Producing centrifuge tubes for medical technology by the single-step IML process slashes reject rates, compared with the classic two-step counterpart.

Thanks to functional IML labels, the centrifuge tubes can have a filling scale and temperature-sensitive elements, for example. The latter use a color change to indicate when the cold chain has been breached.

16:9

Bedrucken

Oberflächentechnik

Chemisches Bearbeiten (Auftragen)

Automatisierungszellen

Automatisierungstechnik

Spritzgießen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Doriat, Clemens, Dr.

Labeling

Fertigungsautomation

Identtechnik

Folientechnik (IMD, IML, FIM, u.a.)

Spritzgießwerkzeuge

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Werkzeuge für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Linearroboter für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Handling, Handhabungstechnik

Optische Mess- und Prüftechnik

Messtechnik

Medizintechnik

Medizinprodukte

Putting an End to Rejects

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

Automatisierungskomponenten

Inserttechnik

Multiaxialroboter für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

One System, 159 Variants

The Vollmann Group manufactures the safety-relevant kinematic levers for seat adjustment in the passenger compartment by overmolding metal inserts. Arburg acted as system supplier for the plant with three robots and a preheating and cooling station

Three robots work closely together to sort and insert the metal inserts and to remove the overmolded levers and stack them in SLCs.

Hybrid-Spritzgießen (Metall / Kunststoff)

KFZ-Zulieferer

Dienstleistungen

Turning the Lever

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

Spritzgießmaschinen, allgemein

Spritzgießmaschinen

Fließpressen

Handling, Handhabungstechnik für die spanende Fertigung

Spritzgieß-Sonderverfahren

Spritzgießsimulation

Software

Simulation

Elastomer-Spritzgießen

Industrieroboter

Montagetechnik

Industrie 4.0 für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Industrie 4.0

Montage-Spritzgießen

Knickarmroboter

Co-Injektion (Barriere-/Sandwich-Spritzgießen)

Ressourcenmanagement

Produktion

Technical Excellence thanks  to Digital Assistance

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

Laserbearbeitungen

Light Suspension

NP Germany’s turnkey system around a vertical Arburg injection molding machine takes up a quarter of the production hall.

Benedikt Niglis, head of project (left), and Plant Manager Mario von der Heyde are more than proud of their complex turnkey system

NP Germany: Extraordinary Turnkey System for Automotive Products

Inspektionssysteme

Bildverarbeitung

Qualitätssicherung Kunststoff

Qualitätssicherung

Dance of the Robots

Zahoransky supplies systems and injection molds for manufacturing breakage-proof primary packaging for pharmaceuticals. Three typical applications.

The double quick-change system for pipette tips permits rapid restart of production after brief maintenance interruptions.

Pharmaceutical Primary Packaging  with No Risk of Breakage

Anyone seeking to replace a metal component by a plastic one, to reduce the number of component parts from eight to three and simultaneously cut both the weight and manufacturing costs needs to take great care to ensure that all specifications are met – especially if the component is used in a hot gearbox and is subject to high mechanical stress.

The shifter fork creates a positive lock between the gear wheel and the shaft so that the engine power can be transmitted to the wheels

Production-Ready Plastic Shifter Fork Offers a Maximum of Functional Integration

Kohlenstofffasern / -matten

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Verstärkungsstoffe

Produktentwicklung (F+E)

Innovationsentwicklung

Wirtschaft

Innovationen und neue Technologie

Verbundwerkstoffe / Werkstoffverbunde

Replacing Metal in the Gearbox

Aside from offering high mechanical strength, versatility and durability, polymer materials are ideal for applications in the electrical industry because of their ability to isolate electrical current.

For the conduction cooled MicroTCA systems, Harting processes LCP, a material that is flame-resistant, dimensionally stable at high temperatures, chemically resistant, and has only a low thermal expansion

Connectors for Industrial Lifelines: High-Tech Injection Molding at Harting

Hybridtechnik

Polymere, flüssigkristalline

Thermoplaste

Heißkanalsysteme

Komponenten für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Stanzen

Verfahren für die spanlose Fertigung

Schneiden

Steckverbinder

Elektromechanik

Well-Balanced Hot Runner Technology for LCP Processing

Electrical components are made from conductive and nonconductive materials. Pressure of competition makes it necessary to reduce the number of components and work steps and to streamline assembly. The moldmaker Mühlbeyer uses a hybrid technology for manufacturing stators and rotors, in which the contact material and plastic are permanently bonded in one production step.

Various plastic-coated stators. During overmolding of the sheet components, not only insulation but also technical functions can be incorporated

Overmolding as a Prerequisite for Cost-Efficient, High-Quality Electric Motors

Elektromotoren

Antriebe

Werkzeug-, Formen- und Modellbau

Injection Molds for Insulating  Stators and Rotors

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

Tiefziehen

Simulation Stanzen / Umformen

Laserstrukturieren

Process Chain for the Production of Hybrid Medical Products

The interplay between the physical and virtual process chain permits the fully automatic production of FRP-metal hybrid parts every minute.

Virtualization offers great potential for better understanding of complex manufacturing processes for hybrid parts and shortening development times. The digital twin, in combination with the recorded process parameters of the physical process chain, is intended as an efficient tool for virtual design and optimization for future hybrid processes.

From Simulation to Mass Production of Hybrid Parts

Leichtbau

Organobleche (gewebeverstärkte Thermoplast-Halbzeuge)

Halbzeuge und Zwischenprodukte

Kunststoff-Halbzeuge

With an Automated Process Chain  and a Digital Twin

The combination of an additively manufactured mold insert with near-contour temperature and variothermal process control means that flow lines can be avoided.

By combining different technologies in the production of a tool insert, surface defects can be avoided and higher productivity can be achieved. 

Temperiertechnik

Konturnahe Kühlung

Dynamische / variotherme Temperierung

Additive Fertigung

Cavity Insert Designed for the  Highest Surface Requirements

Rainer Armbruster was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in May 2024. The story of his most important invention: Cube molds.

Seeing the big picture: Rainer Armbruster, inventor of cube mold technology.

How Curiosity Created the Cube

A Arburg delegation handed over the 555th machine to Hongfa President Manjin Guo on 23 June 2024.

Proud of a long-standing, close partnership: Hongfa President Manjin Guo (right) accepts a printed circuit board equipped with Hongfa relays from an Allrounder from Arburg Managing Director Technology & Engineering, Guido Frohnhaus.

555th Allrounder for Hongfa

A Machine Strategy with  Extra Automation

At Goerlich, a Turnkey Plant Replaces Two Machines with a Vertical Clamping Unit

The aim of the project was clear: a highly automated turnkey system must replace several decentralized, operator-guided machines in order to be able to mass produce enclosures for a vacuum sensor with three inserted pins in a way that is smooth, automated and therefore faster than before in large-scale production, and error-free. The plastics processor Goerlich chose the machine manufacturer Arburg as a partner in its goal of achieving greater production efficiency.

From electronic components to housings: the potential applications of plastics technology in the electrical industry cover a wide range of shapes, sizes and applications. They also include many electrical components in automotive production, which are produced by injection molding. In its involvement in the electrical industry, Goerlich Kunststofftechnik GmbH, Wilsdruff, Germany, relies on its precision, experience with different materials and state-of-the-art technologies.

Many Subprocesses Implemented  in a Confined Space

The housing for a vacuum sensor consists of a polybutylene terephthalate (PBT-GF30) reinforced with 30 % glass fibers and integrating three metal pins. The fully automated plant, which the injection-molding machine manufacturer Arburg has conceived together with Goerlich, and in which the housings are produced, will in the future be able to manufacture three versions by exchanging the corresponding mold inserts. The plant replaces two decentralized operator-controlled machines with a vertical clamping unit (type: Allrounder 320 C), including testing technology, which were previously necessary for series production.

Andreas Armbruster from Arburg’s Turnkey Project Planning team explains the extensive specifications that the system had to meet: “The biggest challenge was implementing the various production steps within the required short cycle time. Above all, the feeding of the 24 very delicate pins from the punching strip to their insertion into the 8-cavity mold is correspondingly demanding.” According to Armbruster, what is special about the system is that the many sub-processes can be implemented in a very confined space with straightforward technology (Title figure). Without this automation solution, the annual production volume would only be achievable by deploying considerably more staff.

Automated Parts Testing in  Multiple Steps

The injection mold was developed and constructed in Goerlich’s mold shop. Besides a hot runner with cold sub-distributor, it is also equipped with hydraulically operated slides for precise receiving of the pins. The gold-plated plug contacts are fed on the conveyor from upstream and separated out. A Scara robot places these on a loading plate with rotary drive in the correct position for pickup by a Multilift V robotic system (Fig. 1). The pins are inserted into the mold slides without force, as is the removal of the eight finished parts on the ejector side of the mold.

After the contacts have been overmolded, the four sprue sub-distributors are first demolded and ejected into the machine stand. The robotic system places the eight connectors on a testing device with slide and NC axis for exact positioning. By moving the slide to different positions, a continuity and high-voltage test with 1000 V and a light test are carried out in succession, followed by the marking of the OK parts. Finally, a turntable distribution system that rotates back and forth through 180° ensures that parts are ejected into PE bags using separated cavities.

A hybrid Allrounder 470 H with a clamping force of 1000 kN and size 290 injection unit is used in the turnkey system (Fig. 2), which is equipped with several core pullers and special signals. The combination of an electric toggle-type clamping unit and a dynamic injection unit enables simultaneous movements. This results in time advantages in series production. The Selogica control system is highly valued because it supports communication between the various plant control systems, thereby ensuring fully coordinated production processes.

Thomas Ehrlich (Fig. 3), operations manager at Goerlich, is very satisfied with Arburg as a system supplier: “With this turnkey system in particular, Arburg’s project management team ensured that there was thorough and rapid communication and coordination between the suppliers, and hence a solution-oriented approach to the project.” Goerlich relies exclusively on Arburg for its injection molding production. The 34 Allrounders, including two-component and vertical machines, process special plastics such as PEEK, PSU, PEI, and LCP.

When asked why the company was pursuing this one-machine strategy, operations manager Thomas Ehrlich answered: “The Allrounders are reliable machines with which we can produce our portfolio for our customers in excellent, high-quality continuous operation. There is no reason for us to change or add anything, quite simply because we have been very satisfied with Arburg, its range of machines, and its service since the beginning of our working relationship in the 1980s. The smooth implementation of the turnkey system has once again confirmed our strategy.”

ARBURG GmbH + Co KG  

https://www.arburg.com

Görlich Kunststoffverarbeitung und Werkzeugbau GmbH 

https://www.goerlich-verbindet.de/

Ausgabenartikel

All upstream process steps are integrated in a very small space: after the pins have been  punched out (right), a Scara robot places them in the correct position on a loading plate (left) so that the Multilift V robotic system can pick up 24 pins and insert them into the mold

Fig. 1. The tasks of the gripper at the Multilift V are extremely varied and demanding in this application

Fig. 2. Goerlich manufactures enclosures for vacuum sensors efficiently and flexibly with its compact turnkey system

Fig. 3. Thomas Ehrlich, operations manager at Goerlich, is delighted with the increase in efficiency that the turnkey system brings to his injection molding production

Name - Hauptartikel

 Susanne Palm works in corporate communications at Arburg GmbH + Co KG, Lossburg, Germany.

<b>Goerlich Kunststofftechnik GmbH</b>, Wilsdruff, Germany, manufactures switches, plug connectors and technical components for the automotive, telecommunications and electrical industries by injection molding. The company was founded in 1978 by Rudolf Görlich in Leingarten near Heilbronn, Germany, and today has its sole headquarters near Dresden, Germany. In 2019, before the beginning of the Corona crisis, Goerlich achieved sales of EUR 10.3 million with about 100 employees.