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120°C mould temperature controller: Which industries are suitable for 120°C

2025/10/17 By le zhan

One customer we worked with told us they were previously rejecting 15% of their thick-walled battery casing batches due to warpage. This issue was resolved after they switched to a Topstar 120°C mould temperature controller. Now, they’ve achieved a 98% yield and reduced cycle time by 10%. In injection moulding, a deviation of just 0.5°C from the target mould temperature can increase the defect rate of thick-walled plastic parts by 8%. For users considering a mould temperature controller, the 120°C range is a standard: high enough to ensure proper material flow in thick-walled parts, low enough to avoid thermal degradation, and accurate enough to meet stringent industry standards.

Why choose a 120°C mould temperature controller?

Mould temperature controller are used to regulate the temperature of injection moulds to ensure consistent part quality. 120°C mould temperature controllers are suitable for applications requiring medium temperatures (not high-temperature oil-based systems). Topstar’s 120°C mould temperature controller is water-based, meaning it uses water as a heat transfer medium, which is more efficient and safer than oil for many industries. Key features set it apart from standard mould temperature controllers:

1% Accuracy Pressure Sensor: Adjusts the upper temperature limit based on the incoming water pressure, ensuring proper operation even in factories with fluctuating water pressure.

20mm Diameter Cooling Solenoid Valve: Dissipates heat faster than smaller-diameter solenoid valves, reducing cooling time for thick parts by up to 12%.

PID Temperature Control Algorithm: Improves temperature control efficiency by 10% and maintains temperature differentials within ±0.1°C, significantly lower than the ±0.5°C average of basic controllers.

These features are more than just specifications; they are solutions that aid production. For example, the pressure sensor prevents the controller from shutting down during periods of low pressure, while the PID algorithm ensures that every part in a batch has an identical temperature history, eliminating both “good” and “bad” parts from the same run.

Why choose a 120°C mould temperature controller

What industries are the 120°C mould temperature controllers suitable for?

120°C mould temperature controllers are a perfect match for the automotive industry, especially for thick-walled parts like engine covers and housings. Here’s why:

Thick-Wall Material Flow: Automotive-grade plastics (e.g., PP+GF, ABS) require a mould temperature of 120°C to flow evenly into thick-walled parts. Lower mould temperatures result in incomplete filling; higher mould temperatures can cause material degradation.

Preventing Warpage: Uneven cooling of thick-walled parts can lead to warpage, a costly defect for safety-critical components. Topstar’s 120°C mould temperature controller utilises a 20mm cooling solenoid valve to accelerate uniform cooling, while a PID algorithm maintains temperature stability, reducing warpage by 80%.

Productivity: Most automakers have long production runs, resulting in costly downtime. A pressure sensor with 1% accuracy ensures the controller will not stop operating if water pressure drops. Switching to Topstar’s 120°C mould temperature controller has resulted in a 3% increase in uptime.

Many automotive customers have commented, “We used to spend two hours per shift manually adjusting the temperature. Now, the PID system does it automatically, and our scrap rate has dropped from 12% to 1%.” This represents an upgrade in safety and efficiency for the automotive industry.

High flow and high pressure are key to thick-walled automotive parts

Thick-walled automotive parts, typically 8-20 mm thick, require robust heat dissipation to avoid defects such as sink marks, warping, and internal stresses. Conventional water-based temperature controllers often fall short in this regard. Their low flow rate (≤15 litres/minute) and low pressure make it difficult to ensure uniform cooling water flow through the deep and complex cooling channels of automotive moulds. Topstar’s 120°C temperature controllers address these issues with their high flow rate and high head. For example, for a 12 mm thick engine hood mold with four internal cooling channels, a standard temperature controller takes 18 minutes to cool the part to the demolding temperature (60°C), resulting in uneven shrinkage. The high flow rate of the 120°C mold temperature controller circulates water more quickly through the channels, reducing cooling time to 12 minutes while ensuring that every thick-walled part cools at the same rate.

thick-walled automotive parts

20mm Cooling Solenoid Valve for Faster Cooling

The 20mm diameter cooling solenoid valve in the 120°C water-type mould temperature controller is designed explicitly for thick-walled automotive parts. It outperforms the 15mm valves commonly found in most standard mould temperature controllers. So what are the benefits of an extra 5mm of valve diameter?

Faster heat dissipation: The larger valve diameter allows more cooling water to enter the mould channels at once, accelerating heat dissipation. For a 15mm thick battery housing part, this can reduce the peak temperature from 105°C to 90°C in just 5 minutes, compared to 8 minutes with a 15mm valve.

Lower, stable control temperature: Thick-walled automotive parts typically require demolding at 55-65°C to prevent warping. The 20mm valve maintains a lower temperature without the need for “circulation,” thus avoiding temperature spikes.

Reduced Valve Wear: Larger valves can easily handle higher flow rates, extending their service life to over 30,000 cycles, critical for 24/7 automotive production lines.

PID control improves efficiency by 10% and achieves an accuracy of ±0.1°C.

Thick-walled automotive parts are particularly vulnerable to temperature fluctuations. Even a 0.5°C mould temperature fluctuation can cause a thick-walled part to fail quality inspection. Topstar’s 120°C mould temperature controller uses a PID temperature control algorithm to eliminate this risk, delivering two key advantages for automotive production:

10% Improved Control Efficiency: The PID algorithm adjusts water flow and heating in real time based on the deviation of the mould temperature from the target temperature. Unlike on/off controllers, PID fine-tunes output to maintain mould temperature control stability, reducing energy consumption by 10% and reducing cycle time fluctuations.

±0.1°C Temperature Fluctuation: This accuracy is unheard of in other mould temperature controllers. For a 10mm thick door panel reinforcement, this means every part cools to the same temperature, ensuring consistent dimensional accuracy.

In a real-world example, a global automotive Tier 1 supplier installed 15 Topstar units on its production line. After adopting a 120°C mould temperature controller, their yield rate jumped from 78% to 92%. “The PID algorithm keeps the mould temperature stable,” said their production manager. “We used to reject 22% of parts due to warpage, but now it’s less than 8%, and we’re able to ship more parts on time.”

The best mould temperature solution for thick-walled automotive products

For automotive manufacturers struggling with low yields, long cycle times, or temperature-related defects in thick-walled parts, Topstar’s 120°C mould temperature controller with high flow rate/large head, 20mm cooling solenoid valve, PID algorithm (10% efficiency improvement, ±0.1°C accuracy), and pressure sensor addresses all key pain points of thick-wall automotive moulding. This helps the automotive industry shorten cycle times, increase yields, and reduce interruptions.

 

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