HKPC Develops Water-assisted Injection Moulding System to Enhance the Productivity of Plastics Manufacturers

To boost the productivity of Hong Kong plastics manufacturers, the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), with funding support from the Innovation and Technology Fund of the HKSAR Government, has built the first locally designed water-assisted injection moulding system, a prototype model to demonstrate this new technology to industry.

Mr L M Li, General Manager (Manufacturing Technology), HKPC, said, "Hollow plastic products such as handles, armrests, and ducts are traditionally moulded by internal gas-assisted moulding technique involving gas injection. However, it has been found that injecting pressurized fluid such as water instead of gas could reduce the cooling time by 70%, resulting in better and more consistent product quality."

"At present, water-assisted injection machines are expensive and available mainly in Europe, and the vendors are unable to provide adequate technical support to Hong Kong buyers," Mr Li continued. "To enable local plastic product manufacturers to acquire the technology at a lower cost, we have developed an advanced water-assisted injection moulding system, an alternative solution with similar but more cost-effective performance."

According to Mr Li, the System includes a water injection unit, a pressurizing unit, a pressure-regulating unit, and a control unit. "The System will enable local plastic machinery and equipment manufacturers to develop their own capabilities in supplying water-assisted injection moulding equipment," he said.

"To disseminate the know-how and techniques to industry, a technical handbook on water-assisted injection moulding process has been published. In addition, a series of technical seminars, workshops, and training sessions have been organized to help manufacturers adopt this technology," Mr Li added.

To view the technology demonstration, please visit the "HKPC WEBCAST" section –"Latest Technology Demonstration" at the HKPC website: www.hkpc.org. For further information, please contact Mr Samson Suen of HKPC at tel. (852) 2788 5552 or e-mail: samsons@hkpc.org

For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms Betty Lee
General Manager
Corporate Communications and Events
Tel: (852) 2788 5036
Fax: (852) 2788 5056
E-mail: emilyc@hkpc.org
Website: www.hkpc.org

HKPC
26 July 2006