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.

Two displays are seamlessly integrated into the continuously 3D-formed instrument panel

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

Which injection molding machine is the right one for which application? Below we will demonstrate why performance is not always performance, but physics is always physics.

Direct drives such as planetary roller screw drives are very precise and durable

16:9

How Feed Rate, Injection Volume and Filling Time Correlate with Injection Unit Performance

Kugelgewindetriebe

Maschinenelemente

Getriebe

Elektrische Antriebe für Spritzgießmaschinen

Antriebe

Elektrische Antriebe

Elektromechanische Maschinen

A Question of Class

ARBURG is one of the world‘s leading manufacturers of plastic processing machines. The product portfolio encompasses ALLROUNDER injection moulding machines with clamping forces of between 125 and 6,500 kN, the freeformer for industrial additive manufacturing, plus robotic systems, customer and industry-specific turnkey solutions, and further peripheral equipment.

ARBURG GmbH + Co KG  

https://www.arburg.com

Abkantmaschinen, -pressen, -bänke

Blechbearbeitungsmaschinen

Maschinen für die spanlose Fertigung

Additive Fertigung

Anlagen für die Additive Fertigung

Antriebselemente

Lineartechnik

Ceramic-Injection-Moulding, CIM

Condition Monitoring für die Qualitätssicherung

Energieeffizienz

Handling, Handhabungstechnik

Automatisierungstechnik

Kennzahlen

Qualitätsmanagement

Kennzahlen, Q-Leitstand, Q-Monitor

Kühlelemente, aktive

Kühlkörper

Elektromechanik

Management-Informationssysteme

Medizintechnik

Mehrfarben-Spritzgießmaschinen

Mikrobauteile

Montage

Montagetechnik

Mikrospritzgießen

Mischer

NE-Metalle

Metall Werkstoffe

PUR-Schäummaschinen

Schäumen / Reaktive Verarbeitung

Partikelschäumen

Produktionssystem

Rapid Manufacturing

Rapid Prototyping

Reinraumsysteme / -technik

Reinraumtechnik

Betriebsausrüstung / Betriebsmittel

Reporting-Tools

Rückverfolgbarkeit, Traceability

Schnecken und Zylinder

Spanneinrichtungen

Systemperipherie

Spritzgieß-Zubehör und Einzelteile

Stetigförderer

Fördertechnik

Logistik

Trockner

Vorbeugende Instandhaltung für die spanende Fertigung

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

Spritzgießmaschinen, allgemein

LED / OLED-Systeme und Faseroptik

Lichttechnik

Less Granules  Stock Means More Quality

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

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

20:7

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

Lightweight parts, energy-saving processing or the practice of combining several process steps into one can all be subsumed under one current buzzword: sustainability. A technology that is highly promising in this regard is thermoplastic foam injection molding.

In physical foam injection molding, a blowing gas is injected into the polymer melt during plasticizing

New Developments in Thermoplastic Foam Injection Molding

A Special Process that Is Becoming a Sustainable Normal Case

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

On the test stand: the University of Paderborn, Germany, investigated conventional and new concepts for extrusion screws in order to achieve higher throughputs while retaining machine sizes. The energy-transfer screws, a further development of the wave screw, scored particularly well.

Fig. 1. Unwound channel geometry of a double-wave (left) and an energy-transfer screw (right).

New Concepts for Extrusion Screws

Extrusion

On the Wave to Successful Mixing

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

Fertigungsautomation

Bildverarbeitung

Linearroboter für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Knickarmroboter

Industrieroboter

Hybrid-Spritzgießen (Metall / Kunststoff)

Dance of the Robots

Skilful application of the evaluation and analytical options afforded by process simulation, including designing the best temperature-control system and making comparisons with alternative manufacturing processes, smoothes the way to efficient product development and manufacturing. Doing this from the very start of a project enables investments to be weighed and qualified, and technical, economic or environmental concerns to be taken into account, as exemplified here by a part with a high-gloss surface.

3D CAD view of the conformal temperature-control system for injection molding a fascia with a high-gloss surface.

Predicting the Surface Finish of High-Gloss Plastic Parts

Dynamische / variotherme Temperierung

Lackieren

Chemisches Bearbeiten (Auftragen)

High Gloss – Paintless and Painless

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

Steuerungen (Hardware und Software)

Prozessvisualisierung

Keeping Setting Parameters  under Control

In production and research, process data and previously defined quality values are tracked to determine optimization models and pursue consistent quality management. In contrast, data that is not relevant to the specific application is rarely recorded.

Structure and interconnection along the information-pyramid subsequently generate knowledge from sensorsignals.

Part 9: Consistent Data Structures for Sustainable Access to Secure Knowledge

Messdatenerfassung und -verarbeitung

Machine Learning

Datenanalyse

Datenbanken

Big Data für die Qualitätssicherung

IoT-Plattformen für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Complete Data without Ifs and Buts

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

Susanne Schröder will become editor-in-chief of the magazines Kunststoffe and Kunststoffe international on December 1, 2020. The current editor-in-chief Dr. Karlhorst Klotz will leave the company by mutual agreement.

Susanne Schröder will become editor-in-chief of the magazines Kunststoffe and Kunststoffe international on December 1, 2020. Until now she has been editor-in-chief of the trade journal FORM+Werkzeug