ENGEL at Plast 2015 in Milan

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1 ENGEL at Plast 2015 in Milan Schwertberg/Austria March 2015 With highly integrated and automated system solutions from a single source ENGEL increases product quality, manufacturing efficiency and thus its customers' competitiveness. The injection moulding machine manufacturer and system supplier will demonstrate how this can be translated to practice with five innovative applications at PLAST 2015 in Milan, Italy from 5th to 9th May. Double technology integration opens new vistas of quality The trend of process integration as a path to greater efficiency, safety and quality is well established. Now it is necessary to adopt a more diversified stance. The object is no longer simply to integrate process steps upstream or downstream of injection moulding, but also to combine different process technologies with one another. To produce centre console components in PC-ABS at its trade show stand, ENGEL will be using an ENGEL duo 2550/550 injection moulding machine with integrated ENGEL viper 20 robot to combine two technologies: ENGEL foammelt, the MuCell foam injection moulding process developed by Trexel of Wilmington in the USA, and ENGEL variomelt, a variothermal injection moulding process on the basis of Roctool technologies (Le Bourget du Lac, France). The double technology integration enables the production of thin-walled parts with very high quality surfaces and excellent fine structure reproduction at the same time in a single injection moulding step. To demonstrate the versatility of this amalgamation of processes, the sample part will have varying wall thicknesses and surface structures. Thanks to ENGEL foammelt the cavity, including the undercuts, is completely filled, and the component has no sink marks after cooling; meanwhile variothermal temperature control provides a high gloss finish without weld lines. Efficient solution for the highest design requirements In cooperation with its customer Wegaplast (Toscanella di Dozza, Italien), ENGEL has been developed a production process for designobjects, also using variothermal injection 1

2 moulding technology. In this application HB-Therm (St. Gallen, Switzerland) is the partner for heating and cooling. The little trees out of PC-ABS with a high-gloss piano black finish make a good figure whether as a doorstop, bookend, or smartphone holder for battery recharging. The objects have been designed by Francesca Acciardi, who has been awarded with a prize from the ISIA Design Institute in Faenza, Italy. During the trade show a tie-bar-less ENGEL victory 330/80 tech injection moulding machine and an ENGEL viper 6 robot to will be used. For controlling the whole injection moulding process centrally via the CC300 control panel of the injection moulding machine, HB-Therm s switching unit Vario-5 will be integrated using an interface. The tie-bar-less clamping unit of the ENGEL victory injection moulding machine further contribute to a high overall efficiency. Since the mould mounting platens can be used to the hilt, the relatively large mould can be mounted on a small injection moulding machine, resulting in a compact manufacturing cell and low operating costs. The ENGEL victory tech on show at Plast 2015 will feature the ENGEL ecodrive servohydraulic system. With ecodrive, the energy consumption of hydraulic drives is reduced by up to 70 %, depending on machine type and application. Highest performance with maximum energy efficiency 500 ml food containers will be produced on an all-electric ENGEL e-motion 440/160 featuring a 2-cavity mould by Glaroform (Näfels, Switzerland). In-mould labelling (IML) will be used to decorate the packaging; to do this, ENGEL will collaborate with partner company BECK automation (Oberengstringen, Switzerland). The steady enhancement of the ENGEL e-motion series is serving to establish the machines in the field of high performance applications for the packaging industry. The newest machine generation is able to achieve cycle times of well under three seconds and injection speeds of more than 500 mm per second, thereby combining maximum performance with maximum energy efficiency. The closed system for toggle lever and spindle always guarantees optimal, clean lubrication of all moving machine components. This makes the ENGEL e-motion the preferred machine type even in regulated areas such as food packaging production. 2

3 Higher productivity per square metre of production space Using the example of a medical technology application ENGEL demonstrates how maximum efficiency can be reconciled with maximum process reliability. An all-electric ENGEL e-mac 440/100 injection moulding machine will be manufacturing polystyrene needle holders for safety hypodermics using a 16-cavity precision mould by Fostag, Stein am Rhein, Switzerland. The ENGEL e-mac injection moulding machines provide extremely high repeatability, and reduced cycle times with parallel movement of the different drive axes. From injecting and metering to mould and ejector movements, all drives in the ENGEL e-mac are servo-electric. This guarantees the best possible precision and process stability while maximizing the effectiveness of the machine as a whole. The drives are operated by a modern axis system solution involving a stabilised intermediate circuit in which the braking energy is recovered and fed back into the grid, thereby achieving very high energy efficiency. The ENGEL e-mac achieves a very high acceleration of up to 20 m/s² on the injection axis. Another benefit is the compact size of the ENGEL e-mac machines which provides space-saving solutions. As a result, the productivity per square foot of production space increases, which has become a key figure for efficiency in an increasing number of businesses. Efficient use of LIM multi-component processes The main demands as regards the processing of liquid silicone (LSR) are that it must be fully automatic, waste-free, low in burrs and require no reworking. An ENGEL e-victory 200H/80W/120 combi injection moulding machine automated with an ENGEL viper 20 linear robot will impressively show that ENGEL system solutions not only meet these requirements fully, but also handle LIM multi-component processes securely and efficiently. A mould provided by ACH solution (Fischlham, Austria) will be used to produce sensor housings for flow measurement with integrated seals. ENGEL can guarantee maximum precision by using servo-powered injection units. The shot weight is 0,04 g per part, i.e. a total of 0,16 g. Normally the LSR field requires special solutions where very small injection unit volumes are involved. In this case ENGEL meet that need with a standard unit. For dosing the LSR, mini-pumps with 1 litre cartridges are used. They work inside the machine's safety gate without needing extra space. Developed and patented by ENGEL, iq weight control software applied in the system recognises and automatically compensates for fluctuations in melt quantity during the actual injection process. 3

4 The tie-bar-less technology of the ENGEL e-victory machine also makes a decisive contribution to high process stability in this application, while the patented force divider evenly introduces force to the mould across the platen face. Both outer and inner cavities are thereby kept closed with precisely identical force, significantly reducing mould wear and raising product quality. On top of this, free access to the tie-bar-less machine's mould area facilitates the most effective automation concepts. ENGEL at PLAST 2015: Hall 24, Stand B81/C82 ENGEL will be using an ENGEL duo large-scale machine to integrate two different process technologies: ENGEL foammelt and ENGEL variomelt. This results in very high quality surfaces and excellent reproduction of fine structures. Art for many purposes: the designobject being produced on an ENGEL victory machine makes a good figure whether as a doorstop, bookend, or smartphone holder. 4

5 All-electric ENGEL e-motion machines are being used for more and more high performance applications in the packaging industry. With its compact size, the ENGEL e-mac machines provide space-saving solutions. The tie-bar-less clamping unit of the ENGEL e-victory injeciton moulding machine makes a decisive contribution to high process stability. Pictures: ENGEL 5

6 ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH ENGEL is one of the globally leading manufacturers of plastics processing machines. Today, the ENGEL Group offers a full range of technology modules for plastics processing as a single source supplier: Injection moulding machines for thermoplastics and elastomers, and automation, with the assurance that individual components are also competitive and successful in the world markets. With nine production plants in Europe, North America and Asia (China, Korea), subsidiaries and representatives in over 85 countries, ENGEL offers its customers the optimal global support they need to compete and succeed with new technologies and leading-edge production systems. Contact for journalists: Birgit Degwerth, Group Marketing Director, ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH, Ludwig-Engel-Straße 1, A-4311 Schwertberg/Austria, Tel.: +43 (0)50/ , Fax: -3009, birgit.degwerth@engel.at Susanne Zinckgraf, Manager Public Relations, ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH, Ludwig-Engel-Straße 1, A-4311 Schwertberg/Austria PR-Office: Theodor-Heuss-Str. 85, D Neustadt/Germany, Tel.: +49 (0)6327/ , Fax: -03, susanne.zinckgraf@engel.at Contact for readers: ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH, Ludwig-Engel-Straße 1, A-4311 Schwertberg/Austria, Tel.: +43 (0)50/620-0, Fax: -3009, sales@engel.at 6