MACHINERY | THERMOFORMING
Right: Illig has been acquired from adminis- tration by financial investor Orlando Capital
AI-powered WM Thermoforming recently introduced an AI-powered vision system, allowing automated in-line inspection of thermoformed products. As well as detecting flaws, the system – devel-
oped by Ausil Systems of Spain – helps boost machine performance, says the company. During the manufacturing cycle time, the system
uses AI techniques to analyse the presence of tray defects. Acceptance or rejection criteria can be customized according to customer requirements. When defective trays are detected, the system identifies them on the HMI and activates an alarm. The defective trays are then removed from the production line automatically. WM lists some advantages of the vision system. One is that there is now no need for manual checks – as it can detect tiny flaws much more reliably than a human operator. In addition, the power of machine learning allows the system to improve continuously, effectively ‘learning’ the difference between acceptable and unacceptable trays. The system can be integrated seamlessly into a
Below: WM’s AI-powered vision system detects flaws and helps to boost machine performance
production line, says WM. At NPE recently, the new system was shown as part of the new FC1000 IM2 – which, at 130 tonnes, claims to have the highest machine throughput per square foot on the market. Thanks to an engineered toggle and yoke compensation system, the machine can run at high speed and cutting precision for materials including PET, PP and PLA. The robust thermoformer minimises the vibra- tion to a minimum , which results in less wearing of the cutting knives, less downtime and higher machine efficiency and productivity, says WM. The IM2 configuration enables customers to
switch from the ‘forming with in mould trimming’ to the ‘forming with separate trimming’ in function of the specific production needs such as dividing the pre-cutting from the contour cutting or increasing the cutting accuracy for the highly shrinkable materials such as PP.
WM says it also developing the concept of an FX1000 model, to be launched by the end of the year. With it, WM says it will create “a new product category aiming to further enhance the features of maximum size and speed”.
Illig reborn
German thermoforming machinery maker Illig has been acquired from administration by financial investor Orlando Capital. The machine maker had placed itself into administration in 2023, after being “hit hard by high costs due to inflation, interest rates and energy prices”. The company, under its new ownership, will
retain the Illig brand name. Its systems will still be assembled in Germany and Romania, as before. At the NPE show in the US recently it highlighted a number of its systems including the RDF 85 XL. This is an enlarged, reinforced version of its modular RDF 85 system and can accommodate tools from the manufacturer Sencorp thanks to the open tool interface. Illig says this gives customers a modern, cost-efficient system that also allows the use of Sencorp 2500 tools. In order to accommodate the Sencorp tools, the forming area of the machine has been increased to 920mm (36.2in) in the production direction. The punching force has been increased to 80 tonnes. The forming and punching tools are changed in a block. The tool change sequence of the Illig system has been newly developed for this: the steel rule die cutter is movable so that the tools can be lifted in and out of the block for a crane. The tools can then be pushed into the forming and punching stations via rail systems. Such a tool change can be carried out in around 30 minutes. “With the RDF 85 XL, we have implemented
26 FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | September 2024
www.filmandsheet.com
IMAGE: WM THERMOFORMING
IMAGE: ILLIG
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