DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLED FLOW TEMPERATURE CONTROL OF AN INJECTION MOLD

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an injection molding machine for processing plastics and other plasticizable materials, such as metallic, ceramic and / or powdery materials, with a device for and a method for controlled flow temperature control of an injection mold on such an injection molding machine according to the preamble of claims 1 and 5, respectively.

[0002] When operating an injection molding machine, particularly a plastics injection molding machine for processing plastics and other plasticizable materials, the material to be processed is melted and homogenized in an injection molding unit and then injected into an injection mold. After injection, the injection mold is cooled down to cool the injection-molded part and, after it has hardened, eject it before the next injection cycle begins. During this process of injecting plasticized material and subsequent cooling, the temperature control of the injection mold is of crucial importance for the quality of the resulting injection-molded part. In particular, it has long been known to monitor the injection mold using temperature sensors and to regulate the amount of temperature control medium fed to the injection mold depending on pressure and temperature.

[0003] DE 10 2005 019 890 B3 discloses a device for temperature control of the mold of a plastics processing machine and a method using a corresponding device. Temperature control channels for at least one temperature control medium are provided in the mold, each temperature control channel being assigned to a zone of the mold so that the temperature of one zone can be controlled independently of the temperature of another zone. Each temperature control channel has a temperature control medium supply line and a temperature control medium outlet line. Each zone of the mold is assigned a temperature sensor for determining the actual temperature of the zone. At least one temperature sensor is provided for determining the temperature of the temperature control medium before it enters the mold, and each zone is assigned a means for determining the flow rate of temperature control medium flowing through the temperature control medium channel.Preferably, each supply line of a temperature control medium channel has a valve, and each return line of a temperature control medium channel has another valve. A control unit regulates the flow rate of the temperature control medium in the respective temperature control medium channel.

[0004] EP 2 602 085 B1 discloses a flow-through temperature control system for an injection mold, which enables reliable and cost-effective monitoring and control of multiple cooling circuits within an injection mold. The cooling circuits each have a proportional flow valve and a flow sensor and a temperature sensor in the return line to adjust the individual cooling circuits according to the respective process requirements.

[0005] WO 2012 / 035 052 A1 discloses a method for producing a plastic molded part, wherein a plastic material is melted and injected into a mold, wherein the plastic molded part is cooled in the mold by means of a temperature control medium, and wherein the finished plastic molded part is subsequently removed. In this process, the amount of heat that has been transferred from the plastic molded part to the temperature control medium within a predeterminable time interval is determined. This process is repeated over several consecutive time intervals while the molded part is cooling, and the heat quantities thus determined are summed up, with the total value obtained in this way being used for further purposes. The total value can, for example, be documented or, when a predeterminable value of the summed heat transferred from the plastic material in the mold orThe demolding process can be initiated based on the total amount of heat transferred from the molded part to the temperature control medium. Flow sensors and temperature sensors are arranged in the temperature control channels, and switching and / or control valves can be provided with which the flow and / or temperature in the temperature control channels or temperature control areas can be adjusted or regulated. Control of the total flow rate of the temperature control medium is not disclosed.

[0006] From EP 3 309 402 A1, a method for finding a desired delivery rate of a pump system having at least one pump for conveying a temperature control medium through at least one temperature control channel of a molding tool by means of the at least one pump and a pump system for conveying a temperature control medium through at least one temperature control channel of a molding tool are known.In the method, at least one temperature control volume flow through the at least one temperature control channel is controlled according to a controlled variable using at least one throttle as an actuator such that the at least one temperature control volume flow remains substantially constant, a delivery flow of the pump system is measured, the at least one pump is controlled starting from a starting delivery rate independently of the control of the at least one temperature control volume flow such that a delivery rate of the pump system is reduced to a reduced delivery rate, and then it is checked whether the delivery rate remains substantially constant and, if this is the case, the reduced delivery rate is determined as the target delivery rate or, if this is not the case despite the control of the at least one temperature control volume flow, the starting delivery rate is determined as the target delivery rate.This is based on the insight that the pump system can be controlled independently of the control of the tempering flow rate, allowing an optimized value for the pump system's target flow rate to be determined. This allows the control of the pump system to be completely decoupled from a control loop for at least one tempering flow rate, which obviously simplifies the control or regulation of the pump system.

[0007] DE 10 2013 016 773 A1 discloses a method for monitoring a device for supplying temperature control media to a tool of an injection molding machine and a corresponding device. The device for supplying temperature control media has a supply line and a return line, between which at least one temperature control line is arranged. At least one flow sensor is arranged in each of the at least one temperature control line. At least one pressure drop in the at least one temperature control line is measured and, based on a volume flow measured with the at least one flow sensor and the measured pressure drop, at least one hydraulic resistance and / or at least one change in resistance of the at least one temperature control line is calculated and the hydraulic resistance and / or the change in resistance is visually displayed.In the method, a control device regulates the total flow rate of the tempering medium in one or more tempering medium channels using a single valve. This is based on the insight that the pump system can be controlled independently of the control of the tempering volume flow, so that an optimized value for the target flow rate of the pump system can be determined. This allows the control of the pump system to be completely decoupled from a control loop for the at least one tempering volume flow, which obviously simplifies the control or regulation of the pump system.

[0008] DE 10 2015 008 371 A1 discloses a temperature control device for temperature control of a molding tool and a corresponding method with at least one signal input, by means of which at least one parameter signal can be fed to a processor, in various embodiments. The processor is designed to calculate, from at least one temperature control parameter, which is the at least one parameter signal or a variable derived therefrom, a variable characteristic of achieving a substantially thermally steady state of the molding tool and to transmit it to an output device suitable for outputting the characteristic variable to an operator and / or to a machine control system. In the device and method, the processor acts independently of the machine control system with respect to regulating a flow rate of a temperature control medium in a temperature control channel.

[0009] EP 2 762 290 A1 discloses a temperature control device for a molding tool or components of a molding machine and a method for operating such a device, comprising at least one temperature control branch connected to a flow line and a return line, and a pump system comprising at least one pump for conveying temperature control medium in the flow line. Each branch contains sensors for the flow rate and temperature, as well as an adjustable flow rate valve. A control or regulating device controls or regulates the temperature of the temperature control medium by means of the flow rate valve based on the sensor signals and by means of an adjustable flow rate of the pump system.

[0010] US 2017 / 153074 A1 has a disclosure content similar to EP 2 762 290 A1.

[0011] Based on this prior art, the present invention is based on the object of providing a device and a method for controlled flow temperature control which is adapted to the specific temperature control requirements in an energy-efficient manner as far as possible.

[0012] This object is achieved by a device having the features of claim 1 and by a method having the features of claim 5. Advantageous further developments are the subject of the dependent patent claims. The features listed individually in the patent claims can be combined with one another in a technologically expedient manner and can be supplemented by explanatory facts from the description and by details from the figures, whereby further embodiments of the invention are shown.

[0013] When "tempering" is mentioned in this application, this is understood to mean both cooling and heating.

[0014] For flow-through temperature control of an injection mold, the device comprises, in addition to a machine control system, at least one supply pump for supplying temperature control medium to the injection mold, a supply line via which temperature control medium is conveyed from the supply pump to the injection mold, a return line via which temperature control medium is discharged from the injection mold at least indirectly to the supply pump, and a plurality of temperature control channels which are routed through the injection mold. The temperature control medium can also initially reach a collecting container such as a tank from the injection mold via the return line and from there be fed back into the temperature control circuit by the supply pump. The temperature control channels are in fluid communication with the supply line and the return line. At least one flow rate valve is provided in each of the temperature control channels for controlling and / or regulating the flow rate.Temperature and flow rate are also recorded via temperature and flow rate sensors in the respective temperature control channels. Additional sensors, such as flow rate and temperature sensors, can also be installed at other points in the circuit, as can pressure sensors in the supply and / or return lines.

[0015] The flow rate valves, temperature sensors, and flow rate sensors are each connected to a control device and / or a common control device designed to regulate and monitor the temperature of the temperature control channels. They are also operatively connected to the machine control system. The preferably different temperatures in the temperature control channels are controlled by controlling the flow rate of the temperature control medium using the respective flow rate valves.

[0016] The temperature control channels branch off from a common flow line, which contains a flow temperature sensor. They end in a common return line. The control device regulates the flow rate, but is also operatively connected to the machine control system to track the flow rate of the adjustable supply pump to the flow rate requirements controlled by the flow rate valves. Furthermore, the machine control system is configured to use complex control algorithms, particularly neural networks, to select an energetically optimal control operating range in a multi-dimensional, multi-variable control system to track the flow rate of the adjustable supply pump. This allows the injection molding machine with the device for controlled flow temperature control of the injection mold to be operated with optimal energy efficiency, since only as much flow rate as is actually required is fed into the temperature control circuit.This also effectively suppresses the tendency of the control system to oscillate. This leads to a reduction in energy consumption in several respects: firstly, flow losses are reduced, and secondly, only the flow rate that is actually needed at the time is delivered. The respective demand in the individual temperature control channels is determined by the flow rate valves assigned to them.

[0017] Preferably, the control device for controlling the flow rate of the tempering medium controlled by the flow rate valves is superimposed on another control device designed to control the flow rate of the adjustable supply pump. This superimposition has the advantage that the machine control system, like a second-order observer, only intervenes in the system when the data acquired by the sensors indicates that further adjustment of the supply pump to meet specific requirements is necessary. This can further increase energy efficiency.

[0018] The supply pump is tracked using complex control algorithms (e.g., neural networks), as the presence of many (typically 4 to 16) temperature control channels results in a multi-dimensional, multi-variable control system. If the observer on the machine control system determines that the flow control of the supply pump is no longer sufficient to meet the control needs of the individual temperature control channels (e.g., if the pump flow control is constantly running at 100% and the individual temperature control channels constantly exceed their setpoint temperature), the higher-level observer on the machine control system can also intervene in the control of the flow temperature of the temperature control supply. The control operating range of the higher-level observation controller is always selected so that the temperature control arrangement operates as close to an energetic optimum as possible.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment, the flow rate valves in the temperature control channels are arranged downstream of the flow through the injection mold, so that the heat flow is only effectively influenced by the flow rate valves after the injection mold. Heat losses due to flow losses at the valve thus occur after the injection mold, allowing the temperature to be more precisely adapted to the respective requirements of the temperature control channels.

[0020] Preferably, the elements of the control device, i.e. the control device itself, the flow rate valves, the temperature sensors and the flow rate sensors are connected to one another via an analog and / or digital real-time connection, so that a very precise tracking of the temperature to the respective temperature requirement, which differs from temperature control channel to temperature control channel, is advantageously possible, adapted to the respective requirements.

[0021] According to the invention, the object is also achieved by a method in which the temperature is controlled via flow rate valves provided in each temperature control channel, via which the flow of temperature control medium is regulated. The temperature difference between the supply and return lines of the respective temperature control channel as well as the flow rate in the respective temperature control channel are recorded and used together as a reference variable for temperature control. The data for this purpose are preferably calculated into a heat flow in order to enable precise tracking. The flow rate of a controllable supply pump is adjusted to the flow rate required for temperature control at the flow rate valves. In this process, an energetically optimal control operating range is selected in a multi-dimensional multi-variable control system for tracking the flow rate of the controllable supply pump.This allows, on the one hand, a good adaptation to the respective temperature control power requirement for each temperature control channel, and, at the same time, the supply pump can be brought to an energy-efficient operating point by the observer on the higher-level machine control system by specifying the manipulated variable speed and / or the flow pressure and / or the flow temperature, in which the currently required flow rate is made available for all temperature control channels.

[0022] Preferably, with volume flow control or heat quantity control, the required demand is known and calculated as a result of the detection by the temperature sensors and the flow rate sensors of the machine control system. This also determines the actual volume flow through the temperature control channels and can be summed to a total demand. The flow rate of the supply pump is adjusted to this total demand. This allows for energy-efficient operation of the temperature control system for an injection mold through a superimposed control system.

[0023] Further advantages emerge from the subclaims and the following description of a preferred embodiment.

[0024] The invention is described in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment illustrated in the figures. They show: Fig. 1 a three-dimensional view of an unclad mold closing unit of an injection molding machine, Fig. 2 a schematic circuit diagram of a temperature control device, Fig. 3 the data circuit diagram with regard to one of the temperature control channels of the temperature control device according to Fig. 2 .

[0025] Before describing the invention in detail, it should be noted that it is not limited to the specific components of the device and the specific method steps, as these components and methods may vary. The terms used herein are intended solely to describe particular embodiments and are not intended to be limiting. Furthermore, when the singular or indefinite articles are used in the description or claims, this also refers to the plural of these elements, unless the overall context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0026] Figur 1 shows the mold clamping unit F of an injection molding machine 10. The drive of the mold clamping unit can be seen on the right. On the left, two mold halves of an injection mold M are arranged between mold carriers of the mold clamping unit F. Not shown in the drawing is the injection molding unit adjoining the mold clamping unit F on the left.

[0027] During normal operation of an injection molding machine, a plasticizable mass is plasticized and homogenized in the injection molding unit so that it can then be injected by the injection molding unit into a mold cavity of the injection mold M. While the plasticizable mass is liquid or at least pasty during injection as a result of the plasticization, it subsequently cools down in the injection mold M. After cooling, the injection-molded part produced in this way is ejected from the injection mold M. For this process, which runs cyclically on the injection molding machine 10, tempering, i.e. heating and subsequent cooling of the injection mold M, is required, which is carried out via a tempering device 18. Via the tempering device 18, tempering medium is supplied via the Fig. 1 recognizable lines to the mold halves of the injection mold M. A wide variety of materials can be processed with an injection molding machine. As a rule, such a plastic injection molding machine 10 is intended and suitable for processing plastics and other plasticizable materials, such as metallic, ceramic, and / or powdery materials.

[0028] The following refers to Fig. 2 , which shows a device for the controlled flow temperature control of an injection mold M by means of a temperature control device 18. The device comprises a machine control S. Temperature control medium is supplied to the injection mold M via at least one supply pump VP, which in the exemplary embodiment is arranged in the temperature control device 18. The device has at least one feed line 11, via which temperature control medium reaches the injection mold M from the supply pump VP. In the exemplary embodiment, the feed line 11 comprises a pipe distributor 11a in addition to a line.

[0029] In Fig. 2 On the right side there is also a pipe distributor 12a, which is however assigned to the return line 12, through which the tempering medium is led from the injection mould M at least indirectly to the supply pump VP. The tempering medium can be Fig. 2 As shown, it can either be fed directly to the temperature control device 18, but it is also possible to feed the temperature control medium to a temperature control medium container, from which the supply pump VP feeds the temperature control medium back into the temperature control circuit via the flow line 11.

[0030] In the upper part of the Fig. 2 A plurality of temperature control channels 13 are provided, which are guided through the injection mold M and are in fluid communication with the supply line 11 and the return line 12 or the corresponding pipe distributors 11a and 12a, respectively. A plurality of adjustable flow rate valves 14 are provided in the temperature control channels 13 for controlling / regulating the flow rate of temperature control medium in the respective temperature control channels 13. In addition, a plurality of temperature sensors 15 are provided for detecting a temperature in the respective temperature control channels 13 after flowing through and thus downstream of the injection mold M. Furthermore, a plurality of flow meters 16 are located in the respective temperature control channels 13 for detecting a flow rate in the respective temperature control channels 13.

[0031] The device comprises a control device C, which in Fig. 2 schematically indicated is connected to the controllable flow rate valves 14, the temperature sensors 15 and the flow meters 16 and is designed to control and monitor the temperature, temperature difference to the flow, flow rate and / or dissipated heat output in the temperature control channels 13. It is operatively connected to the machine control S. This is schematically shown for a temperature control channel 13 as an example in Fig. 3 The control of these variables (e.g., temperature) is achieved by means of the flow rate valves 14 by controlling the flow rate of the tempering medium in the tempering channels 13, whereby, for example, the setpoint temperature may vary considerably from one tempering channel 13 to another.

[0032] The flow rate valves 14, the temperature sensors 15 and the flow meters 16 are thus preferably each connected to one and / or a common control device which is designed to control and monitor the temperature of the tempering channels 13.

[0033] Fig. 2 shows that the temperature control channels 13 branch off from a common flow line 11 and end in a common return line 12. A flow temperature sensor 17 is provided in the flow line 11. If required, a flow meter 19 for the flow line and / or a pressure sensor 22 can also be provided there. The control device C is operatively connected to the machine control system S for adjusting the flow rate of the controllable supply pump VP to the required flow rate of temperature control medium in the temperature control channels 13, as controlled by the flow rate valves 14.

[0034] Such a structure makes it possible, on the one hand, to "drive" different temperatures from one tempering channel 13 to another, since the respective flow rate valves 14 can regulate the flow rate supplied to the respective tempering channel 13 and thus also the dissipated heat flow (dissipated power).

[0035] The temperature difference between the flow, measured at the flow temperature sensor 17, and the temperature sensors 15 in the return line is used for this purpose. However, since the actual flow rate is also recorded at the flow meters 16 in addition to the temperature, this information can be passed on to the machine control S or preferably to an additional control device C2 provided in the machine control S, which is connected to the temperature control device 18 depending on the known demand of the temperature control device in order to adapt the flow rate of the supply pump VP to the respective demand of the temperature control circuits or to track it. The additional control device C2 thus forms a type of energy consumption controller. This not only enables individual temperature control within the injection mold M, but also ensures energy-efficient adjustment of the flow rate using the controllable supply pump VP.This allows the energy requirement of the injection molding machine 10 to be adapted to the specific requirements from cycle to cycle and thus reduced.

[0036] Preferably, the further control device C2 for controlling the flow rate of the controllable supply pump VP is superimposed on the control device C for controlling the flow rate controlled by the flow rate valves 14. The machine control S or the further control device C2 is therefore a second-order observer that can track the flow rate in a timely and demand-oriented manner, acting as a type of energy consumption controller. This enables good adaptation to the respective temperature control power requirement for each temperature control channel 13, while at the same time the supply pump VP can be brought to an energy-efficient operating point by the observer on the higher-level machine control or the further control device C2 by specifying the manipulated variable speed and / or the supply pressure and / or the supply temperature, in which the currently required flow rate is made available for all temperature control channels 13.

[0037] The tracking of the supply pump VP is carried out using complex control algorithms (e.g. using neural networks), since the presence of many (typically 4 to 16) temperature control channels 13 in an injection mold M results in a multi-dimensional, multi-variable control system. If the observer on the machine control system or the additional control device C2 determines that the quantity control of the supply pump VP is no longer sufficient to satisfy the control requirements of the individual temperature control channels 13 (e.g. if the quantity control of the supply pump VP is constantly running at 100% and thus under full load and the individual temperature control channels 13 are constantly exceeding their target temperature), the higher-level observer on the machine control system or the additional control device C2 can also intervene in the control of the flow temperature of the temperature control supply of the subordinate individual temperature control channels.The control operating range of the higher-level observer on the machine control system or the additional control device C2 is always selected so that the temperature control system operates at an energetic optimum as far as possible. This means, for example, that the temperature control system operates with respect to pressure times volume flow in the supply line under the boundary condition that the individual temperature control channels 13 do not fall below a specified minimum flow in the return line 12 and fulfill their required control task as best as possible.

[0038] The basic principle is that many temperature control channels 13 are provided, each of which is controlled either by a single controller or as in Fig. 2 shown a common control device C independently attempt to control their specified control task with regard to either volume flow, temperature on the return line (with minimum volume flow to be maintained), temperature difference between flow and return, dissipated heat output (delta T * volume flow) by means of the actuator flow rate valve 14. The individual temperature control channels 13 are limited in their control behavior by the given boundary conditions with regard to flow supply and residual pressure in the return line by the (in principle self-sufficient) central temperature control device 18.

[0039] According to the application, in addition to the usual variables such as flow temperature and flow pressure, the central temperature control device 18 also has a control variable for the pump speed of the supply pump VP, accessible via the control system. The interaction between the pump speed, the resulting flow pressure, and the current total consumption across the individual (consumer) temperature control channels 13 enables the second-order observer on the machine control system or the additional control device C2 to calculate / control an energy-optimal operating point for the entire system, with the pump speed of the supply pump VP preferably being the main control variable.

[0040] Since there is no absolutely energy-optimal operating point in such a complex system, the control algorithms used to date are usually very complex or only cover certain narrow operating limits ("If then else" observers, neural networks, etc.). Such systems tend to oscillate, especially when a multivariable controller works against a central controller. However, the solution proposed here enables energy-efficient operation.

[0041] The design with control device C and higher-level observer in the form of the further control device C2 also has the advantage that any device can be integrated as the temperature control device 18, independently of the manufacturer and the control system.

[0042] In a preferred embodiment, the flow rate valves 14 are arranged in the temperature control channels 13 downstream of the flow through the injection mold M, in order to thereby eliminate the influence of the flow rate valves 14 on the energy balance. If a heat loss is generated at this point, which is preferably also downstream of the temperature sensors 15 and the flow meter 16, when flowing through the flow rate valves 14, this heat loss is not included in the control loop. As in Fig. 2 As shown schematically, the temperature sensors 15 are mounted downstream on the tempering channels 13 outside the injection mold M. For example, during temperature control, a minimum flow rate must be maintained on the tempering channel 13 in order not to interrupt the effective connection to the actual tempering channel 13 in the mold.

[0043] In principle, as in the supply line 11, an additional flow meter 20, a temperature sensor 21 for the return line, and a pressure sensor 23 can also be provided in the return line 12. Additional sensors, such as flow meters and temperature sensors at other points in the circuit, can also be provided. The information from these sensors can also be fed to the control device C or the additional control device C2 or the machine control system S for further use. These additional sensors enable an improvement in the stability of the additional control device C2 as an energy consumption controller while maintaining the control quality for the individual temperature control channels.

[0044] Preferably, all control lines between the sensor components and the control system, or the associated actuators such as the adjustable flow rate valves 14, are designed as analog and / or digital real-time connections and interconnected, for example, via Ethernet. This allows for precise, demand-based tracking at any time.

[0045] An example of the data connection between the parts of the entire temperature control system is shown Fig. 3Schematic diagram of a temperature control channel 13 branching off from pipe manifold 11a and opening into pipe manifold 12a, with flow rate valve 14, flow meter 16, and temperature sensor 15. All of these elements are connected to control device C via data and / or control lines 30, 31, 32. Control device C is operatively connected to further control device C2 via data line 35, and this is operatively connected to temperature control unit 18 via data line 36. Likewise, further control device C2 is operatively connected to the further sensors in flow line 11 and return line 12 via further data and control lines 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46.

[0046] According to the method, the flow temperature control of the injection mold M is operated with the described device in such a way that, first, the temperature is controlled in a known manner via flow rate valves 14 provided in each temperature control channel 13, via which the flow of temperature control medium is regulated. The device utilizes the temperature difference between the flow line 11, detected by the flow temperature sensor 17, and the return line 12 of the respective temperature control channel 13, detected by the temperature sensors 15 in the return line 12, in conjunction with the flow rate detected by the flow meters 16. From this information, the control device C can calculate the heat flow, which can be used as a reference variable for temperature control.Since the flow rate is also known via the flow meters 16, the flow rate of the adjustable supply pump VP can also be adjusted to the specific demand, which results from the flow rate controlled by the flow rate valves 14. This enables energy-efficient operation of the temperature control system.

[0047] If a temperature control medium requirement is required for volume flow control or heat quantity control, which is calculably known to the machine control system S as a result of detection by temperature sensors 15 and flow meters 16, the thus known actual volume flows through the temperature control channels 13 can preferably be summed to form a total requirement. The flow rate of the supply pump VP can be adjusted to this total requirement in an energy-efficient manner. List of reference symbols

[0048] 10 Injection molding machine 11 Feed 11a Pipe distributor feed 12 Return 12a Pipe distributor return 13 Temperature control channels 14 Flow valve 15 Temperature sensor 16 Flow meter 17 Feed temperature sensor 18 Temperature control device 19 Flow meter feed 20 Flow meter return 21 Temperature sensor return 22 Pressure sensor feed 23 Pressure sensor return 30, 31, 32 Data and / or control lines 35, 36 Data and / or control lines 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 Data and / or control lines C Control device C2 Additional control device M Injection mold F Mold clamping unit S Machine control VP Supply pump

Claims

1. An injection moulding machine (10) for processing plastics and other plasticisable materials, such as metal, ceramic and / or powder materials, comprising a device for controlled throughput temperature control of an injection mould (M), comprising - a machine controller (S), - at least one supply pump (VP) for supplying tempering medium to the injection mould (M), - a feed line (11) through which tempering medium from the supply pump (VP) reaches the injection mould (M), - a return line (12) through which tempering medium is guided away from the injection mould (M) to the supply pump (VP) at least indirectly, - a plurality of tempering channels (13) leading through the injection mould (M) and in fluidic connection with the feed line (11) and the return line (12), - a plurality of throughput quantity valves (14) for controlling the throughput quantity of the tempering medium in the respective tempering channels (13), - a plurality of temperature sensors (15) for detecting a temperature of the tempering medium in the respective tempering channels (13), - a plurality of throughput meters (16) for detecting a throughput quantity of tempering medium in the respective tempering channels (13), - wherein the controllable throughput quantity valves (14), the temperature sensors (15) and the throughput meters (16) are connected to a control device (C) that is configured for controlling and monitoring of the temperature of the tempering medium in the tempering channels (13) and is in operative connection with the machine controller (S), wherein the control of the temperature is by way of control of the throughput quantity of tempering medium in the tempering channels (13), - wherein the tempering channels (13) branch off from the feed line (11) that is common to them, in which a feed line temperature sensor (17) is provided, and - wherein the tempering channels (13) end in the return line (12) that is common to them, and characterised in that the control device (C) is in operative connection with the machine controller (S) for the purpose of adjusting the quantity conveyed by the controllable supply pump (VP) to the demand for throughput quantity controlled by the throughput quantity valves (14), and in that the machine controller (S) is configured to use complex control algorithms, in particular neural networks, to select an energy-optimised control operating range in a multidimensional multi-variable control system for adjusting the quantity conveyed by the controllable supply pump (VP).

2. A device according to Claim 1, characterised in that superposed on the control device (C) for control of the throughput quantity that is controlled by the throughput quantity valves (14) is a further control device (C2), for control of the quantity conveyed by the controllable supply pump (VP).

3. A device according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the throughput quantity valves (14) are arranged in the tempering channels downstream of the flow through the injection mould (M).

4. A device according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the control device (C), the throughput quantity valves (14), the temperature sensors (15) and the throughput meters (16) are in operative connection with one another and / or with the machine controller (S) by way of a real-time connection.

5. A method for controlled throughput temperature control of an injection mould (M) comprising a device of an injection moulding machine (10) according to one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein control of the temperature is performed by way of throughput quantity valves (14) which are provided in each tempering channel (13) and by which the throughput of tempering medium through the respective tempering channel (13) is controlled, wherein the temperature difference between feed line (11) and return line (12) of the respective tempering channel (13), and the throughput quantity in the respective tempering channel (13), are detected and together used as a command variable for controlling the temperature, characterised in that the quantity conveyed by a controllable supply pump (VP) is adjusted to the throughput quantity required for temperature control by the throughput quantity valves (14), wherein complex control algorithms, in particular neural networks, are used to select an energy-optimised control operating range in a multidimensional multi-variable control system for the purpose of adjusting the quantity conveyed by the controllable supply pump (VP).

6. A method according to Claim 5, characterised in that in the case of a demand required for volumetric flow rate control or heat quantity control that is known to the machine controller (S) from calculation as a result of detection by the temperature sensors (15) and the throughput meters (16), the consequently known actual volumetric flow rates through the tempering channels (13) are added together to give a total demand to which the quantity conveyed by the supply pump (VP) is adapted.