MEDICAL MOULDING | TECHNOLOGY
The components were injection moulded directly in an 8-cavity mould using a cold runner system with shut-off nozzle. A clean air module with ionisation, situated above the clamping unit, prevented electrostatic charges. A sensor integrat- ed in the feeder ensured additional process reliability. The recorded values were graphically displayed and monitored by the Selogica ND control system. After integrated camera inspection, the robot system transferred the good parts to a packaging station. The Allrounder Cube machines, which are specifically adapted for use with cube moulds, are well-suited to the packaging sector and ideal for the production of medical technology products. Their servo-electric toggle-type clamping unit allows for high-speed cycles with reduced energy requirements – an ideal basis for efficient high- volume production at reduced unit costs. The cube machines are used in medical technology in the production of caps and pharmaceutical containers, for example. Wittmann Battenfeld reports that Covid-related
products still dominate the medical market. “Although it also seems that this global need for medical products has convinced non-medical moulders to enter the market,” says Gerald Plöchl, Project Engineer for Medical. “For example, we have seen a significant number of our customers that have started medical or cleanroom production or are currently in the process of doing so.” Plöchl adds that current market trends for plastics in medical applications include miniaturisa- tion, especially for devices carried by patients, as well as digitalisation for implementation of data collection. In terms of new technical developments in equipment and processes in injection moulding for medical applications, Plöchl highlights the growth in demand for complete cleanroom automation cells, including moulding machine, part removal by robot, quality control, cavity separation, packaging and labelling. Engel has developed a new micro-injection unit
for LSR, offering maximum precision for the lowest shot weights with many advantages for medical applications. In a demonstration, Engel produced the smallest precision components for the field of ophthalmology with an individual part weight of 0.0013 g. An all-electric and tie-bar-less Engel E-motion 50/30 TL injection moulding machine was used. The company says that the new LSR micro- injection unit combines high precision with maxi- mum flexibility and cost-effectiveness. The micro- injection unit extends the range of applications for its injection moulding machines to include even
www.injectionworld.com September 2021 | INJECTION WORLD 33
lower shot weights. The innovation, which Engel has developed with Austrian company ACH Solution, enables the production of precision components made of LSR with shot weights of well below 0.1 g. For the demonstration, a 32-cavity valve gate cold runner mould was used to produce connecting elements used in ophthalmic diagnostic instru- ments. The filigree parts measured 1.7 mm in length and 0.9 mm in diameter and weighed just 0.0013 g. The Engel E-motion 50/30 TL machine was equipped with a LSR metering pump by ACH Solution, an Engel Viper 6 linear robot for micropart removal and depositing on a conveyor belt, and a camera system for quality control – also from ACH Solution. The focus during the development of the micro-injection unit was on a high degree of flexibility. Due to the quick coupling system, the unit can be exchanged for a conventional screw injection unit in less than 30 minutes to maximise the produc- tion uptime of the injection moulding machine. A further advantage of the Engel solution is the
large platens of the tie-bar-less machine. Since there are no tie bars in the way, the platens can be fully utilised, right up to the edge. This means that large multiple-cavity moulds fit on comparatively small injection moulding machines, which reduces the system footprint and increases productivity per unit of area. This in turn ensures the lowest unit costs. The target group for the tie-bar-less, all-electric E-motion TL machine in combination with the new micro-injection unit includes medical technology. Engel has also developed the next generation of its all-electric E-mac machine series and has demonstrated its potential in a challenging applica- tion for the manufacture of pipette tips. Offering maximum flexibility for individual customer requirements, the company says that the E-mac is now even more compact. The quality of pipette tips largely depends on the precision of the injection process. At the same time, the long cores in the
Below: The LSR component made on an Engel machine measures 1.7 mm in length and 0.9 mm in diameter and weighs just 0.0013 g
IMAGE: ENGEL
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