Automotive supplier Pollmann uses an injection molding process to physically foam glass fiber-reinforced thermoplastics. The use of nitrogen as blowing agent makes the process more efficient and confers special properties on the components.

Physical Foaming Makes Plastic Parts Lighter and more Stable

Spritzgießen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Schaumspritzgießen

Treibmittel

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Additive

Gas- / Wasserinjektionsanlagen

Nitrogen on Tap – Not from the Bottle

Many so-called “low carbon footprint technologies” are already available and could be utilized immediately in plastics processing. But what carbon reduction measures are not only environmentally effective? Using practical examples, gwk shows how the use of efficient temperature-control technology rapidly pays off economically, too.

Even in Difficult Economic Times, It Is Worthwhile Investing in Energy-Efficient Temperature Control

Temperiergeräte

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Gießanlagen

Temperiertechnik

Energieeffizienz

Advantages through Sustainable Temperature-Control Technology

Thermoplastic tapes are expected to shape the next generation of thermoplastic composites. This calls for highly accurate tape stacking. Engel contributes this technology to achieve a breakthrough by combining high-precision control software with camera technology in tape stacking.

Software-Based Tape Stacking with the Aid of Camera Technology Paves the way for Thermoplastic Composites

Anlagen zur Composite-Herstellung

Verbundwerkstoffe / Werkstoffverbunde

UD-Tapes

Verstärkungsstoffe

Kameras

Fertigungsautomation

Bildverarbeitung

Faserverbundwerkstoffe

Andere Werkstoffe

Automatisierungstechnik

Optische Mess- und Prüfverfahren

Qualitätssicherung

Qualitätssicherung Kunststoff

An Eye for the Essential

The toolmaker Siebenwurst uses injection molding simulation to optimize part design and production processes in its routine workflows. Among other things, Simcon’s software ensures the quality and dimensional accuracy of the plastic frame for the first series-produced injection molded e-bike.

Controlling Complex Development and Manufacturing Processes, Using Simulation

Composite-Halbzeuge

Halbzeuge und Zwischenprodukte

Kunststoff-Halbzeuge

Spritzgießwerkzeuge

Werkzeuge für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Dienstleistungen

Werkzeug-, Formen- und Modellbau

Spritzgießsimulation

Software

Simulation

A Bike Frame from an Injection  Molding Machine

At the 2019 K fair, Arburg and Simcon showcased a filling process proceeding in real-time, as a 3D animation, on the display of a machine control panel, for an example of sunglasses, made of PA12. All that was needed to prepare this, was to load the simulation model, as well as the geometry of the part, directly onto the machine controls. This sounds almost too easy to be true. Right?

Interview with Eberhard Duffner and Paul F. Filz by the Magazine Kunststoffe

Doriat, Clemens, Dr.

Interview

Process technologies for manufacturing multilayer and multicomponent products offer great potential for using reprocessed plastic wastes even for plastic parts that are subject to strict requirements for surface quality, product protection or consumer safety. The key: to place the recycled material in the interior while the surface is made of virgin material. Engel has developed a variant of sandwich injection molding that allows high proportions of recycled material to be used even with complex part geometries.

Engel’s skinmelt Sandwich Process Paves the Way for Increased Use of Recycled Material

Werkstoffprüfung

Messtechnik

Co-Injektion (Barriere-/Sandwich-Spritzgießen)

Kunststoff-Rezyklat

Recycling that Gets under the Skin

Hybrid production chains have been increasingly in the spotlight in recent years. This also applies to the combination of conventional manufacturing and additive processes in tool construction. With the example of an injection molding tool, it is shown how mold inserts produced by additive manufacturing can greatly shorten cycle times, and thereby significantly reduce unit costs. The important thing is to find a suitable combination of processes from the variety available.

Additive Manufacturing and Hybrid Molds in Combination with Conventional Machining

HSC- / HPC-Bearbeitung

Spanende Verfahren

Werkzeugkonstruktion

Additive Fertigung

Anlagen Additive Fertigung / 3D-Druck, Metall

Anlagen für die Additive Fertigung

The Potential of Redesign and  Part Consolidation

SIGMA Engineering GmbH is a 100% daughter company of the technology and market leader in casting simulation located in Aachen, Germany, (<span class="webadresse">www.magmasoft.de</span>). Owner managed and fascinated by technology we make modern polymer forming processes transparent. With our simulation product SIGMASOFT® our customers optimize plastics parts and injection molds as well as production conditions of thermoplastic-, elastomer-, thermoset- or MIM/CIM applications.

SIGMA Engineering GmbH  

https://www.sigmasoft.de

Auswerte- und Analysesoftware

Beratung und Consulting

Ceramic-Injection-Moulding, CIM

Kunststoffverarbeitung

Lohnfertigung

Logistik Software

Logistiksysteme Software

Medizintechnik

Produkt- / Formteildesign

Produktentwicklung(sprozess)

Qualitätsmanagement

Prozesssimulation

Prozessvisualisierung

Rheologie

Digital transformation presents concrete challenges in a dynamic way. Continually mastering them, time and again, requires a workforce with a high degree of expertise and know-how. The plastics processor framas therefore not only regards training and ongoing education as essential, they usually begin directly on recruitment. It is now three years since the SME re-prioritized the issue of qualification as a strategically important competitive factor and began to promote it.

At framas, Advanced Training of All Employees Is a Cornerstone of the Company’s Strategy

Soft Skills

Wissensmanagement

Wirtschaft

Strategie und Organisation

Digitale Transformation

Innovationen und neue Technologie

Weiterbildung, allgemeine

Seminare, Schulungen, Kongresse

Continuously Investing in  Expertise and Skills

For the Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) at the RWTH Aachen University, Germany, 2020 is an anniversary year in three different ways. The RWTH Aachen University is celebrating its 150th anniversary, and is marking the occasion, by hosting the International Colloquium of Plastics Technology for the 30th time – with special feature on the previous day. A preview of the celebrations.

A Varied Menu

Extrusion

Künstliche Intelligenz für die Qualitätssicherung

Industrie 4.0

Industrie 4.0 für die Qualitätssicherung

Extrusionswerkzeuge

Extrusionsanlagen

Reason to Celebrate 30th International Colloquium of Plastics Technology and  70 Years of the IKV

The introduction of fiber direct compounding at deller plastics Uwe Braselmann was driven by tangible economic advantages. The plastics processor uses the lightweight construction process for manufacturing cable drive housings for operating electric power windows in car doors.

deller plastics Uses Competitive Advantages of Fiber Direct Compounding

Faserverarbeitung

Linearroboter für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Handling, Handhabungstechnik

Lightweight Components  from the Roll

Increasing demands on component functionality and the need for efficient manufacturing processes are keeping multi-component injection molding squarely in the focus of plastics processing. Not all materials can be processed reliably in the desired combination. The new InMould-Plasma process, which is fully integrated into the injection molding process, facilitates more-efficient production and paves the way for completely new material combinations.

More Material Combinations,  Lower Costs

Thermoplastische Elastomere

Thermoplaste

Mehrkomponenten-Spritzgießen

Plasmabehandlung

Oberflächentechnik

Reinigen und Vorbehandeln

Dichtungsschäumen

Schäumen / Reaktive Verarbeitung

InMould-Plasma Streamlines the 2-Component Process and Expands  the Material Spectrum

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

Industrie 4.0 für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Druck- / Kraftsensoren

Sensoren / Messwertaufnehmer

Spritzgießmaschinen

Using Breathing Signals for  Process Optimization

They are needed in thousands of units in Dutch greenhouses: plant pots. TN Plastics from Netherlands produces these thin-walled containers with Arburg injection molding machines in high quality and large volumes, around the clock, 363 days a year and above all resource-efficiently – using the own PP recyclate.

How TN Plastics Produces Thin-Walled Containers Resource-Efficiently

Production Brought to Growth

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

Chinese Company Investigates Cracking Behavior

Cracked screws are a frequent cause of customer complaints. The Chinese manufacturer EJS has identified the source of the problem.

As a screw manufacturer, E.J.S Industry Co., LTD, Ningbo, China (EJS), often receives complaints like this: “We have received your screws. Are you sure your people have carried out an inspection? Look at this crack, I think anyone can see that it is damaged. How can we install such a screw on our machine? How fast can you ship us a replacement? We need one immediately. Please let me know.”

When the first 125 hard-faced screws were ready for inspection, the employees at EJS noticed that there were cracks. How could that happen? Was it caused by poor temperature control, inferior bimetallic alloy powder, poor quality base steel, or process management? To find out why, the company scheduled a number of tests, and applied numerous labels to the product for later identification. After an extensive process of trial and error, EJS at last identified the cause of the cracks and their relationship.

Hard-faced screws are normally processed by a PTA welding machine. The energetic plasma arc generates temperatures of over 1000  °C to fuse the alloy powder and weld in the flights one by one until the screw is complete. This process inevitably results in repeated thermal expansion and contraction due to the big difference between the temperature of 1000 °C and the ambient temperature (5 to 40 °C).

Since 2015, EJS has used a special furnace to maintain the hard-faced screws at high temperature for several hours after PTA welding, which helps it to reduce the numbers of cracks. Unfortunately some cracks still remain. Is there any way to get rid of them?

As a quality-oriented company, EJS has tried everything to avoid cracks. However, it is not possible to completely exclude the possibility of cracks forming. The company has consulted senior engineers, checked with experts, analyzed together with experienced production managers and sought advice from long-term customers in different countries. In the end, the Chinese company accepted the fact that cracks are inevitable for some alloys on big sizes, because no cracks means soft flights. There are some alloys for which micro cracks cannot be avoided. They have always been present. Moreover EJS has found that

<ul><li>severe cracking is acceptable if the flights remain intact;</li><li>long cracks are acceptable if the flights remain intact;</li><li>wide cracks are acceptable if the flights remain intact;</li><li> it is acceptable if the cracks are regular in one direction;</li><li>however, it is unacceptable if the cracks cause peel-off of the facing.</li></ul>

Using these simple questions, customers can check whether their screws are okay or not. In case of doubt, the experienced EJS staff will be happy to help. (ed.)

E.J.S. Industry Co. Ltd.  

https://www.ejs-screwbarrel.com

Ausgabenartikel

During production, large temperature differences sometimes occur, which are one reason for crack formation

EJS has investigated the cracks in various comprehensive analyses. The result: the cracks are very small and do not reduce the quality and durability of the screws

According to the company, the cracks are not production defects

According to EJS cracks can occur on the screws, especially with large screw diameters

Name - Hauptartikel

<b>E.J.S Industry Co., Ltd,</b> Ningbo, China, is specialized in producing, repair and rebuilding screws, barrels and components for plastic product manufacturers, rubber product manufacturers, extruder and injection molding producer. With 25 years experience they are aim to supply screws barrels with more wear resistance and corrosion resistance.