Control system for utilizing active material elements in a molding system

1. Control apparatus for a mold having a first surface and a second surface, comprising:

a piezo-ceramic sensor configured to be disposed between the first surface and the second surface of the injection mold, for sensing a compressive force between the first surface and the second surface and generating a corresponding sense signal; and

transmission structure configured to transmit, in use, the sense signal from said piezo-ceramic sensor.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a piezo-ceramic actuator configured to be disposed between the first surface and the second surface, for receiving an actuation signal and generating a corresponding force between the first surface and the second surface, and wherein said transmission structure is configured to transmit the actuation signal to said piezo-ceramic actuator.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a plurality of piezo-ceramic sensors and a plurality of piezo-ceramic actuators, each configured to be disposed between the first surface and the second surface.

4. Control apparatus for an injection molding machine having a first surface and a second surface, comprising:

a piezo-ceramic actuator configured to be disposed between the first surface and the second surface of the injection molding machine, for receiving an actuation signal and generating a corresponding expansion force between the first surface and the second surface; and

transmission structure configured to transmit, in use, the actuation signal to said piezo-ceramic actuator.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 , further comprising a piezo-ceramic sensor configured to be disposed between the first surface and the second surface, for sensing a compressive force between the first surface and the second surface and generating a corresponding sense signal, and wherein said transmission structure is configured to transmit, in use, the sense signal from said piezo-ceramic sensor.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 , further comprising a plurality of piezo-ceramic sensors and a plurality of piezo-ceramic actuators, each configured to be disposed between the first surface and the second surface.

7. Apparatus for controlling deflection between first and second surfaces of a mold, comprising:

a piezo-ceramic actuator configured to be disposed between the first second surfaces of the injection molding machine, for receiving an actuation signal, and for generating an expansive force between the first and second surfaces; and

a piezo-ceramic sensor disposed adjacent said piezo-ceramic actuator, for detecting changes in a width of said piezo-ceramic actuator and generating sensor signals corresponding thereto.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising processor structure for receiving the sensor signal from said piezo-ceramic sensor and transmitting a corresponding actuation signal to said piezo-ceramic actuator using closed lop control.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising a plurality of piezo-ceramic sensors and a plurality of piezo-ceramic actuators, each configured to be disposed between the first and second surfaces of the injection molding machine.

10. Apparatus for correcting core shifting in a mold having a core and a core plate, comprising:

a plurality of piezo-electric actuators configured to be disposed about a periphery of the core, each for generating an expansive force between the core and the core plate, each of said plurality of piezo-electric actuators configured to be separately controllable;

transmission structure configured to provide an actuation signal, in use, to each of said plurality of piezo-electric actuators; and

control structure configured to provide the actuation signals to selected ones of said plurality of piezo-electric actuators to correct for core shifting.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10 , further comprising a plurality of piezo-electric sensors configured to be disposed about the periphery of the core, each for sensing a compressive force between the core and the core plate and generating a corresponding sense signal, and wherein said transmission structure is configure to transmit the sense signals to said control structure.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein each piezo-electric sensor is disposed adjacent a corresponding piezo-electric actuator.

13. A method of controlling an injection mold having a first surface and a second surface, comprising the steps of:

sensing a compressive force between the first surface and the second surface with a piezo-ceramic sensor disposed between the first surface and the second surface of the injection mold;

generating a sense signal corresponding to the sensed compressive force;

transmitting the sense signal from the piezo-ceramic sensor to a processor;

generating an injection mold control signal according to the transmitted sense signal.

14. A method according to claim 13 , wherein the control signal comprises at least one of (i) a clamping force signal, (ii) an injection pressure signal, and (iii) an injection rate signal.

15. A method according to claim 13 , further comprising the steps of:

calculating an actuation signal corresponding to the transmitted sense signal; and

using the piezo-ceramic actuator to generate an expansive force between the first surface and the second surface corresponding to the actuation signal.

16. A method according to claim 13 , further comprising the step of disposing a plurality of piezo-ceramic sensors and a plurality of piezo-ceramic actuators between the first surface and the second surface.

17. A method of controlling an injection mold having a first surface and a second surface, comprising the steps of:

determining a force actuation signal to control a space between the first surface and the second surface;

transmitting the force actuation signal to a piezo-ceramic actuator disposed between the first surface and the second surface of the injection mold; and

using the piezo-ceramic actuator to generate an corresponding expansion force between the first surface and the second surface.

18. A method according to claim 17 , further comprising the steps of:

using the piezo-ceramic actuator to sense a compressive force between the first surface and the second surface;

generating a sense signal corresponding to the sensed compressive force; and

transmitting the sense signal from the piezo-ceramic sensor to a controller.

19. A method according to claim 17 , further comprising the steps of:

using the piezo-ceramic sensor to detect width changes in the piezo-ceramic actuator, and to generate feedback signals corresponding to the detected width changes; and

real-time closed loop controlling the piezo-ceramic actuator in accordance with the feedback signals.