TECHNOLOGY | PACKAGING
Right: The
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag El-Exis SP 300-tonne machine produced 72 water caps (26/22mm) every 2 s at K 2019
Like any other business, economic viability is just
as important a consideration for packaging moulders. “Low unit costs, high output coupled with energy savings all need to be factored in,” says Flowers. “That’s why so many packaging manufac- turers today are prepared to invest in new high- performance plant. Increasingly, packaging moulders are looking to injection machinery suppliers to provide turnkey solutions, including robotic product handling, advice with tooling, training and testing and all the know-how and support that underpins efficient manufacturing.” Automated vision quality control is one area
the mould, machinery, and packaging component design. Even when using less raw material, packag- ing forms the protective layer so still needs to be engineered to provide strength. Choosing the best machine for your packaging application is critical. Understanding the melt stability and how the plastic will perform as an end product should form the basis of all decisions.” In order to support these efforts, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag has developed a number of machines specifically for packaging applications. The company’s El-Exis SP range now comprises ten machines, with a clamp force range of 150-1,000 tonnes. Capable of delivering dry cycle times of less than 2 s, the latest generation of EL-Exis SP machines are designed to withstand the higher stresses and injection pressures that are critical in achieving repeatability, particularly in thin walling. This range is aimed at high volume manufacturers of polymer products, including caps and closures, thin wall containers and lids. With the introduction of a new control valve
regulating the hydraulic pressure during the loading of the accumulator, the range consumes up to 15% less energy than previous generations of El-Exis machines. These savings are dependent upon the packaging application, moulding cycle time and process parameters. Additionally, the company says that all-electric drives achieve absolute processing precision, accuracy and dynamics. These are essential criteria in the quest to achieve the highest process consistency, as well as reducing scrap to a minimum during start-up and during ongoing production. The fast and precise response of these direct drives also enables special processes to be implemented with accuracy, opening up new possibilities for packaging moulders.
22 INJECTION WORLD | July/August 2020
where significant advances have been made, he says. At K2019, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag showed its fastest closure turnkey exhibit to date featuring the Capwatcher Q Line inspection system from Intravis. Comprising eight high-resolution cameras, this technology collects, visualises and provides up to 144,000 cavity-based measurements per minute. It also sources an inline temperature measurement for each closure, which allows moulders to determine the shrinkage behaviour of every closure. “From a quality control perspective, this is ground-breaking stuff and significantly reduces production waste,” says Flowers. “Another way to achieve thinner yet stronger
packaging containers is to apply injection com- pression techniques to stack moulds. With this, packaging moulders can increase output while reducing the wall thickness of containers and lids from 0.45mm to 0.35mm. This saves around 25% in raw PP materials compared to the standard injection moulding process, while maintaining comparable mechanical properties.” Engel is collaborating with six other companies
from the Austrian packaging industry in the Packag- ing with a Future platform. The aim of the initiative is to improve public awareness of meaningful use of packaging. The companies – Alpla, Greiner, Coca-Cola Österreich, Nestlé Österreich, In- terseroh, Erema and Engel – are taking an active role in the development of a global circular
Above: The Packaging with a Future (Verpackung mit Zukunft) platform is committed to the sensible and sustainable use of packaging. Injection moulding machine manufacturer Engel is one of the initiative’s founding members
www.injectionworld.com
IMAGE: SUMITOMO (SHI) DEMAG
IMAGE: ENGEL
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