How do you bring 65 injection molding machines and various assembly lines – most of the manufacturing cells in the cleanroom – as well as, soon, a large number of ancillary equipment under one digital roof? A field report.

The Arburg host computer system ALS is the link between the shop floor and ERP system and connects order management with process and quality monitoring.

16:9

The Arburg Host Computer System as a Basis of Higher Productivity and Product Quality

Spritzgießen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Steuerungen (Hardware und Software)

Automatisierungstechnik

Industrie 4.0 für die Qualitätssicherung

Industrie 4.0

Doriat, Clemens, Dr.

Condition Monitoring / Prozessüberwachung

Instandhaltung

Kennzahlen, Q-Leitstand, Q-Monitor

Qualitätssicherung

Rückverfolgbarkeit, Traceability

Qualitätsmanagement

Energieeffizienz

Industrie 4.0 für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Montagelinien

Montagetechnik

Montage

Medizintechnik

Reinraumsysteme / -technik

Medizinprodukte

Case Files for Patient Safety

 At KraussMaffei’s booth, automotive door modules are produced from former caps of insulin pens. The system supplier is presenting not only the machine hardware necessary for this but also new digital solutions.

Digital solutions are an essential component of the material loop from the insulin pen cap to the car door module.

Messe K-Kunststoffmesse

kunststoffe-international.com

kunststoffe.de

Digitale Transformation

Wirtschaft

Innovationen und neue Technologie

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Spritzgießmaschinen

Kreislaufwirtschaft

From the Insulin Pen Cap to the Automotive Door Module

Three solutions for increasing the productivity in the automotive, medical and packaging industries are presented by Tederic at K 2022 with the Neo injection molding machine series. T

The Neo·Ec combines electrical and hydraulic drives.

Mehrkomponenten-Spritzgießen

Polylactid

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Thermoplaste

Spritzprägen

Applications in Three Key Sectors

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

Prozessvisualisierung

Spritzgießmaschinen, allgemein

Spritzgießsimulation

Software

Simulation

IoT-Plattformen für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

An Eye on the Process –  a Handle on Quality

iQ motion control from Engel now allows reliable early start combined with fully automatically optimized motion planning. The assistance system has been part of the standard kit of all new Engel viper-type linear robots since October 2021.

If the robot travels into the mold area already during the mold opening movement, this can shorten the cycle time. The effect is particularly large in the case of parts with long cores, such as boxes

iQ Motion Control Brings the Injection-Molding Machine and Robot Closer together

Linearroboter für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Handling, Handhabungstechnik

A Production Cell with Fluid Movements

Engel’s new “Parameter Limits” feature provides a remedy. It supports injection molders in keeping the parameters constant within a process window.

With the new Parameter Limits feature, tolerance ranges for up to 150 process parameters can be fixed directly in the machine control system for up to 150 process parameters. A change of the selected setpoint values is then only possible within the defined process window.

Simple Determination of Process Windows and Quality beyond Parameter Limits

Steuern, Regeln

Qualitätssicherung Kunststoff

Keeping Setting Parameters  under Control

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

Nachhaltigkeit

Umweltmanagement

Mess-, Steuer- und Regelgeräte

Kunststoff-Recycling

Kunststoff-Rezyklat

Harsh Realities

The iQ product family from Engel will gain a new member at K 2022. iQ hold control automatically determines the optimum holding pressure time for the particular mold with no input from the operator.

 The optimum holding pressure time is often lower than that established at the beginning. In these cases, the cycle time is shortened.

iQ hold control Determines the Optimum Holding Pressure Time

Smart Factory

Energiedatenmanagement

Holding out for Higher Quality

Dr. Boy is picking up on the main themes of K 2022 with two trade show premieres and other specific applications. One of these themes, which Boy has espoused, is the digitalization or increasing networking of the plastics industry.

The diverse elements of the Boy digitalization package.

Hybridtechnik

New Control System before the Premiere

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.

Spritzgießwerkzeuge

Werkzeuge für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Schmelzefilter

Polyethylenterephthalat

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.

Schaumspritzgießen

Biokunststoffe

Naturmaterialien

Verstärkungsstoffe

Green DC Current for the Injection Molding Machine

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.

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

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

Solar / PV

Energieerzeugung

Erneuerbare Energie

Temperiertechnik

Elastomer-Spritzgießen

Oberflächentechnik

Digitalisierung

Silikonkautschuk

Kautschuk / Elastomere

Compoundieren

It Can Be Done!

The iQ motion control assistance system from Engel optimizes the acceleration phases of mold movements and thus shortens cycle times.

The pressure to work efficiently is huge, especially in the packaging industry. The production of thin-wall containers clearly shows the potential of  iQ motion control to shorten cycle times.

iQ motion control Shortens Cycle Times in High-Performance Injection Molding

Elektrische Antriebe für Spritzgießmaschinen

Antriebe

Elektrische Antriebe

How about a Little Bit Faster?

Pharmaceutical crimp caps generally consist of a thin aluminum sheet and a plastic component, and are used to seal medical vials, for example for vaccines. Through a combined deep-drawing and backmolding process with previous inline laser treatment of the thin aluminum sheet, the process can be significantly shortened. The media-proof joining together of the two materials is carried out through a mechanically interlocking connection.

A crimp cap for injection vials is manufactured in a two-step process.

Combined Deep-Drawing and Backmolding Process with Mechanically Interlocking Joint

Aluminiumlegierungen

Metall Werkstoffe

NE-Metalle

Laserbearbeitungen

Tiefziehen

Verfahren für die spanlose Fertigung

Spritzgieß-Sonderverfahren

Simulation Stanzen / Umformen

Laserstrukturieren

Hybrid-Spritzgießen (Metall / Kunststoff)

Process Chain for the Production of Hybrid Medical Products

At Pharmapack 2023 Trelleborg Healthcare & Medical is showcasing e.g. application-specific hoses, LSR or thermoplastic injection moldings, and the production of parts using multicomponent processes.

At Pharmapack 2023 Trelleborg Healthcare & Medical presents e.g. application-specific hoses, liquid silicone rubber or thermoplastic injection moldings.

Mikrospritzgießen

Trelleborg Presents LSR Implants

Netstal presents new solutions for high-performance injection molding in Düsseldorf.

Netstal presents new solutions for high-performance injection molding in Düsseldorf. For example, an Elion 1200 all-electric machine will produce pipette tips in 64 cavities.

At the Netstal booth, the attention of visitors will be drawn by two powerful production systems. “Processors face tough competition from the challenge to increase their productivity and minimize costs per manufactured part. Short cycle times, maximum precision and high reliability of the machines are the principal levers. But the efficient use of resources is also relevant, for example minimized energy consumption or lower wall thicknesses,” says Renzo Davatz, CEO of Netstal and member of the executive committee of KraussMaffei. The appropriate solutions are at hand.

An Elion 1200 all-electric machine will produce pipette tips in 64 cavities. The system solution includes a precision mold from Otto Männer and a high-speed handling system from MA micro automation. It processes an electrically conductive compound from Premix, specially developed for manufacturing pipette tips for in vitro diagnostics. The pace is set by the energy-saving injection molding machine equipped for medical production, which achieves a cycle time of about 5.3 s, which is particularly fast for this application. The machine is equipped with the “Smart Operation” 4-key control unit (Fig.). This option allows users to achieve additional productivity increases by automation, standardization and shortening of recurring process steps in shift operation. For customers from medical technology, the regular calibration of the injection molding machines acc. to ISO 17025 is also interesting – Netstal has been an accredited calibration lab since the end of 2021.

The enhanced Elios 4500 is celebrating its trade show premiere. By conversion to an all-electric positive connection, the dry cycle could be accelerated by 0.1 s. Users not only benefit from increased productivity, but also from the optimized energy efficiency: with respect to the dry cycle, the average power consumption falls by 7 kW. Another bonus is provided by the 450 mm shorter machine length. The machine will manufacture thin-walled 150 ml yogurt cups by in-mold labeling (IML) from a certified renewable PP from Sabic. The material is based on tall oil, a waste product of paper manufacturing. One cup weighs only 6.5 g. The 12-cavity mold, like the handling system, is from IML Solutions. The cycle time is about 5 s. The in-mold labels from Verstraete are provided with digital watermarks of the HolyGrail 2.0 initiative. Codes invisible to the human eye are printed on the entire surface of the label. The machine-readable codes contain information about the contents, packaging material and origin and thus permit homogeneous separation of different types of plastic.

As a member of the OPC Foundation, Netstal is advancing the development of the OPC UA interface standards for plastic machinery. At the tradeshow booth, Netstal will present the complete ancillary integration of a manufacturing execution system from bfa solutions, temperature-control equipment from HB-Therm and Gammaflux hot runner control equipment. In addition, Netstal participates in the OPC US showcase from VDMA. All the Netstal machines exhibited at K, including those at partner booths, are integrated in the umati demonstrator. The show visitors can scan the QR codes applied to the machines with their smartphones and thus obtain information about machine, status, the current job as well as process values in real time in the umati app.

NETSTAL Maschinen AG  

https://www.netstal.com

aXos control unit with “Smart Operation:” the guided machine operation enables users to achieve additional productivity increases.

2022-10-10 - Netstal

issue 04/2023

issue 03/2023

issue 02/2023

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