PTXPO Preview: Sodick – Plustech Molds Precision Gears from Acetal | Plastics Technology

Mar 17, 2025

The hybrid press will run an 8-cavity tool built by customer Midwest Precision Molding, a molder/moldmaker based in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

At PTXPO (March 18-20 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois), Sodick – Plustech will be operating a 66-ton GL60A injection molding machine. Featuring a 25-mm plunger, the press will be molding precision gears from an 8-cavity tool in a 19-second cycle. The company’s V-Line two-stage plunger injection system will deliver 7 grams of Polyplastics Duracon POM material for the gears. A Star Automation model XQ-450V robotic picker will tend the press.

The mold was built and supplied by Sodick – Plustech customer Midwest Precision Molding (MPM), Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. MPM’s more than 40 injection molding machines include 11 new Sodick presses, the latest being a vertical single-station machine which features Sodick’s reel-to-reel fully integrated automation cell.

Sodick - Plustech will run a customer’s precision gear mold at PTXPO on a GL60A injection molding machine. Source: Sodick - Plustech

Modifications to the common core pin can be a simple solution, but don’t expect all resins to behave the same. Gas assist is also worth a try.

Automation is a must-have for molders of pipettes. Make sure your supplier provides assurances of throughput and output, manpower utilization, floor space consumption and payback period.

The path to a no-baby-sitting injection molding process is paved with data and can be found by following certain steps.