight into how modern injection moulding machines are changing and why manufacturers should keep up with them.
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Walk up to a modern-day injection moulding machine. At first glance, it doesn’t appear dramatically different from one built ten years ago; it still closes a mould, melts raw material and injects molten polymer into a mould cavity. The movements are familiar, the cycle is recognisable, and the principles of injection moulding remain largely unchanged. Yet, beneath the shiny steel covers lies perhaps the biggest leap forward our industry has seen for many years. The mechanics of injection moulding may look familiar, but the intelligence controlling them has evolved dramatically.
For many years, progress in injection moulding has been relatively easy to spot. Machines became faster, much more energy-efficient, quieter, more reliable and capable of producing increasingly complex parts with less need for bespoke setups or expensive ‘one-off’ machines. Improvements have often been more physical in nature, with advances in hydraulic systems, such as gear pumps or proportional valves for increased accuracy, servo motors controlled by inverter drives and overall machine construction with things like lighter and stronger components driving performance forward. That said, of course, the HMI’s, PLCs and controls have not been forgotten about. They’ve also seen vast improvement over the years, with many of the hardware improvements not possible without such controls.
Today, however, some of the biggest developments aren’t immediately visible. Modern injection moulding machines have evolved far beyond simple hydraulic or electric presses. They have become intelligent control systems and can track every stage of the moulding cycle. They use an array of industrial-grade sensors, feedback loops and processors to monitor various parameters, including positions, pressures, temperatures, motor torque/loads and oil conditions. These are then analysed, interpreted and compared against expected values, all within fractions of a second to build a live picture of the process as it unfolds.
Rather than simply executing a pre-programmed sequence, modern machines are increasingly capable of recognising subtle process variation and responding before it develops into a quality issue. This is the quiet revolution taking place beneath the covers. From the outside, today’s machines may look reassuringly familiar. Inside, they are becoming increasingly capable of understanding the process they’re performing rather than simply trying to repeat it.
As engineers, we’re often quick to judge a machine’s capabilities based on how it performs during its first few hours or days in production. Often, it’s simply repeating an existing process that has been transferred from a previous machine, with many of the newer smart features left untouched. While this approach can quickly get the machine up and running, demonstrating what the machine is actually capable of would be preferred.
One thing I’ve learnt from installing, commissioning and servicing many new machines across several injection moulding applications is that the machine is rarely the limiting factor. More often than not, it’s the way we choose to use it.
Perhaps one of the clearest examples of this shift is AI-driven injection process optimisation, such as our Haitian’s inject’ feature or similar systems available from other manufacturers across the industry. Every moulder knows that no two production days are ever completely identical. Material batches vary, ambient temperatures change, and user error occasionally plays a part (also known as error 35 – if you know, you know). Even slight differences in processing conditions can influence the final part.
However, where a lot of these injection process optimisation AIs really come into their own is dealing with poor-quality reprocessed, recycled or reground materials. For example, they can measure changes in material viscosity and make real-time adjustments in the cycle to counter the extreme types of material variations. I’ve been lucky enough to demonstrate this with customers time and time again with various trials in our showroom and on customer machines.
Historically, maintaining consistency relied heavily on the experience of setters or process technicians. Adjustments were made based on observation, measurements and years of accumulated knowledge. That expertise remains invaluable, but modern control technology is beginning to provide another layer of support and faster, more stable processing. These technologies aren’t only aimed at improving the moulding machine’s processing abilities. Injection process optimisation is just one example. Similar advances are appearing in diagnostics, maintenance, energy management, machine connectivity and even lubrication systems – all working towards improving reliability, efficiency and consistency.
This shift represents a broader change across manufacturing. Machines are no longer expected to simply execute instructions. Increasingly, they’re expected to understand the process they’re performing. That doesn’t mean injection moulding has suddenly become fully autonomous, nor does it remove the need for skilled engineers. As machines become more intelligent, understanding the technology behind them becomes even more important. Knowing why a machine behaves in a certain way allows users to make better decisions, diagnose problems more effectively and get the very best from the equipment they’re working with.
What is also important is that we explore the fear factor and scepticism of some of these new technologies and systems. They are here to improve our ability to operate our machines, especially in an industry that already comes under fire for sustainability at the highest levels of efficiency. I’ve worked with many UK-based companies and heard comments along the lines of “We don’t use those features because it takes an hour to set up”, or “it is too expensive to warrant”.
The technology does not need to be complicated or expensive; it already exists on machines and is advancing every day. It’s becoming increasingly easier to have a helper in the form of AI optimisation living inside the machine’s control system. That’s exactly what this Technology Corner aims to explore. Whether you operate machines, set processes, maintain equipment or simply have an interest in manufacturing technology, I hope that this column can provide a practical insight into our industry’s engineering viewpoint as we dive deeper into how injection moulding machines work.
After all, the future of injection moulding isn’t hidden inside a single new feature or product launch – it’s being built from hundreds of small technological advances working together beneath the covers of the machines we use every day. Once you understand what is going on inside, I’m sure you, like me, will never look at a machine in quite the same way again.