Since January 2015, a mould has been on display at Mikrocentrum among 17 others. It stands out. Not because of what it produces, but because of what surrounds it. The mould has an insulation package on all six sides. Not only the press surfaces, but also the sides. And that is often exactly where efficiency is lost.
What it delivers is something the participants in the injection moulding practical course see for themselves:
→ the mould reaches temperature faster
→ the energy balance can be controlled more consistently
→ reproducibility improves
→ with plastics such as polycarbonate, nylon and POM, the difference is immediately visible in the flow pattern
Ten years later, this mould is still in use. Every week, new plastics technicians are trained on it. For us, that is the strongest proof that the technology works, not in a test setup, but in daily practice. At Mikrocentrum in Veldhoven, our complete programme is displayed in the Atrium, not as a demonstration, but as part of practical training. The question we often ask machine builders: Where does your insulation boundary lie? And how much efficiency is still beyond that boundary?
