This year, the world’s leading trade show K has succeeded in presenting practical solutions for greater resource efficiency on a broad front. A first foray through the trade show grounds.

K 2022 gave numerous practical examples showing visitors how recyclates can be reliably processed with digital aids.

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State-of-the-Art Injection Molding Solutions for Greater Resource Efficiency.

State-of-the-Art Injection Molding Solutions at K 2022

Spritzgießen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Doriat, Clemens, Dr.

Solar / PV

Energieerzeugung

Erneuerbare Energie

Schaumspritzgießen

Temperiertechnik

Messe K-Kunststoffmesse

kunststoffe-international.com

Mehrkomponenten-Spritzgießen

Condition Monitoring / Prozessüberwachung

Instandhaltung

Spritzgießwerkzeuge

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Werkzeuge für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Biokunststoffe

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Handling, Handhabungstechnik

Automatisierungstechnik

Elastomer-Spritzgießen

Oberflächentechnik

Energieeffizienz

Industrie 4.0 für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Industrie 4.0

Digitalisierung

Spritzgießmaschinen

Kunststoff-Rezyklat

Silikonkautschuk

Kautschuk / Elastomere

Kreislaufwirtschaft

Compoundieren

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

It Can Be Done!

PET has so far been the only packaging plastic that, as a recycled material, can be processed back into food packaging on an industrial scale.

To establish not only a bottle-to-bottle and bottle-to-cup, but also a cup-to-cup and cup-to-bottle cycle, separate material streams are needed for food and non-food packaging.

Werkstoffprüfung, mechanisch

Messtechnik

Werkstoffprüfung

Nachhaltigkeit

Umweltmanagement

Polyethylenterephthalat

Thermoplaste

The Packaging Material of the Future

Time to take stock: in what condition and with what agenda is the industry presenting itself after two-and-a-half years of a difficult climate? We have conducted a survey: insights into the dominant themes of the age.

Preview of K 2022: Kunststoffe Questionnaire on the Situation in Injection Molding Machine Construction

Steuerungen (Hardware und Software)

Steuern, Regeln

Software

Digitale Transformation

Wirtschaft

Innovationen und neue Technologie

Mess-, Steuer- und Regelgeräte

Qualitätssicherung

Qualitätssicherung Kunststoff

Kunststoff-Recycling

Harsh Realities

Interview with Korbinian Kiesl, President of Billion SAS

kunststoffe.de

“In difficult economic times, recycling is a reason to invest”

How the direct compounding opens up new potential to reduce CO2 footprint – also for smaller components thanks to a further development from KraussMaffei.

DCIM technology enables injection molding and compounding in a single heating process.

Efficiency Meets Sustainability: Systematically Reduce Costs and CO<sub>2</sub> Emissions

Extruder

Extrusionsanlagen

Cost-Effective Direct Compounding for Medium-Sized Components

At K 2022, Engel, with its partners Alpla Group, Brink and IPB Printing, is presenting a quantum leap for the packaging industry. Thin-wall containers can for the first time be produced from PET directly by injection molding in only one process step.

Fig. 1. The thin-walled containers are injection molded from rPET.

Schmelzefilter

Processing rPET by Thin-Wall  Injection Molding

Under the motto “It‘s all Wittmann”, Wittmann Battenfeld is presenting its machines and systems in the new Wittmann design for the first time.

Automation cell with SmartPlus 90 for manufacturing a spirit level.

Spritzprägen

Naturmaterialien

Verstärkungsstoffe

Green DC Current for the Injection Molding Machine

On March 24, 2022, the fourth “Forum Plastic Recyclates” event will be held as virtual conference.

The “Forum Plastic Recyclates” will host discussions on a variety of topics, including ways in which recycled plastics can be used in everyday life. The path to achieving this will be based on single-variety recyclates.

Verbände, Institutionen, Messen

Dienstleistungen

Forum Plastic Recyclates

Sumitomo (SHI) Demag continues to expand all-electric platform and extends its high-speed IntElect S series.

IntElect S all-electric high-performance injection molding machine.

Short Cycles, High Material Throughput

How in-process or downstream injection molding improves the quality of high-volume 3D-printed parts.

The mobile injection molding „Robin“ can be used as a supplement to large-volume 3D printing.

Technik Trend

Additive Fertigung

Mobile Injection Molding Complements Large-Volume 3D Printing

Direct recycling of cured thermosets as fillers in the injection molding process increases resource efficiency due to material recycling.

Recycling of sprue loss through shredding, blending with virgin material and direct recycling.

Direct Recycling of Cured Thermosets as Fillers in the Injection Molding Process

Duroplast-Spritzgießen

Duroplaste

KFZ-Zulieferer

Sprue Recycling Conserves Resources

Production systems for large molded parts can be flexibly and economically reconfigured or expanded using hot runner adapter plates.

Melt transfer from two on the side injection units of an Engel v-duo 2300 RTM into the middle of the hot runner intermediate plate mounted on the sliding table. 

Economical Solution for the Production of Thermoplastic Large-Structure Components

Normalien und Heißkanaltechnik

Komponenten für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Heißkanalsysteme

Co-Injektion (Barriere-/Sandwich-Spritzgießen)

Flexible Injection Solutions  with Adapter Plates

SPS – Industrial Automation Fair (SIAF) Guangzhou and Asiamold concluded on 3 March with an overwhelming number of visitors attending the show.

Big Turnout for SIAF and Asiamold 2023

Where the managing directors see the greatest challenges in the future.

Michael Wittmann, Managing Partner of the Wittmann Group and Managing Director of Wittmann Technology

Strategie und Organisation

Schröder, Susanne

Materialhandling

“We Need Openness in All Directions”

Phase-unifying cavity pressure control reduces process fluctuations, as shown by the example of post-consumer recyclate processing.

The PCR storage box was very popular with visitors.

Phase-Unifying Cavity Pressure Control for PCR Processing

Werkzeuginnendrucksensoren

Sensoren / Messwertaufnehmer

Laserbeschriftung

Laserbearbeitungen

Präzisionswaagen

Mechanische Messtechnik

Precise Process Control with InjectiX

Arburg presents its expertise on important topics such as sustainability, digitalization, energy efficiency and automation at the Anniversary Days.

5700 customers from 53 nations came to the Arburg Anniversary Days at the “Think Tank” in Lossburg, Germany, from 8 to 11 March 2023. Comfortable shoes were required: At the event, which is called Technology Days in other years, the exhibition area covered the entire extensive factory area – including an additional large hall, which was constructed especially for a special occasion.

The exhibition area covered the entire company: In addition to more than 50 exhibits and innovative applications, Arburg impressed with its combined expertise on important topics such as sustainability, digitalization, energy efficiency and automation.

The guests were able to experience live and in color what the family-owned company with its 100-year history is all about at the exhibits in the Customer Center, in the Efficiency Arena, in the training and service areas, in the Automation Arena, as well as during tours of the company and specialist lectures: Sustainable action, innovative ideas, forward thinking and combined expertise in resource-saving and production-efficient plastic parts manufacturing.

„Action Plan: Energy“: Advice and Retrofitting in Demand

Energy efficiency was an important theme of the Anniversary Days 2023. The new “Action Plan: Energy” is particularly interesting in this respect. This includes advice on a host of measures to help customers significantly reduce costs in injection molding production and optimize energy requirements throughout the entire production process, beyond the machine itself.

How existing machines can be energy-optimized through retrofits – for example with fully insulated cylinders, Arburg energy saving systems AES and IE3 class motors – was demonstrated in a practical manner in the service area. There, visitors were also able to find out how to quickly get a new warehouse machine via the customer portal app “Ready2Go”. Arburg can also provide documented consumption measurements for businesses that require detailed energy data for certification.

Highlight: Milestone Machine with New Technology

A hybrid Allrounder 470 H against a golden background attracted a great deal of interest in the Customer Center. The milestone machine sets the stage for a new machine technology from Arburg – it saves energy, conserves resources, is production-efficient, user-friendly and reliable all at the same time.

The technical features include a new oil management concept, flow splitting for simultaneous movements of hydraulic secondary axes and the extended use of the Arburg servo hydraulic system. With the “Comfort”, “Premium” and “Ultimate” performance variants, various injection units and a wide range of options, the new Allrounder 470 H machines can be precisely adapted to specific customer requirements.

Automation Arena: Major Interest in Turnkey Solutions

Probably the most sought-after give-away at the event was the tool box already known from the world’s leading trade fair K 2022, this time in the anniversary design. It was manufactured by a turnkey system around a hybrid Allrounder 1120 H and finished with gold Arburg lettering.

Together with its partner Zahoransky, Arburg presented an innovative turnkey solution and a new process for injection stretch blow molding in the Automation Arena: Medical vaccine containers, “vials”, are produced from crystal-clear, unbreakable COC in just one work step. The pre-molded parts were produced by a vertical Allrounder 1600 T in a special version without a rotary table. They were then transferred directly in the mold to two other stations and stretched and inflated in the process. The plan is to produce around 22 million parts a year with this system and a 16-cavity injection mold.

A turnkey system based around a hybrid Allrounder 630 H in cleanroom design was particularly sustainable and a prime example of digitally networked plastic parts production. The injection molding machine processed crystal clear recycled PET and communicated with the mold, hot runner controller, material dryer and automation via the Gestica control system and OPC UA. 32 blood vials each were produced in a cycle time of around 6.5 s, which corresponds to well over 17,000 blood vials per hour.

Another highlight was a customer project with a vertical rotary table machine Allrounder 1600 T and a total of five integrated robotic systems. Another turnkey system with two integrated Allrounders boasted a high level of autonomy of around twelve hours for pallets, intermediate layers and finished products.

An Allrounder 470 S produced dosing spoons from corn starch that dissolve in water and are compostable, while an Allrounder 320 C Golden Edition processed post-consumer recyclate obtained from used refrigerators and returned to the cycle. An invisible “tracer” was also compounded into the material, through which each part could be identified in a forgery-proof manner.

In a particularly resource-saving application for the packaging industry, special emphasis was placed on a material-saving component design and energy efficiency: An Allrounder 720 A “Ultimate” produced four thin-walled IML round cups with a wall thickness of only 0.37 mm in a cycle time of 3.95 seconds. Combining the new all-electric packaging machine with the injection compression molding process improves the energy footprint by 20 percent while significantly reducing the component weight from 13 to 10.8 g.

On the occasion of the anniversary, there was also a special event location to visit this year: the Arburg Cube. There, visitors were able to embark on a multimedia journey through the 100-year history of the Hehl family business and also enjoy culinary delights. Another special feature of the Anniversary Days 2023 was the welcoming of the 100,000th visitor to the industry event on 8 March, which has attracted thousands of customers from all over the world to Lossburg every year since 1999.

ARBURG GmbH + Co KG  

https://www.arburg.com

Automated production of the sought-after toolbox in the Anniversary Design, here after removal from the mold and embossing of the Arburg lettering.

The starch-based material periamyl dissolves within hours in water.

The new Allrounder 470 H hybrid machine (here in the “Comfort” version) is setting the stage for a new machine technology that is particularly energy-saving, resource-efficient, production efficient and user friendly.

Luciano Anceschi (center), chairman of Euromap, also attended the anniversary. Next to him (from left): Jürgen Boll, Managing Director of Finance/Controlling/IT, Michael Hehl, Managing Director and Chairman of the Managing Board, Gerhard Böhm, Managing Director for Sales/Service, Guido Frohnhaus, Managing Director for Technology.

2023-03-22 Arburg Jubiläums-Tage

Arburg traditionally looks back at the past fiscal year at a press conference during Technology Days. Correspondingly, the machine manufacturer achieved sales of EUR 875 million in 2022. That represents an increase of 19 % compared to the previous year (EUR 735 million). According to the managing board, volume growth and price increases in the ratio of 2 to 1 contributed to this leap.

In 2022, Arburg also invested a total of EUR 26 million in manufacturing technology, production logistics and infrastructure, including new welding robots and a bending center, a large 3D measuring machine and a flexible manufacturing system with five new machining centers and a driverless transport system – the latter two are still under construction.

According to its current sustainability report (2022), the company has

<ul><li>generated 1,700,000 kWh of solar power for its own use,</li><li>covered 22.7 % of its water consumption with rainwater,</li><li>recycled 87 % of its waste</li></ul>

and saved 100 million kg of CO<sub>2</sub> between 2010 and 2021

<a href="https://www.arburg.com/en/company/news-press/detail/arburg-sustainability-report-2022/" target="_blank">Link to the Sustainability Report</a>

A man needs three things: the tool case with a golden anniversary handle ...

… a plan for reducing energy costs in domestic production, and …

… a large box for transporting all the other product samples and ideas.

Both were the most widely viewed “bargains” by the 5700 visitors, as shown at the bottom right.

Also there, even if the report is restricted to injection molding topics: additive manufacturing at Arburg.

Turnkey solutions live: two machines for 16-cavity production of cans and lids, connected by an automatic capping machine.

A linear system from Zahoransky, which is mounted at the side of the mold, transfers the vaccine containers from the injection molding station to the stretch blow molding station, from which they are removed by a robot.

Complex system with a total of five robots for overmolding several automatically fed preheated inserts, followed by several optical tests and a welding process.

The left and right sides of the gear housing made from a PP-GF40 are manufactured in a 3+3-cavity mold. The long glass fibers …

… are supplied by the FDC process (fiber direct compounding) and cut into the melt.

The 2-component bottle closures, consisting of the core and seal, are injection molded in a three-station mold.

In the third station, the parts are removed from a niche with the mold closed.

The material periamyl, from which the measuring spoons are injection molded, is biodegradable, home compostable and water soluble.

On March 8, at Anniversary Days 2023, Arburg welcomed the 100,000th visitor to the industry event: Max Meier (center), Trelleborg, Switzerland, congratulated by the Managing Partner Juliane Hehl and Dr. Christoph Schumacher, head of Global Marketing.