Arburg will be showing the hybrid high-performance Hidrive series on its stand no. 21B25 in Hall 2, with an Allrounder 520 H producing 32 pipette tips in around 6 s cycle time.

The hybrid Allrounder 520 H on show at Interplastica is equipped with a 32-cavity mold and produces pipette tips in a cycle time of around 6 s.

Spritzgießen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Spritzgießmaschinen, allgemein

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Spritzgießmaschinen

High-Tech for Medical Technology

Paul Caprio has left Engel North America effective January 31st, 2022. Now the company presents the new management board.

Engel North America Management Board (left to right): Johann Dastl (CFO), Vanessa Malena (COO), Benjamin Lettner (CSO), Mark Sankovitch (CEO).

New Management Board at Engel North America

On 1 August 2022, Stalinjose Selvanayagam has taken up his position as Managing Director of the sales and service subsidiary of Engel in Mumbai.

Stalinjose Selvanayagam heads Engel‘s sales and service subsidiary in Mumbai as managing director.

16:9

Personalmanagement

Produktion

Stalinjose Selvanayagam is New Managing Director

In cars, LEDs are taking over ever more applications and are increasingly used as differentiating design elements. In order to ensure a high luminous efficiency even with complex geometries and elongated structures, Engel has developed a new plasticizing process for manufacturing light guides.

The transformation of the automobile also strongly affects the vehicle interior. Light is gaining in importance as a design element

The Principle of Starve Feeding: Injection Molding Ultrahigh Purity Light Guides

Farbmessgeräte

Messtechnik

Optische Mess- und Prüftechnik

LED / OLED-Systeme und Faseroptik

Lichttechnik

Schnecken und Plastifiziersysteme

Less Granules  Stock Means More Quality

A year to forget is nearing its completion. To brighten up this dreary fall season without a major event like Fakuma, injection molding machine builders have concocted various strategies.

Fig. 1. Ingrinder system solution: the sprue picker guides the removed sprue via vacuum conveyance to the integrated granulator

Injection Molding Machine Builders Are Discovering New Ways to Reach Their Customers

Vernetzung / Cloudlösung für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Industrie 4.0

Industrie 4.0 für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Biokunststoffe

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Nachhaltigkeit

Umweltmanagement

Schneidmühlen

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Silikonkautschuk

Kautschuk / Elastomere

What Can You Do at Fall Fairtime,  When There Aren’t Any?

Once again, the K 2019 in Düsseldorf, Germany, lived up to its claim to be the leading trade show for plastics technology. At least in the field of injection molding, there were exciting global innovations to see – if you looked closely.

Fig. 1. Smart Operation – the machine is operated with only four buttons (© KraussMaffei)

Injection Molding Trends at K 2019

Schaumspritzgießen

Smart Factory

Energieeffizienz

Mikrospritzgießen

Mehrkomponenten-Spritzgießen

Spritzgießwerkzeuge

Werkzeuge für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Fließpressen

Handling, Handhabungstechnik für die spanende Fertigung

Automatisierungstechnik

Handling, Handhabungstechnik

Spritzgieß-Sonderverfahren

Spritzgießsimulation

Software

Simulation

Elastomer-Spritzgießen

Linearroboter für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Industrieroboter

Montagetechnik

Montage-Spritzgießen

Knickarmroboter

Co-Injektion (Barriere-/Sandwich-Spritzgießen)

Hybrid-Spritzgießen (Metall / Kunststoff)

Ressourcenmanagement

Technical Excellence thanks  to Digital Assistance

The required screw diameter can be ascertained on the basis of the shot volume. The formula for the average residence time can be used to estimate the degree of utilization and the thermal load on the material.

Various shapes of plasticizing screws. The correct design is approached in several steps

Part 1 of the Series Discusses the Basic Design of a Plasticizing Unit and the Correct Choice of Injection Unit

All about Plasticizing Screws

Infrared heating technology has become established as the standard in the processing of thermoplastic composite materials. The focus is on process control. On the one hand, it is important that the heating process is fast, on the other hand, the material must not be overheated. It is also important to achieve excellent temperature homogeneity. Simultaneous processing of blanks with different thicknesses is a particular challenge.

Three organo sheets of different thickness are heated in two IR ovens in the production of a door structural part

20:7

Efficient and Precise Heating up of Thermoplastic Composites

Steuern, Regeln

Infrarotstrahler

Verbundwerkstoffe / Werkstoffverbunde

Organobleche (gewebeverstärkte Thermoplast-Halbzeuge)

Halbzeuge und Zwischenprodukte

Kunststoff-Halbzeuge

Software-Based Control of IR Ovens

To be able to carry out the practical test in a resource-saving manner, the designers use simulation tools to assess the screw geometry. What is important here is explained using a 3-zone screw as an example.

The screw geometry is finely optimized in several calculation steps until the desired result is achieved. Subsequently, test screws are manufactured in original size and tested in practical tests with various material types

Part 2 of the Series Deals with Basic Methods for Evaluating a Screw Geometry

The new injection-molding machine Engel duo speed combines productivity and efficiency with short cycle times in a high clamping force range. The two-platen machine is thus making inroads into a range of packaging applications that were formerly the domain of toggle machines.

If you want a somewhat larger sized pail: the duo speed large machine was developed specifically for manufacturing pails and transport boxes

Engel Duo Speed Expands the Machine Portfolio for Packaging Applications

High-Speed Machine with a  Small Footprint

In the second part of the series, calculations were carried out on the throughput behaviour, pressure build-up capacity and the melting process on the basis of an exemplary geometry. These results are now to be examined in more detail and subsequently optimized.

Through empirical tests and simulation-supported test series, a screw can be designed in a tailor-made manner for the respective application 

Part 3 of the Series Deals with the Tests to Optimize the Screw Geometry

iQ process observer, the new process monitoring platform from Engel monitors hundreds of parameters from the injection molding cell in the background.

The injection molder is truly not a friend of changes – if they occur in the running process. The iQ process observer helps him to keep an eye on the process and thus keep a handle on the quality

A Process Monitoring Platform Monitors Several Hundred Parameters Simultaneously

Steuerungen (Hardware und Software)

Industrie 4.0 für die Qualitätssicherung

Prozessvisualisierung

Condition Monitoring / Prozessüberwachung

Instandhaltung

IoT-Plattformen für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

An Eye on the Process –  a Handle on Quality

The area of application of cube molds has expanded to take in the production of technical parts. The new Allrounder Cube 1800 from Arburg with a clamping force of 1800 kN is providing the response to this trend. With its compact cube, this machine completes the portfolio of products at the lower end of the range.

At the heart of the cube machine is a compact cube designed by our partner Foboha which can be easily accessed from above. The rotation of the cube is powered servo-electrically and the horizontal movement relies on rack and pinion mechanisms

Arburg Expands Hybrid Cube Series

After a year’s forced break of Fakuma, Wittmann Battenfeld is announcing the new servohydraulic SmartPlus machine as the highlight of this year’s trade show. It is claimed to be characterized by high economic and energy efficiency and repeat accuracy.

The new SmartPlus machine is equipped with the HiQ Flow software and the CMS Light condition monitoring system

Messe Fakuma

kunststoffe-international.com

Spritzprägen

Injection Molding Innovations In-House, Live and in Color

Emilio López has been appointed as the new managing director of Engel de Mexico SA de CV. He succeeds Peter Auinger, who retired on 1st September 2021.

Emilio López is the new managing director of Engel de Mexico SA de CV

New Managing Director in Mexico

From 25 to 28 January, the OOO Engel team presents its booth in Moscow again. The injection molding machine manufacturer and system solution provider headquartered in Austria is making the huge potential of digital solutions tangible by producing technical parts live on a tie-bar-less victory injection molding machine.

From 25 to 28 January, the OOO Engel team presents its innovations in Moscow again: Hall 2.1, booth B23. The injection molding machine manufacturer and system solution provider headquartered in Austria is making the huge potential of digital solutions tangible by producing technical parts live on a tie-bar-less victory injection molding machine.

Parts with strict requirements are being produced on a tie-bar-less Engel victory 80 injection molding machine during the four days of the fair. Three smart assistance systems from the company’s inject 4.0 program ensure very high production efficiency accompanied by consistently high product quality: iQ weight control, iQ clamp control and iQ melt control.

Compensating for Fluctuations in the Raw Material in Real-Time

In each individual cycle, iQ weight control analyses the pressure and speed profile during the injection phase and compares the measured values with a reference profile. The injection profile, the switchover point and the holding pressure are automatically adjusted to the current conditions. This means that fluctuations in the raw material and ambient conditions are automatically detected and rejects are proactively prevented.

iQ clamp control determines the optimum clamping force for the injection molding process in question on the basis of mold breathing. In many cases, overmolding and flash can therefore be reliably ruled out. On top of this, mold venting is improved and the mechanical load on the mold is reduced.

The third smart assistance system in this team is iQ melt control, which optimizes the plasticizing process. The software determines the optimum plasticizing time for the application in question. Instead of plasticizing at the maximum possible speed, the system fully leverages the part’s in-mold cooling time for the plasticizing movement. This leads to improved melt homogeneity and is gentle on both the screw and the material, which in turn improves product quality.

Intelligent assistance is an essential characteristic of a smart factory. “The smart assistance systems help to leverage the full potential of the injection molding machine,” says Waldemar Birkle, the Managing Director of OOO Engel in Moscow. The modular approach of its inject 4.0 program makes it very easy for plastics processors to grasp the opportunities which digitalization presents. “Even individual solutions such as the iQ products promise considerable benefits,” says Birkle. “And it is thanks to these same solutions that the first steps towards the smart factory are being taken on many shop floors.”

In terms of design, too, the victory injection molding machine presented at Interplastica 2022 pulls out all the stops for impressive process consistency. The tie-bar-less clamping unit maintains the outstanding parallelism of the mold mounting platens during clamping force build-up and injection. At the same time, the force dividers distribute the clamping force evenly over the mold mounting platens.

Because there are no tie bars in the way, the mold mounting platens can be fully used up to their very edges. This means that very large molds, such as multi-cavity molds or molds with core-pulls, fit on relatively small injection molding machines. This keeps both capital expenditure and operating costs low while enabling compact production cells. Further benefits of tie-bar-less technology include fast mold setup processes and efficient automation solutions.

In the field of technical molding, the tie-bar-less victory injection molding machines are the preferred machine type, as stated in a press release. Well over 1000 tie-bar-less Engel victory machines are currently in use in Russia and Belarus.

Live on Site and Virtual at the Same Time

Personal contacts and face-to-face events always have been and always will be important – as was confirmed by the first face-to-face events after more than a year of the Corona pandemic. Even though the pandemic has shown in the past few months that digital formats work very well, and even offer advantages in certain areas. “The future is hybrid,” Waldemar Birkle is convinced. He invites all customers, partners and interested parties to additionally visit Engel’s virtual world. More than 20 machine exhibits with many challenging applications are waiting to be explored in the virtual showroom. Beyond this, there are technical presentations, business talks and virtual tours of the company’s Austrian production plants. All content on the platform is available at all times, unaffected by travel restrictions and time zones.

Engel’s virtual world: <a href="https://www.engelglobal.com/en/uk/engel-live-e-xperience.html">www.engelglobal.com/virtual-world</a>

ENGEL Austria GmbH  

https://www.engelglobal.com

Without iQ weight control on the left, and with iQ weight control on the right: the software automatically detects changes in the raw material and automatically compensates for them within the same cycle.

More than 20 machine exhibits and many challenging applications are available in the showroom to visitors of Engel’s virtual world.

Engel victory injection molding machines with tie-bar-less clamping units.