Injection molding machine manufacturer Engel and the peripheral equipment manufacturer Koch have jointly developed an OPC UA interface for the integration of machines for mixing and dosing thermoplastic materials on injection molding machines.

Engel and Koch enable the integration of dosing and mixing units with the injection moulding machine control unit via OPC UA.

Dosier- und Mischgeräte

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Schnittstellenbasierte Automatisierungszelle

Automatisierungstechnik

Automatisierungszellen

Spritzgießmaschinen

More Convenient Dosing and Mixing

Whether it is the cycle time, energy consumption or process stability: the levers for greater efficiency and quality in the injection molding process are many and varied. With the new performance.boost Engel offer its customers an expertise as a service for process analysis and optimization.

With its expert knowledge, the company identifies process optimization potential and provides user support during their implementation. The results include shorter cycle times, superior part quality, greater process stability, lower energy consumption or a longer machine service life

16:9

Spritzgießen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Instandhaltung

Kunststoffverarbeitung

Dienstleistungen

Lohnfertigung

Industrie 4.0 für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Industrie 4.0

Instandhaltungssoftware

Optimize Processes Efficiently with Engel performance.boost

Unforeseen downtimes in serial production are always accompanied by high costs, making it essential for machines to be serviced in time. Because sensor, transmission and data storage technology have taken a big leap forward in recent years, predictive maintenance has already been realized in some industries, demonstrating a tangible benefit of Industry 4.0. The WZL and the WBA have developed a guideline for this.

Fig. 1. The guideline for the development of predictive maintenance solutions is divided into three phases: analysis, design and implementation

Guideline to the Development of Predictive Maintenance Systems for Serial Producers and Toolmaking Companies

Industrie 4.0 für die Qualitätssicherung

Condition Monitoring / Prozessüberwachung

Werkzeug- und Formenbau

Werkzeug-, Formen- und Modellbau

Sensoren verschiedener Messverfahren

Fertigungsautomation

Sensorik / Aktorik

Fernwartung / Ferndiagnose

Machine Learning

Datenanalyse

Dienstleistungsqualität

Qualitätsmanagement

Instandhaltungsmanagement (TPM)

Vorbeugende Instandhaltung für die Qualitätssicherung

Werkzeugbau

Machine Learning für die Qualitätssicherung

Symbiosis of Toolmaking and  Serial Production

HiQ Flow is Wittmann Battenfeld’s answer to the challenge of fluctuating shot weights in injection-molded parts. The assistant system modifies the process parameters in the course of the same shot to counteract viscosity fluctuations caused by batch fluctuations in the material or by the use of regrind.

The HiQ Flow software corrects viscosity deviations during the injection and holding pressure phases within the same shot, based on the measurement values taken from the injection molding machine

Source: Wittmann Battenfeld; graphic: © Hanser

Dynamic Adjustment of Switchover Pressure and Holding Pressure to Achieve a Constant Part Weight

Steuern, Regeln

Software

No More Weight Problems

Part 2 of the series on the Plastics Innovation Center 4.0 (PIC 4.0) at RWTH Aachen describes the procedure by which industrial use cases of a Smart Factory are identified and converted into real testbeds within the PIC 4.0.

The PIC 4.0 extends the infrastructure of the Institute for Plastics Processing in Industry and Craft at RWTH Aachen University

PIC 4.0 Elaborates Holistic Solutions for Industrial Demands

Digitale Transformation

Wirtschaft

Innovationen und neue Technologie

Use Cases of Digitized Plastics Processing

Maintaining competitiveness while producing in Germany requires not only cost-efficient production, but also high-quality products. Vorwerk Elektrowerke is accepting this challenge. In collaboration with the Institute of Product Engineering at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, the company is testing a 100 % inline quality monitoring system as well as a quality prediction using machine learning.

Customers who choose the Kobold VK 200 vacuum cleaner expect top quality. To ensure this, efforts for the introduction of Industry 4.0 measures are taken in the production plant in Wuppertal, Germany

Successfully Managing Digital Transformation with Automation and Artificial Intelligence

Künstliche Intelligenz für die Qualitätssicherung

Mehrkomponenten-Spritzgießen

Kameras, intelligente

Bildverarbeitung

Machine Learning / Künstliche Intelligenz für die spanende Fertigung

Industrie 4.0 für die spanende Fertigung

Inline- / Online-Messsysteme

Qualitätssicherung

Qualitätssicherung Kunststoff

Inline Quality Monitoring and  Data-Based Quality Prediction

Because it has not yet been possible to exploit the full potential of digitization in plastics processing, the Institute for Plastics Processing at RWTH Aachen University is building a new application-oriented research infrastructure along the lines of a Smart Factory. Kunststoffe is accompanying the building of the Plastics Innovation Center 4.0 with a series of publications. Part 1 describes the concept and the initial demands on the physical infrastructure.

Visionary overall picture of the expanded IKV in future, supplemented by the Plastics Innovation Center 4.0

The Plastics Innovation Center 4.0 Is under Construction at the Campus Melaten in Aachen, Germany

Smart Factory

Energieeffizienz

Central Hub for Digitization  in Plastics Processing

Mold breathing provides useful information about the processes that occur in the mold and the cavity. Mold-maker Schneider Form and injection molding machine-maker Engel have recognized the potential which this process variable offers and have worked intensively on it for several years, albeit by adopting different approaches. They recently carried out joint tests on bumper molds using a two-platen injection molding machine with a clamping force of 40,000 kN and then swapped experiences.

Bumper molds were the focus of mold-breathing studies aimed at process optimization. The photo shows an example from the bumper portfolio of Schneider Form

Comparative Methods for Determining Mold Breathing

Energiemanagement / Smart Home

Installationstechnik

Spritzgießwerkzeuge

Werkzeuge für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Druck- / Kraftsensoren

Messtechnik

Sensoren / Messwertaufnehmer

Using Breathing Signals for  Process Optimization

The quality of injection molded parts and the process stability are still heavily dependent on the knowledge and experience of the process technician. However, the ever increasing degree of freedom creates complex interrelationships between part quality and process parameters. At K 2019, IKV and an industrial consortium will demonstrate how algorithms based on artificial intelligence can support machine operators during the process setup by using machine data and quality data.

Fully interconnected manufacturing cell with data feedback to the injection molding machine

Model-Based Process Setup by Fully Interconnected Production in Injection Molding

Beyond Human Capabilities

The announced motto for the fair was the “circular economy,” and the exhibitors are answering the call, as plastics’ tarnished image makes it imperative to scrutinize the recyclability of products. Nevertheless, the plastics trade show in Düsseldorf, Germany, has other exciting facets.

Additive manufacturing: the head of the humanoid robot Kim is assembled from individual parts, printed, sanded and screwed at the booth of the “Plastics Shape the Future” special show (© FabLab Lübeck)

Kunststoffverarbeitung allgemein

Verpackungsmittel aus Kunststoffen

Kunststoffe, synthetischer Kautschuk

Kunststoff-Erzeugung

Hilfs-und Zusatzstoffe für die Kunststoff-Industrie

Kunststoffverarbeitungsmaschinen

Kunststoff-Recycling

Automotive

Fahrzeugbau

Herstellung von Gummi und Kunststoffwaren

Kreislaufwirtschaft

What K 2019 Has to Offer in and around the Circular Economy

Smart assistance systems are paving the way for self-optimizing production. Automatic correction of quality-relevant parameters is already reality for individual phases of the injection molding process. At K 2019, Engel presented the iQ weight control with the example of a recyclate application for the first time.

With the manufacture of thin-walled sample parts, Engel presented the  iQ weight control smart assistance system at K 2019, with a recyclate application for the first time

The iQ weight control Assistance System Ensures Higher Process Stability

Werkzeuginnendrucksensoren

Messgeräte für Viskosität

Werkstoffprüfung

Kunststoff-Rezyklat

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Opening up a Broader Range of Applications for Recyclates

Munich-based mechanical engineering group KraussMaffei is repositioning itself and uniting all divisions under a single brand. At a time of accelerated technological change, the company is increasing its efforts to develop new products for digital solutions and new business models – and that includes plastics recycling.

Everything remains different: Dr. Frank Stieler, CEO of KraussMaffei

KraussMaffei Consolidates Three Divisions and the Previous Group Brands under a Single Brand

Extrusion

Doriat, Clemens, Dr.

Spritzgießmaschinen, allgemein

Nachhaltigkeit

Umweltmanagement

Ressourcenmanagement

Produktion

Compoundieren

Moving with the Times

With its Industry 4.0 solution portfolio, the Wittmann Group is receiving a positive echo in the market. This virtually extends the injection-molding machine into a smart workcell. For the near future, the company is tooling up for the demands of a circular economy – and declining demand.

Finger on the pulse with Industry 4.0 solutions: Michael Wittmann, Managing Director of the eponymous corporate group

Wittmann Continues to See Itself Well Placed as a One-Stop Supplier

Biokunststoffe

Immediately Ready for Use

The new head of the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Greater China) will be responsible for sales, service and project management.

Spritzgießmaschinen, Spritzpressen

New Vice President of Asia-Pacific Region

A consistent flow of data and information is essential for digital solutions and meaningful analytics. The introduction of potential solutions is therefore often associated with high costs for data preparation.

Exemplary information flow across several steps of the value creation process in injection molding(Work-Center-Layer)

Standardization Guarantees High Data Quality for Future Applications

Vernetzung / Cloudlösung für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

IoT-Plattformen für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

To Get the Information Flow in a Row

With the draft of the new OPC 40079 specification, the Joint Working Group of Euromap and OPC Foundation has published an Industrie 4.0-compatible interface with an extended range of functions and thus the successor standard to Euromap 67.

With the change to a software-based interface based on OPC UA, modern injection molding machines with more complex molds, extended information on parts tracking and quality as well as more precise coordination of positions can now be modelled. Furthermore, the specification offers additional functions such as simple operator login on both machines and the exchange of programs. Real-time communication to coordinate the movements of the injection molding machine and robot in such a way that collisions can be avoided and cycle times optimized without unnecessary buffer times is ensured via OPC UA’s publisher-subscriber mechanism.

The safety signals for emergency stop and protective devices remain outside the OPC UA interface. For this purpose, the draft of EUROMAP 81 was published in parallel as a reduced hardware connection.

The working group, led by Dr. Harald Weber from VDMA Plastics and Rubber Machinery, had already started developing the information model in 2015. It was always important to the group that machine operators could easily integrate and use the specification.

Publishing the specification at the draft stage gives all interested parties the opportunity to view and comment on the standard before it is finalized.

The OPC UA specifications published for plastics and rubber machinery can be found on the following websites:

http://www.euromap.org/i40 https://opcfoundation.org https://www.vdma.org/opc-ua

VDMA - Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e.V. 

https://www.vdma.org

The new OPC 40079 specification defines an Industrie 4.0-compatible interface for standardized data exchange between injection molding machine and robot

2021-11-18 Euromap

issue 04/2023

issue 03/2023

issue 02/2023

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