Leonine Technologies Inc. (LTI) successfully developed the multivariate shrinkage sensor (MVSS) for injection molding. MVSS is protected under USPTO # 17/318,951.

MVSS measures four essential process states in real-time known to govern the quality of injection molded parts: • cavity melt pressure,

• cavity melt temperature,

• mold steel temperature, and

• in-mold shrinkage

These process states derive the melt velocity, melt viscosity, pressure-volume-temperature (PvT) relationship, and viscoelastic behavior of the polymer being processed.

The successful proof of concept of MVSS debunks two known myths in the plastics industry that

(1) it is not possible to measure and monitor in-mold shrinkage real-time during the injection molding cycle,

(2) it impossible to measure and monitor multiple process outputs using one single in-mold sensor.

MVSS provide accurate part dimension prediction prior to the part ejection, which will help molders in reducing the time, cost and resources associated with quality inspections. The key value propositions of MVSS are minimum 30 % reduction in overall manufacturing cost and time, real-time fault detection, and diagnosis, and long-term product quality predictions and Industry 4.0 and 5.0.

The control system (PolyScope™) concept consists of quality and process state inferencing. The quality inferencing will provide quality-critical outputs such as dimensions, aesthetics, and long-term product properties. The process state inferencing will provide velocity, viscosity, pressure-volume-temperature(PvT) relationship to generate the process guidance for each molding cycle. The control system will compute and establish part-mold-polymer-machine-specific “multi-dimensional” quality and process relationships with advanced integrated models. Manufacturers will achieve fully automated manufacturing with closed-loop control feedback while reducing 30% or more cost and time associated with quality control and process optimization efforts.