Injection Moulding Asia Machinery
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“Intelligent” solutions for the industry
A number of challenges in the industry could be solved with the aid of automation and robotisation. This will be underscored in this year’s PlastMilan exhibition in May, with exhibitors showcasing a good deal of Italian technology collaborations that explore into manufacturing complex processes and managing them in the most cost and energyefficient way. New solutions to be introduced lastic Metal will introduce its Mulitpower hybrid machine said to optimise energy efficiency and savings. Available in clamping forces of 50-800 tonnes, the series combines electrical and hydraulic technology, which when applied to machines with substantial closing force provide moulding precision and repeatability, says the firm. Its electrically operated functions include clamp closing/opening and screw rotation; while its hydraulically operated functions include injection movements, carriage back/forward and ejection. The high-speed Multipower is suited for thinwall moulding in the packaging sector and normal moulding applications. Compared to similarsized hydraulic machines, the firm says its Multipower machine can realise energy savings from 35% to 40%. The company says it first developed a hybrid machine in 2003 and has been working since then to improve its technology. Plastic Metal will have four Multipower machines on display: a 50-tonne machine equipped with a fourcavity mould, including a robot and packing machine, producing cutlery; a 120-tonne machine to be shown producing cups while a 220-tonne machine with a 32cavity mould will be moulding caps and a fourth 500tonne, two-cavity machine will be moulding a food container. All the machines will be equipped with conveyor belts and accessories provided by Flli Virginio of the NPM Group.
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Sacmi will have a shuttle service to its facility in Imola where visitors can have a look at its latest 220-tonne IPS for producing PET preforms
Sacmi will display its newly developed Injection Preform System (IPS) for moulding PET preforms. Currently, the machine is available in a 48-cavity version with a clamping force of 220 tonnes, while a 300-tonne, 72-cavity model is under development. During the ejection phase, a robot, fully integrated on the machine will pick up the preforms with a three-station gripper and allow post-cooling prior to unloading, thus helping prevent damage that can occur when preforms are handled before they’re fully cooled. Another key feature is the new linear motor that drives the gripper, allowing the recovery of braking energy during the deceleration phase. The toggle system and mobile platen that make up the mould clamping unit are hydraulically controlled and have been designed using FEM structural analysis to optimise mechanical inertia. The injection unit consists of a cylinder with a pelletising screw, guided by an electric motor and a shooting pot, controlled by a servo-valve. Another key characteristic is flexibility as the overall time needed for mechanical changeover of the mould, including automatic plate offloading, is less than an hour. The model will be fully operational throughout the fair and will be equipped with a Sacmi-made mould. Sacmi will showcase the IPS, along with the CCM, its compression machine for cap making. Energy and floor saving options egri Bossi, a company of Sacmi Group, will present its electric Vesta series. The 170-tonne model will be equipped with a three-axis SY 100 cartesian robot from Sytrama and a 52-cavity mould demonstrating the production of impact-resistant PS cappuccino spoons. Also on the show will be the Janus 220 E SE hybrid press with a four-cavity mould shown producing disposable PS cups. Both machines will have robots to pick the pieces in the moulding zone and deposit them beyond the press. The firm will also show its compact EOS series
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Plastic Metal will have four displays including a 500-tonne machine to be shown producing food containers using a two-cavity mould by Otto Hofstetter from Switzerland
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Injection Moulding Asia preview
that cuts up to 3.5 m of floor space needed, compared to previous models. Other features are the lack of lubrication, ensuring mould zone cleanliness, making the machine ideal for biomedical, food and pharmaceutical industries. To be presented are the EOS 65 with a cap-making mould and EOS 80 LR (liquid silicone) for the moulding of feeding bottle teats. In the traditional machine arena, the company will show its Canbio 430 SE hydraulic machine with a long cycle of 75 seconds and savings of up to 45%. Proposed here with a single-cavity mould for flower vase production, the press will feature gas-assisted moulding technology. Another model, Vector 650 SE, will be shown for the automotive sector. Equipped with a two-cavity mould, it will be making PC-ABS car headlight bodies for sportsstyle racing cars in a 60-second cycle. Finally, the firm will display its Bi-Power series with a VH 1300 1,300-tonne pallet-making press equipped with a three-axis Cartesian robot. Features include the reduced cycle time of over half a minute. Car company FIAT recently purchased its tenth Bi-Power unit, with a clamping force of 3500 tonnes, for the production of car and industrial vehicle instrument panels and dashboards.
Machinery
in a single machine in one step. Developed by Engel, the machine has a two-chamber mould. In the first chamber, the PC/ABS alloy rigid support structure of the dashboard is injected. After the rotation of the mould, the TPE soft-touch layer is injected and subsequently expanded by using MuCell foam moulding. All the materials are supplied by Softer. Auxiliary equipment ot runner specialist Thermoplay has developed a new plate movement system that provides advantages of a moving plate. Traditionally, the needle of the shut-off nozzles is activated by a number of pneumatic, hydraulic and electrical actuators (one for each nozzle). This technique lets the user set the “closed needle” position separately in each cavity. However, housing multiple fluid actuators and the supply and conditioning ducts inside a mould is often complex and , in some cases, does not satisfy specific sterility requirements in medical applications and clean rooms. The new system has a compact-sized shut-off system and a mechanical drive that allows for less distance between the cavities of the mould whilst maintaining the advantages of the movement systems used today. A device can be installed in the system, allowing each needle to be decoupled from the moving plate and simultaneously, the Thermoplay has introduced a closed needle position can be mechanical drive for shut-off blocked, which is necessary systems on a single plate with if the flow of plastic material separate adjustment has to be locked in one or more cavities. This device incorporates a micrometric adjustment of the pin position. Drive and control technology specialist Bosch Rexroth will present its variable-speed pressure and flow control system. The firm says its Sytronix DFEn 5000 can reduce energy consumption from 30% to 80%. Based on the proven DFE pressure and flow control system, the new system is said to provide an economical solution for controlling oil volume and pressure. Star Automation will present its latest robots in the ES, LX and FX series. The robots are said to provide shorter opening mould times, less machine downtime and maintenance, low power consumption and low cost of ownership. The FX 1500, for instance, supports 300-850-tonne machinery and a payload of 10 kg. It also has a 2,500 mm traverse stroke, 1,300 mm crosswise stroke and 1,500 mm vertical stroke, enabling a mould open cycle time of 0.5 seconds and dry cycle time of 4 seconds.
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New system for soft-touch car interiors recently commissioned system for the production of automotive soft-touch interior parts will be presented by four companies: Austrian machine maker Engel, Swiss mould maker Georg Kaufmann, Italian automotive components maker Sole and Italian compounder Softer. Having passed tests, four panels produced using the Dophin technology will be installed in the cabin of the Daimler-manufactured Mercedes-Benz Actros truck. These panels make up a 2 m-dashboard, including the lower part with fold-away drawers in two colours.
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Panels produced using the Dolphin technology will be installed in the new Mercedes-Benz Actros truck
The main element of Dolphin is the production system. Unlike traditional production systems of softtouch panels, with separate production of the various parts (rigid substrate, soft surface layer) and the subsequent assembly by means of PU foam to weld the two elements, in Dolphin’s, the production takes place 4 M ay 2 0 1 2
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