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Home / Can Topstar Plastic Molding Machine Handle High-Temperature Plastics for Injection Molding?

Can Topstar Plastic Molding Machine Handle High-Temperature Plastics for Injection Molding?

2026/01/16 By le zhan

High-Temperature Plastics for Injection Molding(1)

Processing high-temperature plastics requires exceptional care, demanding precise heating, controlled shearing, and reliable thermal management; otherwise, both material performance and production efficiency will be compromised. As a professional injection molding machine manufacturer, we believe that a plastic molding machine must combine the correct screw metallurgy, precise temperature control, robust mechanical design, and safe and reliable electrical isolation to reliably process materials such as PC, LCP, PEEK, and high-viscosity PET. Therefore, we will explain in detail how Topstar’s plastic molding machines meet the molding requirements of these high-temperature materials.

Core Design Features of Topstar Plastic Molding Machine for High-Temperature Processing

High-temperature injection molding requires more than just higher controller set points. It requires a plastic molding machine specifically designed to withstand sustained thermal loads and maintain stable plasticizing performance. Topstar meets these critical requirements through the following key design features:

Standard Plating Screw: With melt temperature control. The chrome plating process improves wear resistance and reduces friction between the metal and resin, minimizing abrasion and particle generation under high-temperature melts. More importantly, integrated melt temperature control ensures that the melt temperature exiting the screw remains within a narrow range, stabilizing viscosity and guaranteeing repeatability with each shot when processing heat-sensitive polymers.

Robust Barrel and Feed Throat Design: High-temperature resins often require longer residence times and specific shear characteristics. Topstar precision-machines and hardens its barrels to ensure uniform heat transfer and prevent localized overheating or resin stagnation. The feed throat design enables stable feeding and prevents bridging in glass fiber reinforced or high-viscosity compounds.

The selection of these precision components allows the injection molding machine to produce a consistently high-quality melt, even under repeated high-temperature cycles.

injection-molding-machine-screws

Topstar Plastic Molding Machine Equipped with PVD Alloy Screw Heads and Process Control

The screw is the core component of a plastic molding machine, and Topstar enhances screw performance through precision PVD alloy screw head components and meticulous control strategies.

PVD Coated Alloy Screw Head: Physical vapor deposition (PVD) technology is applied to the wear-prone screw head area, creating a hard, low-friction surface that effectively resists wear and thermal softening. For high-temperature applications, PVD coatings prevent dimensional changes and extend service life under the high surface stresses generated when processing materials such as PEEK.

Optimized screw geometry for high-temperature polymers: Topstar offers screw profiles optimized for different material series, with high compression ratios for crystalline polymers, mixing zones for filled compounds, and customized shear sections to promote uniform melting. This geometry ensures complete melting while avoiding excessive shearing, thus preventing polymer chain degradation.

Therefore, Topstar plastic molding machines can not only “reach” high temperatures but also reliably plasticize materials, producing repeatable parts with minimal performance degradation.

PVD Coated Alloy Screw Head

Mold temperature controllers suitable for high-temperature mold control

Temperature is also a key factor affecting crystallinity and flowability. Mold temperature control is crucial when processing high-temperature plastics, especially for crystalline or semicrystalline engineering polymers that require higher mold temperatures to achieve the desired crystallinity and dimensional stability. Topstar’s solution is an oil-based mold temperature controller with temperatures up to 320°C, which offers several production advantages:

High set-temperature capability (up to 320°C): Some polymers, such as PEEK and specific LCP grades, require mold temperatures well above those achievable with standard water-cooled or low-temperature systems. Oil-cooled controllers can safely reach and maintain these higher temperatures, ensuring adequate cooling and crystallization of the parts.

Precise temperature control: The PID algorithm of the oil-based mold temperature controller enables strict temperature regulation and minimizes overshoot. This precision maintains the integrity of the polymer molecules and ensures consistency in crystallinity across different cycles and cavities. For optical components or high-strength parts, this consistency translates into better surface appearance and mechanical properties.

Processing specific high-temperature polymers – PC, LCP, PEEK, and PET

Each high-temperature plastic has different characteristics, so matching the injection molding machine performance to the polymer requirements is key to success.

PC: PC requires high melt temperatures for flow and high mold temperatures to reduce internal stress and improve surface finish. With Topstar’s precise melt temperature control and oil-based mold heating, processors can better flow the material into thin-walled geometries and achieve better optical quality. LCP: LCP exhibits good flowability at high temperatures, but requires continuous heating to maintain its anisotropy. The combination of precise barrel control and a mold temperature of 320°C enables manufacturers to maintain polymer orientation and mechanical properties when producing thin, high-performance parts.

PEEK: This is a highly demanding thermoplastic with a high melting point and a narrow processing window. Topstar’s PVD-coated screw assembly, precise melt temperature control, and oil-heated molds enable smooth flow and controlled crystallinity, resulting in parts with excellent chemical and mechanical properties.

PET: While PET can be processed at moderate melt temperatures, high-viscosity grades of PET used for preform injection molding require high injection pressure and stable screw conveying. Topstar’s TMII-PET series addresses this challenge with oversized hydraulic motors and a drive system designed explicitly for high torque and fast response. Combined with pre-drying and moisture control, Topstar TMII-PET injection molding machines achieve consistent preform quality and minimal hydrolytic degradation.

For these materials, Topstar’s approach reduces polymer chain breakage and degradation, maintains molecular weight, and achieves optimized crystallization.

TMII-PET Series and High-Viscosity PET Preform Molding Capabilities

PET Preform Production: PET preform production, especially with high-melt-viscosity grades, requires a powerful injection system and precise control of screw retraction, injection speed, and holding pressure. Topstar’s TMII-PET series is designed to meet this challenge:

Oversized Hydraulic Motor for Powerful Torque: The TMII-PET injection molding machine features an oversized hydraulic drive unit, delivering the high torque needed for high-speed screw plasticization and rapid injection of viscous melts. This feature prevents short shots and ensures stable screw retraction even under high back pressure.

Dedicated Screw Assembly: The PET-specific screw assembly provides excellent plasticization quality and high efficiency. It reduces plasticization temperature and AA value, effectively improving product shrinkage and increasing transparency. For processors producing high-quality PET preforms, the TMII-PET series equipment reduces cycle variations, improves yield, and minimizes material degradation.

TMII-PET Series Plastic Molding Machine

Easily handle high-temperature materials in injection molding.

For processing high-temperature materials, Topstar’s plastic molding machines are equipped with chrome-plated screws, PVD alloy screw heads, precise melt temperature control, high-capacity oil-based mold temperature controllers, and the TMII-PET series. This enables their injection molding machine product line to process a variety of high-temperature plastics reliably. Combined with proper material preparation, process control, and preventative maintenance, it is possible to produce stable, high-quality parts using highly demanding polymers while ensuring uptime and operator safety.

 

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