Can Conical Screw Barrels Reduce Energy Consumption in Injection Molding Machines?

With the surge in global demand for plastic products (annual compound growth rate of over 5%), injection molding as a core processing technology is facing severe challenges: data from the International Energy Agency shows that traditional injection molding machines account for more than 40% of the total energy consumption of the plastic processing industry. Driven by the "dual carbon" goal, Conical Screw Barrel technology is triggering an industrial revolution of energy saving and consumption reduction with its unique engineering innovation.
Traditional injection molding machines generally adopt parallel screw design, and their energy conversion rate is only 35-45% (according to the 2022 annual report of the SPE Association). The main energy loss is concentrated in:
Ineffective shear heat generation: linear screw groove causes uneven distribution of material shear rate, requiring additional heating compensation
Back pressure energy consumption waste: more than 30% of power consumption is used to maintain melt pressure stability
No-load cycle loss: Ineffective friction in the non-plasticization stage accounts for 18.7%
The conical screw has achieved a major breakthrough through the gradual change of screw groove depth (entry section depth-to-diameter ratio 0.3→compression section 0.15) and conical geometry compression ratio (2.5-3.0:1). Fluid dynamics simulations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the United States show that this design increases the polymer melt pressure gradient by 27%, increases the shear heat utilization rate to 82%, and significantly reduces the need for external heating.
According to the actual test data of ENGEL in Germany in 2023, in the processing of the same PP material:
Energy consumption index: The energy consumption per unit output of the conical screw is reduced to 0.38kWh/kg (0.51kWh/kg for traditional equipment)
Temperature control efficiency: The melt temperature fluctuation range is narrowed to ±1.5℃ (traditional ±3.5℃)
Power system: The servo motor load is reduced by 19%, and the annual maintenance cost is reduced by 32%
Take the automotive parts factory with an annual output of 5,000 tons as an example. After adopting the conical screw system:
Annual power saving: 650,000kWh (equivalent to reducing 420 tons of CO₂ emissions)
Investment payback period: 1.8 years (equipment premium Part of it is recovered through electricity bill savings)
The compression characteristics of the conical screw are particularly suitable for:
Engineering plastics: PA66/GF30 processing cycle is shortened by 12%, and the glass fiber breakage rate is reduced to 0.8%
Bio-based materials: PLA plasticization efficiency is increased by 25%, and the degradation temperature control accuracy reaches ±0.8℃
High filling system: The dispersion uniformity of 40% calcium carbonate filled HDPE is increased to 98.2%
Japan Meiki Manufacturing's patented technology (JP2023-045678A) combines a double-conical screw with a dynamic mixing element, which increases the melt index stability of PET recycled materials by 3 times, directly driving the processing cost of recycled plastics down by 18%.