Technology | thin wall moulding
short cycle times despite a relatively high total shot of 800 grams, while the IML placement and automation technology needs highly precise platen movements. Thin wall moulding is also one of the targets for
KraussMaffei’s new PX machine design, a versatile modular system that can be configured with
of a 5-gallon pail with a 50% recycled core layer with no cycle time penalty over mono-layer production. Milacron says that it is continuing to drive forward the use of all-electric machines for large stack and packag- ing moulds where it sees the technology supporting much improved system efficiencies and lower part costs. A key area of future development in this area is likely to be high speed injection compression, as well as further expansion of co-injection applications.
Clean solutions Medical disposables is a key thin wall packaging market and one where all-electric technology can demonstrate a further benefit – cleanliness. Arburg used its display at K2016 to show that this need not mean compromis- ing on performance, running an all electric Allrounder 470A machine with a 2+2 cavity stack mould from Mould & Matic producing petri dishes on a 3.2s cycle. Moulded in PS at a rate of 4,500 units per hour, the stainless steel finished machine was shown in cleanroom configuration with an ISO7 category clean air and ionisation module above the clamp. The medical specification extends to FDA/NSF approved lubricants. Parts were removed from the mould using free-fall
into linear guides, which brought the lids and bodies together and stacked them on the conveyor. Arburg says the use of the linear guide removal technique cuts mould open cycle time, reducing the overall cycle by around 20%. Engel’s offering for the high speed thin wall moulding
market is its e-Speed machine, a hybrid combination of an electric clamping system with a servo-hydraulic injection unit and flywheel-based energy recovery. During the K2016 show, the company demonstrated a 500 tonne version producing sealant cartridges on a 16-cavity Otto Hofstetter mould. Unusually, for a product of this geometry, the part was decorated in the mould using IML technology from Beck Automation. According to Engel, this application makes optimal use of the advantages of the hybrid technology. Moulding the long hollow 1.2mm wall thickness bodies requires
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different electric and servo-hydraulic drive options to meet specific moulding applications. At the K2016 fair, the company demonstrated a typical thin-wall moulding configuration on a 160 tonne PX160 machine producing flip-top closures. All PX machines use servo-electric drive technology on the main machine axes – clamp movement, plasticsing and injection – with options of different drive technologies on other functions. In this specific example, the machine was equipped with an uprated high speed electric injection drive offering an injection speed of 270mm/s.
Keeping trim StackTeck Systems has enhanced its TRIM (Thin Recess Injection Moulding) technology for ultra-light- weight packaging applied to single-serve applications, with the company saying it can now support down- stream printing over an area covering up to 75% of the part’s sidewalls. TRIM technology uses a combination of thick and thin wall sections to create lightweight designs with flow lengths not possible using a constant wall section. Using the enhanced TRIM version, StackTeck claims it is able to mould a cup with ultra-thin wall panels of 0.2 mm (0.008 inches) thickness, offering the lowest possible cost while still supporting a print as well as an IML finishing option (downstream printing is still highly cost competitive decorating solution for round containers). The company says it has demonstrated that through the application of its TRIM technology, conventional lightweight parts with an L/T (ratio of length to average thickness) up to 300 can be addition- ally lightweighted by 30-40%.
Click on the links for more information: ❙
www.sumitomo-shi-demag.eu ❙
www.netstal.com ❙
www.plastisud.com ❙
www.machines-pages.fr ❙
www.milacron.com ❙
www.arburg.com ❙
www.mouldandmatic.com ❙
www.engelglobal.com ❙
www.beckautomation.com ❙
www.otto-hofstetter.swiss ❙
www.kraussmaffei.com ❙
www.stackteck.com
Left: Krauss- Maffei’s
modular PX machine design can be configured for thin wall production of parts such as closures
Above: Engel and Beck
Automation
claim a first for this IML sealant cartridge,
produced on 16-cavity
tooling on a 500 tonne e-Speed machine
January/February 2017 | INJECTION WORLD 57
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