Micro Injection Molding Machine Technology; in Micro Injection Molding

The present chapter introduces the design of micro molding machines from two different perspectives: analysis of patents on the technology, and design architectures and solutions for the micro injection molding machines. The first analysis is oriented to provide a quantitative scenario on the attempts to exploit research for commercial uses, and it is performed taking into account patents applications worldwide. It helps in situating the micro injection molding domain in the industrial market (particularly on the machine manufacturing side). Conversely, the second part of the present chapter focuses on some relevant architecture aspects of micro injection molding machines that have been analyzed from a functional perspective. The choice of the machines is based on interesting architectures that have been the target of various researches in the recent past and that are often cited within the present book.