PLAST 2018 | EXHIBITION REVIEW
in Brescia, Italy, told Injection World that it will open a new 7,000 m2
production area, BMB 4, at the end
of the year. It will be used for the company’s largest machines. BMB has already taken an order for a 45,000 kN machine that will be built there. BMB’s main business is in high-speed equipment for such packaging products as thin-walled packaging and PET preforms, but it also does substantial business in multi-component machines. Star Automation Europe launched the new
ZXW-VI series of robots. The ZXW-1000VI and ZXW-1600VI models follow on from the Fx series, with various enhancements, especially in terms of speed – they are more than 10% faster than their predecessors. New features include strengthened guides, modified belts and stronger motors. The STEC-520 controller comes as standard, enabling remote monitoring, production control, and integration inside the display of the injection machine. Star also demonstrated its SF-Net smart produc-
tion software, which allows central access through any browser to information related to production contained inside the robot controller, thanks to periodic uploads to a server connected to the company network.
Hot and cold Piovan pointed the spotlight at the new Aquatech Easycool+ range of chillers that comply with European Union Ecodesign regulations governing energy efficiency of such products that come into force in 2021. The company says that in most cases, chillers are not designed and calibrated specifically for plastics transformation processes, but have merely been adapted. “If they are effective in the process, their costs and energy consumption are high because they were not conceived for this kind of applica- tion, and energy outlays push up production costs,”
it says. “If they are inefficient, their initial costs are lower, but they have to be run at full capacity: expensive maintenance and imprecise temperature control negatively impact finished product quality and costs. Easycool+ by Aquatech overcomes this problem: it is a chiller conceived, designed and built for cooling in industrial processing of plastics.” When processing plastics, the temperature
ranges to be maintained for different processes can vary by as much as 50°C or more, demanding different pressures and flow rates from the chiller. “Easycool+ has the flexibility to maintain optimal working conditions at all times,” says Piovan. Easycool+ employs ‘plug and play’ technology with integral circuitry in the machine: eight differ- ent hydronic versions available for each model, with or without thermal storage, and specific versions for use at extremely high flow and pres- sure. A system built with Easycool+ is sized to ensure the lowest possible refrigerant load. Power ranges from 60 to 250 kW. Piovan also emphasises the low maintenance
costs of Easycool+. All components are arranged inside the unit for easy access by the maintenance technician, the refrigerant circuit is designed for periodic testing in accordance with current European legislation, and the control software allows for remote monitoring and troubleshooting of operating parameters. The software can also be connected to Piovan’s Winfactory 4.0 supervision software. Aquatech was founded just over two years ago as an evolution of Piovan’s long-standing chiller division. Its product range includes air and water- cooled chillers, thermochillers, mould temperature controllers, drycoolers, pump stations, integrated solutions. Frigel Firenze, fresh from its acquisition of
fellow refrigeration system supplier Green Box, was
www.injectionworld.com July/August 2018 | INJECTION WORLD 41
Left: Piovan’s Aquatech Easycool+
Above: Engel’s Clearmelt in-mould coating
technology
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