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Zeiger and Spark Industries have collaborated on a new heated tapered nozzle that’s designed for reduced pressure drop, self-cleaning operation and the ability to work with aggressive materials, including polysulfones and halogen-free flame retardants (HFFR). Zeiger’s Stan Glover told Plastics Technology that the nozzles, which launched at the PTXPO (March 28-30; Donald E. Stephens Convention Center; Rosemont, Ill.), are available for any and all injection molding machine brands and sizes, with a sweet spot within small- to mid-tonnage machines up to about 300 tons. The general screw diameter range the heated tapered nozzles can work with is 16 to 70 mm.

Promising maximum heat transfer and uniformity, the nozzle’s heating component, which slides over the body, is constructed from swaged stainless steel, with heating from a precision-wound, high-surface-area heating element wire featuring a replaceable thermocouple. The nozzle body is constructed from hardened PM stainless tool steel and its melt channel features a continuous taper. This design allows for self cleaning and more rapid color changes.

The design and construction materials lend the nozzle to use with polycarbonates, where it can help minimize specks and streaking, as well as sulfone resins, where its 20% chromium content alleviates sulphidation. It’s also suited for use with resins that feature HFFR additives.