Over past months, many in-house workflows and development processes have slowed down and also changed. Nevertheless, time has not stood still, also not in injection molding technology. The debate and development have been shaped by two themes: digitalization and the circular economy. Below are some examples of developments and projects that underpin this trend.

Innovative Injection Molding in Times of Pandemic

Spritzgießen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Schaumspritzgießen

Künstliche Intelligenz für die Qualitätssicherung

Industrie 4.0

Industrie 4.0 für die Qualitätssicherung

Steuern, Regeln

Software

Mehrkomponenten-Spritzgießen

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

Digitale Transformation

Wirtschaft

Innovationen und neue Technologie

Spritzgießwerkzeuge

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Werkzeuge für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Biokunststoffe

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Spritzgieß-Sonderverfahren

Nachhaltigkeit

Umweltmanagement

Spritzgießsimulation

Simulation

Schnecken und Plastifiziersysteme

Spritzgießmaschinen

Industrie 4.0 für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Machine Learning / Künstliche Intelligenz für die spanende Fertigung

Industrie 4.0 für die spanende Fertigung

Kunststoff-Recycling

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Lasermarkieren

Oberflächentechnik

Laserbearbeitungen

Inline- / Online-Messsysteme

Qualitätssicherung

Qualitätssicherung Kunststoff

Kreislaufwirtschaft

There Is More beyond the Horizon

Paint bucket or A-pillar finisher? In our thoughts and attribution of value, packaging items and high-tech components often represent opposites. Yet the two can complement one another – when you look at used packaging as a valuable raw material. At the fair, KraussMaffei will be showing the concept for a closed material cycle and is making plastics processing sustainable through this.

At the K, KraussMaffei Will Be Showing the Cycle from Product to Upcycling  to a New Product

Messe K-Kunststoffmesse

kunststoffe-international.com

Smart Factory

Energieeffizienz

Laserbeschriftung

Rückverfolgbarkeit, Traceability

Qualitätsmanagement

Handling, Handhabungstechnik

Automatisierungstechnik

Zerkleinerungsmaschinen

Greifer für die Kunststofftechnik

Kunststoff-Rezyklat

Compoundieren

Today Packaging,  Tomorrow Raw Material

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.

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

Spritzgießmaschinen, allgemein

Vernetzung / Cloudlösung für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Schneidmühlen

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.

Injection Molding Trends at K 2019

Mikrospritzgießen

Fließpressen

Handling, Handhabungstechnik für die spanende Fertigung

Elastomer-Spritzgießen

Linearroboter für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Industrieroboter

Montagetechnik

Montage-Spritzgießen

Knickarmroboter

Co-Injektion (Barriere-/Sandwich-Spritzgießen)

Hybrid-Spritzgießen (Metall / Kunststoff)

Ressourcenmanagement

Produktion

Technical Excellence thanks  to Digital Assistance

The new Reverse Cube developed by Foboha manufactures various components or multi-component parts from varying materials in one step and assembles individual parts into finished products independently from the cycle time using an integrated handling robot. The automated process improves quality, accelerates cycle times by up to 40 % compared to separate injection molding and assembly processes, and thus enables substantial productivity gains at lower costs.

Manufacturing and Installing Multi-Component Parts on a Two-Part Cube Mold

Montage

Werkzeugtemperatursensoren

Messtechnik

Sensoren / Messwertaufnehmer

Heißkanalsysteme

Komponenten für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Reverse Rotation

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.

Efficient and Precise Heating up of Thermoplastic Composites

Infrarotstrahler

Verbundwerkstoffe / Werkstoffverbunde

Organobleche (gewebeverstärkte Thermoplast-Halbzeuge)

Halbzeuge und Zwischenprodukte

Kunststoff-Halbzeuge

Software-Based Control of IR Ovens

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

A Process Monitoring Platform Monitors Several Hundred Parameters Simultaneously

Steuerungen (Hardware und Software)

Prozessvisualisierung

Condition Monitoring / Prozessüberwachung

Instandhaltung

IoT-Plattformen für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

An Eye on the Process –  a Handle on Quality

In an online survey, representatives of the plastics industry formulated their expectations toward the Plastics Innovation Center 4.0 (PIC 4.0).

Part 5 of the Series: Practical Demonstrators for the Plastics Innovation Center 4.0

Messdatenerfassung und -verarbeitung

Prozessoptimierung

Prozessmanagement

Machine Learning

Datenanalyse

Focus on the User Benefit

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.

Messe Fakuma

Spritzprägen

Injection Molding Innovations In-House, Live and in Color

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.

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

A Production Cell with Fluid Movements

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.

Kunststoffverarbeitung

Dienstleistungen

Lohnfertigung

Instandhaltungssoftware

Optimize Processes Efficiently with Engel performance.boost

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.

Comparative Methods for Determining Mold Breathing

Energiemanagement / Smart Home

Installationstechnik

Druck- / Kraftsensoren

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.

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

Beyond Human Capabilities

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.

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

Doriat, Clemens, Dr.

Immediately Ready for Use

In the conventional technology, the flow index is used as a criterion for determining the changeover from the injection phase to the holding pressure phase. However, there are various process influences that prevent it from being used as a standard technique. To overcome this hurdle, the APC machine function uses a trick that enables it to achieve a uniformly high part quality. 

Part 2 of the Series "More Stability in Injection Molding with APC plus" 

How Are Viscosity Changes Detected and Corrected? 

The Assistance System iQ Weight Control Promises Greater Clarity and New Functions

At Fakuma 2021, iQ Weight Control will be unveiled with its new interface and expanded functionality. The new developments have been driven by feedback from customers. With its consistently user-centered development approach, Engel is one of the pioneers.

Almost ten years ago, iQ weight control launched a range of intelligent assistance systems to support Engel injection molding businesses in the digitization of their production processes. Today that product range is a comprehensive one. At Fakuma 2021, the software will be unveiled with its new interface and expanded functionality. The new developments have been driven by feedback from customers. With its consistently user-centered development approach, Engel is one of the pioneers.

Paul is responsible for the sampling of new molds and optimizing injection molding processes. Having spent many years working with Engel injection molding machines, he utilizes the potential of innovative digital solutions wherever the option presents itself. Paul may be fictitious, but his requirements are very real: he represents the sum of experience with digital solutions gained by Engel customers in all regions of the world. The creation of personas – typical representatives of a target group – in the first phase of the development process (user research) provides the basis for user-focused development (Title figure).

Who uses our product? What is he or she doing with our product? What are his or her needs and expectations? To arrive at precise answers to these questions, Engel involves customers in the development and enhancement of products at a very early stage, analyzes their working environments and conducts interviews with a view to gathering specific information on user behavior.

As an expert in injection molding, Paul is receptive to digital products and has high expectations of them. Knowing the added value offered by iQ weight control, he has a clear idea of how the software could make his work easier in the future. Here he shares his ideas with Engel in the form of feedback.

During the speed-controlled injection process, iQ weight control continually analyzes the pressure profile in real time via the screw position and compares measured values against a reference cycle [1]. On this basis, new process parameters are calculated and settings are automatically readjusted for the current cycle. This calculation and readjustment takes place in fractions of a second, and is repeated for each cycle. The regulation influences the speed profile during injection, the switchover point and the holding pressure profile. In this way, fluctuations in environmental conditions and in the processed material are balanced out, thereby ensuring consistently high product quality while proactively preventing rejects.

Since its launch in 2012, the software has been updated several times (see Box p. 61). At first it was only available for injection molding machines with electric injection units; some time ago, though, it also became possible to equip injection molding machines using hydraulic injection units with iQ weight control. Shortly after this, the application range was expanded when adjusting the holding pressure profile became the third control variable. While automatic readjustment of the switchover point and injection profile increases weight consistency, especially in the production of thin-walled parts, the holding pressure phase is critical to quality in the production of thick-walled components. In the case of molds with several hot runner nozzles which are opened and closed in a cascade, iQ weight control can also be used to improve process consistency.

Time Needed for Referencing Significantly Reduced

One new feature to be unveiled at Fakuma 2021 is the new referencing concept. Let us get back to our process engineer. Paul wants to implement iQ weight control as fast as possible following process optimization, a material change or mold maintenance (for example). On the “Injection” screen, he is quickly able to find the product and also perform referencing; beforehand, he would have to wait through 20 cycles for this, which took a great deal of time. Thanks to the new version of iQ weight control, in which referencing is always running automatically in the background, Paul is able to save that time. As soon as a process is stable, a new reference can be set at any time – practically at the touch of a button.

The monitoring screen page indicates whether a process is stable; the specific process parameters of iQ weight control (injection volume, change in viscosity and alignment of pressure profile) over the last 50 cycles are displayed in the form of a trend graph. In the ongoing development of the interface, one priority was to create a clear display. All of the key information is now available at a glance. Information that is not relevant to a quick assessment of process consistency has been omitted.

Setting Upper and Lower Tolerance Limits Independently

Where a production process requires validation as in the case of medical technology, readjustment can only be performed within very narrow and clearly defined limits. Paul now wants to transfer this process window to the upper and lower limits for the two parameters adjusted by iQ weight control (switchover point and holding pressure). The fact that the process window is not always symmetrical presents a challenge here: in many cases, the reference value from the validation is closer to either the maximum value or the minimum value, rather than the middle of the reliable adjustment range. Excessively high holding pressure, for example, could result in overmolding of the component and damage to the mold; for this reason, it is a more critical consideration than holding pressure that is too low.

With this in mind, Paul wants to limit the upward correction more than the lower correction. The new release offers a convenient solution: the upper and lower tolerance limits can now be set independently of one another. Since the readjustments automatically performed by iQ weight control are generally within limits specified by the user, there is nothing to prevent the use of iQ weight control in validated processes [2].

In addition to customer feedback from sales and service dialogue, specific customer surveys, workshops and prototype tests are conducted in subsequent phases of the user-focused development process (concept and design, development and operation). Findings and results are duly applied to the design process (Fig. 1).

Overall, the new iQ weight control incorporates numerous small improvements that are visible to users on first glance. The interface is now even clearer. Another new feature is the compact summary of parameters for a very fast overview.

Not least, Engel’s tutorial concept makes implementing the new software version simplicity itself [3]. Accessed via the machine control unit, the tutorial guides users intuitively through all the steps and clearly shows how to maximize the potential of iQ weight control and the new functions (Fig. 2).

User-centered development is an ongoing process. By the time the new release reaches the market, phase one in the continued development of the product will already have commenced. Paul also stays on the ball, expanding his expertise and gaining experience. Smart assistance systems, which can seem alien and difficult to gauge at first, soon become second nature. Encouraged by early successes, Paul quickly develops ideas for new fields of application; he is now ready to take the text step.

Test Version as Standard in All New Injection Molding Machines

Will iQ weight control prove to be an advantage on his future projects as well? For an easy answer to this question, Engel is planning to integrate a test version as standard in all new injection molding machines, to run for a defined period. This will be available with the next release, which comes onto the market in 2022.

The test version will be of particular benefit to processors who have never worked with iQ weight control before and wish to evaluate its potential. In future, test versions will also be provided for other iQ products.

[1] Giessauf, J.; Pillwein, G.; Steinbichler, G.: Process Control: Switch over to Consistent Quality. Kunststoffe international 102 (2012) 9, pp. 13–16

[2] Razenböck, J.; Lhota, C.: Konforme dynamische Prozesse. Medplast (2019), pp. 18–21

[3] Dimmler, G.; Fritz, H.; Gassner, J.; Voggeneder, J.: Control Complex Processes Easily. Kunststoffe international 109 (2019) 7, pp. 28–30

[4] Giessauf, J.; Kapeller, P.; Maier, C.; Pillwein, G., Steinbichler, G.: Numbers that Count. Kunststoffe international 107 (2017) 9, pp. 28–32

Engel Austria GmbH  

https://www.engelglobal.com

Ausgabenartikel

The new release of iQ weight control is based on feedback from users. In the user-centered development process, Engel closely involves its customers at all stages

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Fig. 1. Snapshots from the user-driven development of iQ weight control. The interface, which has evolved over time, now has a new, slimline design 

Fig. 2. Overview of the principal new features of iQ weight control

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<ul><li>2012: Engel introduces iQ weight control, its first smart assistance system. Available for injection molding machines with electric injection units, the system corrects the injection profile and switchover point.</li><li>2014: Enhancement of software performance spectrum to include correction of the holding pressure profile.</li><li>2015: iQ weight monitor installed as standard in all new Engel injection molding machines [4]. The software includes indicators for monitoring the injection molding process; unlike iQ weight control, however, it does not automatically re-adjust parameters.</li><li>2016: iQ weight control made available for injection molding machines with hydraulic injection units.</li><li>2018: Engel expands the software to include cascade injection for components with very long flow paths. Process parameters can now be adjusted at several injection points connected in series.</li><li>2019: At the K event, Engel unveils iQ weight control complete with a recycled material application – thereby showcasing the major potential of inject 4.0 to the circular economy.</li><li>2021: iQ weight control benefits from a new and clearer interface. Improvements to referencing facilitate very fast commissioning.</li><li>2022: All new Engel injection molding machines are equipped with a viable test version of iQ weight control for a defined period.</li></ul>

DI Philipp Willnauer is a development engineer in the Process Analysis and Assistance Systems department at Engel in Schwertberg, Austria; <a href="mailto:philipp.willnauer@engel.at">philipp.willnauer@engel.at</a>

Dr. Georg Pillwein is Team Leader Process Analysis and Assistance Systems at Engel in Schwertberg; <a href="mailto:georg.pillwein@engel.at">georg.pillwein@engel.at</a>

Johann Voggeneder is Team Leader Usability Engineering at Engel in Schwertberg; <a href="mailto:johann.voggeneder@engel.at">johann.voggeneder@engel.at</a>