an injection molding system is disclosed . the system includes a multiple valve gated nozzle . the flow through each valve gate is determined by individually operated valve pins . each valve pin is independently controlled by a separate actuation unit . in order to achieve a tight pitch between the valve pins , the actuation units are placed in a stacked configuration , with the valve pin controlled by the upper actuation unit passing through the lower actuation unit . the valve pin of the lower actuation unit is offset from a center of the upper actuation unit to allow for the unimpeded passage of the valve pin from the upper actuation unit through the lower actuation unit .