TECHNOLOGY | DIGITAL MANUFACTURING


Above: Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s ActiveMeltCon- trol helps IntElect 2 machines compensate for material viscosity fluctuations


In addition, Interroll has used Engel’s digital setup assistant to solve personnel challenges by helping less experienced operators work more quickly. Machine downtime due to tool changes can be reduced by up to 80%, said Piercarlo Balducci, head of product engineering and head of maintenance at Interroll. For contract manufactur- ers, this is a competitive advantage, he said. The company also reduced energy costs by 15% through the use of iQ flow control.


Improved injection Arburg showed how digitalisation can improve the injection moulding process during Fakuma, with several demonstrations. In one, it showed how predictive maintenance can pick up on problems before they run out of control. This requires ‘smart’ communication between a machine – or production cell – and the injection mould. At Fakuma, an Allrounder 720 E Golden Electric was equipped with a 24-cavity mould from Hack – together with Moldlife Sense, a computer system that enables sensor-controlled mould monitoring over a complete life cycle and detects changes to the mould at an early stage. Measured values from various sensors can be visualised in the machine control system. Individual events, such as alerts and error messages, can be displayed and documented. This allows users to identify anomalies in the process quickly and assess what needs to be done. In another, it showed how process data can be made available to higher-level software tools and platforms using its turnkey control module Scada system. Here, equipment involved in injection moulding sends all relevant data to the ATCM, which makes every moulded part traceable. At the show, this was demonstrated on a vertical Allround- er 375 V producing vacuum housings. The part- specific data from the injection moulding process and automation were linked to results of a visual inspection of the insert.


14 INJECTION WORLD | November/December 2024


Cutting rejects Sumitomo (SHI) Demag has integrated a new digital feature into its IntElect 2 series of injection moulding machines. ActiveMeltControl (AMC) compensates for melt viscosity variations in most applications and materials – including recycled plastics – which helps to reduce reject rates. By automatically adapting to the injection moulding process, AMC monitors variations in holding pressure and switch-over position. Once a parameter is identified as drifting towards pre-set tolerance limits, AMC amends the set parameters to compensate for the variation. The adjustment bandwidth is also defined by the processor. “Many customers have requested a digital solution to compensate for these variations when making precision parts using our all-electric machines,” said Thomas Schilling, product man- ager for digital solutions at the company. “That’s why we introduced AMC as a completely inde- pendent software module that complements our established active modules.” In one example, variations in the melt flow index


(MFI) in recycled material can be corrected by the software, meaning that process stability is now comparable to a process that uses virgin material, said the company. Another advantage of AMC is that it only sets the limits for holding pressure and switch-over position. This means it can be used in all industries, including those where there are defined tolerances for validated process parameters that cannot be exceeded or overridden by machine operators. Activated with a single click, AMC is a fully


automated control process that is integrated into the IntElect’s control system. It is available as an optional extra on the company’s newest IntElect 2 machine series and can be retrofitted to older IntElect 2 machines.


Improved operability The Si-7 series of electric servo drive presses from Toyo Machinery & Metal – launched at last year’s International Plastics Fair (IPF) – incorporates Toyo’s new System800 SE HMI control system, for im- proved operability. A larger monitor can generate a split-screen digital display when an operator looks to compare current and past values. Operations can be displayed graphically for a more visual understand- ing of data. Users can select from various moulding drive modes using its S-TMC system. Modes such as high-cycle moulding, long-fibre resin moulding and thin-wall moulding can be selected, where each mode comes with pre-optimised baseline


www.injectionworld.com


IMAGE: SHI DEMAG


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44