news GF Piping buys 3,200 tonne KM
Georg Fischer subsidiary GF Piping Systems has installed a 3,200 tonne two-platen injection moulding machine from KraussMaffei with a 120kg shot weight at its headquarters location at Schauffhausen in Switzerland for production of large pipe fittings. The new MX series
machine, which is equipped with a 340kg load capacity IR KR500 LS340 6-axis articu- lated robot mounted on a linear seventh axis, is claimed to be Switzerland’s largest injection machine. “The investment and
implementation of a new injection moulding system on this order of magnitude was
certainly a special challenge for us,” said Claude A Fischer, head of business unit utility at GF Piping Systems. “In addition to the technical parameters, such as a high shot weight and high quality at
every point, the system had to meet other criteria with regard to the flexibility in selecting materials and geometry.” A special challenge was the
high-viscosity PE100 material used by GF, which required
BASF ‘floats’ a mobility solution
The e-Floater solar-powered electric scooter from Germa- ny-based Floatility uses BASF’s thermoplastic composite materials to keep weight down below 12kg. BASF supplies more than 80% of the material content of the concept mobility device,
including the Ultralaminate PA composite sheet and Ultramid B3WG12 COM overmoulding combination used for most of the structural parts. Floatility has also selected
several glass reinforced Ultramid resins – including SI surface improved grades.
Hand grips and wheels are moulded in Elastollan TPU. “E-floater will play a key
role in making short journeys more convenient, quick, affordable and sustainable,” said Floatility founder and CEO Oliver Risse. ❙
www.basf.com
DuPont adds Zytel HTN capacity
DuPont Performance Polymers has increased production capacity for Zytel HTN performance polyamide at its Richmond plant in Virginia, US, by 10%, citing growing demand from automotive and electron- ics industry customers. “Zytel HTN PPA fills a
valuable need because it bridges the performance gap between nylon and specialty
www.injectionworld.com
polymers while maintaining ease of processing,” said Brian Fish, DuPont Performance Polymers global business manager high performance polyamides.
“Demand is growing in the
automotive industry because Zytel HTN PPA can stand up to long-term exposure in aggressive temperature and chemical environments that
stretch the performance capabilities of standard nylon 66,” he said.
Richmond uses a continu-
ous polymerisation process and is DuPont’s largest production plant for Zytel HTN resin. The company said the move is the first in a series of global production capacity expansions. ❙
www.dupont.com
development of optimised screw geometries and plasticising unit drives. “The controlled melt temperature prevents the melt from overheating during plasticis- ing, preventing thermal decomposition of the material as a result. At the same time, a high plasticising output with outstanding melt quality is possible,” said Bruno Schleiss, managing director of Krauss- Maffei Schweiz. To cover the wide range of
shot capacities required by GF – from 5 to 120kg – the machine is configured with two independently-controlled injection units. ❙
www.kraussmaffei.com
Protolabs expands 3D print
US headquartered fast parts specialist Protolabs said it is to introduce 3D printing capabilities to its European operation in the UK in the second half of this year. “About 70% of our
customers use 3D printing in their product develop- ment lifecycle,” said Protolabs president and CEO Victoria Holt. 3D printing has been
offered to Protolab’s US customers for 12 months. The company is currently installing the required 3D print equipment at its European operation at Telford in the UK. ❙
www.protolabs.com
April 2015 | INJECTION WORLD 5
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