In food packaging, the trend has been toward increasingly thinner walls and higher outputs. To accommodate this trend,

nozzles must be able to withstand increasingly higher pressures. As parts become thinner in technical applications and thinwall packaging there has been a need to apply much higher pressures to machine and hot runner systems.

The current industry average for injection pressures is between 25000 psi to 30000 psi, but nozzles with higher injection pressures are available. However, higher pressures mean a greater need for increased wear resistance. This can be achieved through altering design, construction, dimensions or materials. For instance, a valve gate using three separate alloys—a wear-resistant material to handle internal abrasion, a thermally conducive material on the outside and another more robust material on the outside to avoid harming the seal.