Automotive supplier Coko produces four structural parts and twelve visible parts for a truck driver’s cab on a fully automated injection molding line.

Dominick Sudeck (left), Global Process Management, and Sascha Böning, Industrial Engineering, in front of the production cell’s complex handling system.

16:9

Coko Manufactures Different Automotive Parts on a Single Turnkey System

Automatisierungszellen

Automatisierungstechnik

Spritzgießen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Automatisierungskomponenten

Inserttechnik

Montagetechnik

Industrieroboter

Multiaxialroboter für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Handling, Handhabungstechnik

Industrieroboter klein

Montageeinrichtungen

KFZ-Zulieferer

Dienstleistungen

Sixteen in One Go

Pipette tips are small and relatively simple components that are now in high demand. One might think  producing large quantities of these products is a simple task. It is not. The requested high quality can only be reached by using complex automation. To meet these challenging requirements, MA micro automation has developed a modular solution: Centauri IVD.

The Centauri IVD production system can be adapted to meet specific pipette tip manufacturing requirements.

Automated High Volume Consumables Production

Medizinprodukte

Medizintechnik

Prozessautomation

From Tool to Blister

Sanner and automation specialist MA micro automation create attractive conditions even for smaller batch sizes.

Final inspection of the finished test cartridges. Thanks to the cooperation of Sanner and MA micro automation, various design and labeling requirements can be realized.

Sanner and MA micro automation Bring Rapid Test Production Back to Europe

Montagelinien

Montage

Reinraumsysteme / -technik

Too Fast for the Human Eye

Injection molding cell combines high article variance with automated product changeover.

With the turnkey solution, 159 product variants can be manufactured.

Flexible Production Concept Combines High Article Variance with Automation

Mehrkomponenten-Spritzgießen

Spritzgießwerkzeuge

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Werkzeuge für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Linearroboter für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

One System, 159 Variants

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

Hybridtechnik

Aluminiumlegierungen

Metall Werkstoffe

NE-Metalle

Laserbearbeitungen

Oberflächentechnik

Tiefziehen

Verfahren für die spanlose Fertigung

Spritzgieß-Sonderverfahren

Simulation Stanzen / Umformen

Software

Simulation

Laserstrukturieren

Hybrid-Spritzgießen (Metall / Kunststoff)

Process Chain for the Production of Hybrid Medical Products

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.

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

Steuerungen (Hardware und Software)

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

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

Spritzgießmaschinen

Kreislaufwirtschaft

From the Insulin Pen Cap to the Automotive Door Module

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

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

Fast, Precise and Networked

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.

Polylactid

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Thermoplaste

Spritzprägen

Applications in Three Key Sectors

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

Space-saving machine concepts for demanding production environments are booming. A real-life example of a slit micro-membrane for pharmaceutical glass vials shows how intelligent machine functions make an important contribution to supporting machine operators and continuous documentation of the production process.

Injection molding and slitting of an LSR membrane for a glass-vial closure for pharmaceutical products make high demands on precision

KraussMaffei Delivers a Customized Solution for LSR Processing

Silikonkautschuk

Kautschuk / Elastomere

Transparency in Production

The sensor technology specialist elobau claims a vertical integration of 90 percent – above average for the industry.

The individual gripper can pick up the separated magnets of both variants and insert them into the mold with the correct pole position.

 Flexible Turnkey System for Magnet-Equipped Nano Push Button Switches  at elobau

Magnetsensoren

Messtechnik

Sensoren / Messwertaufnehmer

Overmolding in Correct Polarity

"The right material in the right place" is the maxim of the multimaterial design. A lack of economical production methods has so far prevented commercialization at current batch sizes. To overcome this obstacle, a modular control and production plant concept was developed and demonstrated in the MoPaHyb collaborative project. 

Development of a Production Plant for Hybrid Fiber Composite Components 

Faserverarbeitung

Modular Thinking 

A special packaging version of two hybrid Hidrive Allrounders were demonstrated at Campetella Robotic Calling in October and November 2020 in Montecassiano, Italy, in a live presentation.

Great interest was shown at the Campetella Robotic Calling event. In October and November 2020, roughly 400 trade visitors took the opportunity to experience the production-efficient injection moulding of thin-wall items in a live presentation

Spritzgießmaschinen, Spritzpressen

Kunststoffverarbeitungsmaschinen

Innovative Packaging Applications at Campetella Robotics Calling

For the production of plastic components for an automotive air suspension system, LKH Kunststoffwerk Heiligenroth GmbH & Co. KG uses two flexible systems from the injection molding machines manufacturer Arburg. These produce up to six part variants and, thanks to an integrated laser station, each part is traceable via an individual data matrix code (DM code).

The gripper of the six-axis robot first removes the finished parts from one of the mold halves. It then places the pre-heated inserts into the opposite mold half

LKH Produces Fully Automated Traceable Part Variants for the Automotive Industry

Laserbeschriftung

Light Suspension

Before Covid 19, some 65 % of pipette tips were used without filter, but meanwhile, a majority of pipette tips now has filters. What does this mean for manufacturers?

It is no secret that the demand for pipette tips and other disposable laboratory products has increased exponentially during the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition to the enormously increased production rates, there is also a trend towards high-grade pipette tips. This is partly due to the new regulatory requirements in the medical field, and partly due to the increasingly automated testing procedures in laboratories. Consequently, the demands on quality and precision of the pipette tip have grown enormously.

Pipette tips with filters are the answer, because the filters protects the pipettes and samples from unintentional and unnoticed contamination, thereby ensuring sample integrity. Before Covid 19, some 65 % of pipette tips were used without filter, but meanwhile, a majority of pipette tips now has filters – the prognosis for 2025 predicts a clear trend towards filtered tips. What does this mean for manufacturers? Increased production capacity with simultaneous quality optimization of the pipette tip is essential. Therefore, automation of the filter assembly operation is practically a must.

In terms of automated singulation, feeding, and assembly of filters in the pipette tips, Hekuma occupies a leading market position according to own claims. Already in 2013, the company applied for a patent for the assembly unit, which meanwhile has been further optimized. As a result, and thanks to its “Hekutip filter 2.0”, the specialist company for high-performance automation has managed to cut the cycle time from feeding the filters (bulk goods) to singulation and up to assembly in the pipette tips to 3.5 s from previously 5s. This achievement is also due to the fact that the system works completely without sorting bowls and hoses.

Working in parallel, the assembly system can process up to 96 filters per cycle, i. e. more than 1600 pipette tips per minute. According to Hekuma, and apart from the significant increase in speed and thereby productivity, the system’s low space requirements are a major benefit, particularly when considering its high performance.

Critics argue that the additional process step of filter assembly will increase the risk of rejects. Indeed, several points must be observed when fitting filters to pipette tips. For example, the pipette tip can be damaged if filter size or assembly force are too high. Conversely, there is a risk of contamination in case of too small filters or insufficient assembly force. Therefore, damage-free assembly with precise positioning of the filter is essential. An automated process with mechanical force application can ensure this more reliably and better than manual assembly.

However, Hekuma’s learning curve has shown that also the filter quality plays a decisive role. For fault-free processing with the automation system, the filter must be free of dust and burrs, undamaged, rectangular, and dimensionally accurate. Only in this way can qualitatively high-quality filtered pipette tips be guaranteed. Perfect product quality of the Hekutip filter is verified by testing for completeness and precise filter positioning.

The assembly system is a veritable allrounder. It is able to process all types of filters, whether flat or upright versions. Specifically, the Hekuma systems have already been used to assemble filters with diameters of 1.5 up to 5.7 mm in pipette tips with a volume of 25 to 1000 µl, and the filtered tips placed in rack and also in trays. The special feature hereby is that in case of a product change, the operators must only replace three format parts.

Depending on plant concept, the cycle time can also be configured from 3.5 s to 5 or 18 s – according to requirements and the customer’s budget. This is because the need for filtered pipette tips obviously also depends on the manufacturer’s general production capacity as well as storage volume for the pipette tips, and should be adapted accordingly. Consequently, Hekuma’s filter assembly can be operated as a stand-alone system or be integrated as a module in an existing or planned overall automation system. Also here, Hekuma’s “Hekutip vision” and “cav” concepts permit the supply of a complete handling chain – starting with removal of the pipette tips from the injection molder, and up to packaging. The assembly cell can also be combined with other systems.

Hekuma intends to demonstrate the system live at the Fakuma. Hereby, and for the first time, Hekuma will also be present together with the new parent company Teamtechnik, a specialist for assembly and function testing equipment.

<b>Fakuma booth: Hall A7, booth 7202–2</b>

HEKUMA GmbH  

https://www.hekuma.com

All types of filter can be processed by the assembly system

Filters on the pipette tips protect the pipettes and samples from unintentional and unnoticed contamination – especially with automated laboratory tests