Trial Videos • Data Driven Qualification • Presses from 100 T to 2,800 T
Live Mold Trials & Factory Floor Validation
What is a mold trial? It is the first time a new mold runs in a press: the toolmaker proves that every slide, lifter, unscrewing core and stack opens and closes as designed, that every cavity fills alike, and that the parts measure to print at a stable cycle. TK runs each mold on its own trial presses before it ships, and you can watch the footage below, join trials online and check the samples and data yourself.
18
Trial Presses in TK’s Mold Testing Center
6
Of Them Set Up for 2K
2,800 T
Largest TK Trial Press
14
Trial and Lab Videos on This Page
Trial Footage
Mold Trial Video Library
Real footage from TK’s trial presses and product function lab, plus TK’s company film. Each card tells you what to watch for, the same things a toolmaker looks at when a mold runs for the first time. Press play on any video; only one plays at a time.
Stack mold • 96 cavities
48+48 Flip Top Cap Stack Mold
A two face stack mold running in the press behind the safety glass, ending on a box of finished caps.
Both parting lines open together, driven by the racks on the side of the mold.
The center section travels half the stroke and comes back square every shot.
58 s
High cavitation • 72 cavities
72 Cavity Flip Top Cap Mold
A 72 cavity cap mold cycling in a trial press, with the caps carried out of the press on a conveyor.
Watch the full shot drop clear of the mold every cycle, with no caps hanging up.
The second half shows the caps leaving on the conveyor.
31 s
Stack mold • 64 cavities
32+32 Stack Mold, Shaker Lids
A close look at the rack and pinion that drives a 32+32 stack mold, then the green shaker lids filling a box.
The pinion turns as the racks move, keeping both parting lines in step.
The end of the clip shows the finished lids filling a box.
53 s
High cavitation • 48 cavities
48 Cavity Tower Flip Top Cap Mold
A tall flip top cap that needs three actions in one mold: servo driven unscrewing, sliders and in mold closing.
Watch the cores turn out of the threads before the caps are pushed off.
The lids are closed inside the mold, so the caps leave the press ready to use.
1 min
High cavitation • 128 cavities
128 Cavity Test Tube Cap Mold
128 caps per shot from one mold, running in a trial press and dropping onto the conveyor.
The caps drop onto the conveyor shot after shot.
At this cavitation, cavity balance and venting decide whether the mold runs fast and clean.
38 s
High cavitation • 128 cavities
128 Cavity Tube Mold
Long, thin walled tubes molded 128 at a time, then a look at the open mold and the tubes leaving on the conveyor.
Long cores have to stay centered so the walls stay even all the way around.
The parts leave the cores cleanly, row after row.
37 s
High cavitation • 64 cavities
64 Cavity Shampoo Flip Top Cap Mold
TK mold T37511 on trial: a fully hot runner, valve gated flip top cap mold rated at 500,000 caps a day.
Valve gates leave a clean gate mark on a cosmetic cap.
The caps drop onto the conveyor and into the bin at the end.
48 s
Closures • 32 cavities
32 Cavity Oil Cap Mold
A fully hot runner, valve gated oil cap mold with in mold closing, running a 15 s cycle.
The yellow caps are closed before they leave the mold.
Close ups show the cavity steel and the closing action.
54 s
Closures • 32 cavities
32 Cavity Actuator Cap Mold
TK mold T37754: a fully hot runner, valve gated mold for black actuator caps at a 9 s cycle.
The many water and air lines show how much cooling and gate control a 32 cavity cap mold carries.
Close ups of the cavity inserts show the detail an actuator needs.
44 s
Unscrewing • Mold TM36983
Gear Driven Unscrewing Cap Mold
TK mold TM36983 opens on its nameplate, then runs in the press: a rack and gear train turns the threaded cores so the small caps release.
See the gears turn the cores as the mold opens.
The caps drop onto the conveyor and run out of the press.
49 s
Two shot • Mold TM36772
2K Cap Mold TM36772
A two shot cap mold on its trial press, molding clear caps with a blue second shot.
See the mold turn between the first and second shot stations.
The close up of the caps shows the blue shot sitting cleanly inside the clear body.
42 s
Function lab • 2 tests
Pull Test and Leak Test
Two of the function tests TK runs on trial samples. Left, a molded closure pulled in a tensile tester until it lets go. Right, a closure assembly pressurized under water, where any leak shows as a stream of bubbles.
The tester records the force as the hook pulls.
No bubbles at the seal means the part passes.
2 clips
Company film • English subtitles
Inside TK Group
TK’s company film: the Shenzhen technology park, mold design and machining, automated molding halls, LSR and multi color molding, the quality lab and TK’s history since 1983.
Mold design and simulation teams at about 2:15.
Multi color molding at about 3:20, quality and inspection from about 3:35.
5 min 15 s
Data Driven Qualification
What Every TK Trial Checks
TK qualifies molds with scientific molding practice: it collects data from before the first shot to production speed, so the process window is stable and repeatable and the parts hold their dimensions from the first shot onward. These are the checks, in the order a mold sees them.
Dry cycleThe mold opens, ejects and closes in the press without plastic, to prove every mechanical function.
Cooling circuit validationEach water circuit is checked for consistent flow and cooling. Every TK trial press has visible water flow meters.
Mold surface temperature mappingConfirms the heat is spread evenly across the cavities and cores.
Mold and melt temperature checkVerifies the melt temperature meets the material maker’s specification.
Injection velocity profilingSets the best injection speed for the part.
Pressure loss analysisMeasures the flow resistance through the runner and cavities.
Short shot cavity balanceShort shots show whether every cavity fills alike. Try the checker below.
Gate seal studyFinds the hold time at which the gate freezes, so hold is long enough and no longer.
Pack and hold optimizationSets the hold pressure for part weight and dimensions.
After the trial, samples are measured on CMM and optical measuring machines, and you can check the samples and data yourself or with TK online. Changes are handled through TK’s modification and improvement step before the mold is released for delivery. See DFM and Moldflow for the work done before steel is cut.
Mold Testing Center
TK’s Trial Presses
TK tries molds out on its own presses, matched to the size and process of the mold: LSR, high speed packaging, 2K on rotation tables, and the large presses TK uses for automotive molds. Bars show clamp force.
100 TArburg
LSR
150 TFanuc
180 TJSW
2K, rotation table
200 TMilacron
2K, rotation table
250 TKraussMaffei
2K, rotation table
280 TJSW
400 THusky
High speed
450 TJSW
500 TNetstal SynErgy
2K, rotation table
650 TEngel
2K, rotation table
1,000 TKraussMaffei
1,500 TEngel
2K, MuCell, coining
2,000 TAutomotive
2K and spin form
2,100 THaitian
Automotive
2,800 TAutomotive
Largest
2K rotation tableHigh speed packagingStandard
From TK’s mold testing center list and automotive presentation. Presses for large automotive molds are covered on the automotive and industrial page.
Trial Utility
Short Shot Cavity Balance Checker
At trial, short shots are weighed cavity by cavity to see whether the runner and gates fill every cavity alike. Paste the part weights from your own short shot study, in cavity number order, and the checker works out the imbalance, flags the cavities that run light or heavy and maps them. Open “Show the math” to check every step.
A planning aid, not a pass or fail rule. Imbalance here is (heaviest minus lightest) divided by the heaviest. Check fill balance with short shots well before full fill, at a fixed transfer position, and judge it with your molder and toolmaker. Example weights are made up for illustration.
Proof Before Shipment
Function Lab and Remote Trials
Product Function Lab
Mechanical: tensile, torque and pull tests on molded parts.
Sealing: sealing, leakage and air leakage tests on closures and assemblies.
Use tests: oil pouring and wall hanging tests.
Conditions: high and low temperature, negative pressure and shelf life testing.
Dimensions: CMM, optical measuring machines, roughness and surface profilers, and 3D scanning, with GD&T inspection by TK’s inspection team.
Join the Trial Without Flying to China
Remote support: mold design review, online mold testing, sample checks and mold validation before shipment.
AR headsets: TK runs remote support on RealWear headsets, so you see the mold and the parts from the toolmaker’s point of view.
Weekly reports from kick off and DFM through mold making, first trial, modification and qualification to delivery.
On site support: TK project managers travel for start up, and TK has after sales service for the mold once it is in your plant.
Your contact in the Americas
Brandon Henderson
Technical Sales Support Manager for the Americas, based in North Carolina. Journeyman Tool and Die Maker and CPSP. Brandon works with TK’s project managers on your mold, joins the trials with you, and goes through the samples, measurements and trial changes with your team.
The mold is set in a press sized for it and dry cycled without plastic. Then TK validates the cooling circuits, maps the mold surface temperature, checks melt temperature, profiles injection velocity, measures pressure loss, runs a short shot cavity balance study and a gate seal study, and optimizes pack and hold. The samples are then measured and, where needed, tested in TK’s product function lab.
Can I watch my mold’s trial live?+
Yes. TK offers online mold testing, remote design reviews, sample checks and mold validation before shipment, and runs remote support on RealWear AR headsets. Brandon Henderson can set this up with TK’s project manager and join the trial with your team.
Which presses does TK use for trials?+
TK’s mold testing center has 18 trial presses, 6 of them set up for 2K on rotation tables. They include a 100 T Arburg for LSR, a 400 T Husky for high speed packaging, a 500 T Netstal SynErgy and a 1,500 T Engel, and TK’s large automotive molds run on presses of 2,000 T, 2,100 T and 2,800 T.
How do you check that every cavity fills the same?+
With a short shot cavity imbalance study at trial: parts are molded short of full, weighed cavity by cavity and compared. Many of TK’s high cavitation molds also use full hot runner valve gating. You can run the same calculation on your own short shot weights with the cavity balance checker on this page.
What tests can TK run on trial samples?+
Dimensional checks on CMM and optical measuring machines, plus function tests in TK’s product lab: tensile, torque, sealing, leakage and air leakage, oil pouring and wall hanging, high and low temperature, negative pressure and shelf life testing.
Why are some videos filmed through the glass?+
The trial presses run with their safety guards closed, so footage of a running mold is shot through the guard window.
Want to See Your Mold Run Before It Ships?
Send your 3D models, resin and volumes to Brandon Henderson, Technical Sales Support Manager for the Americas. He will review the part with TK’s engineers and set up the trial so your team can watch it, check the samples and sign off with confidence.
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