CBW debuts high-performance, low-cost automation system at K 2016

CBW Automation Inc. (Fort Collins, CO), a developer of custom automated systems for high-speed injection molding and thermoform packaging lines, has dedicated its engineering and manufacturing resources to designing an automation system that combines high performance and manufacturing flexibility at a lower price point than competing models. The Advantage series will make its debut at K 2016 in Düsseldorf, Germany, in October, where it will run with a Milacron injection molding system at stand C06 in hall 15. The molding cell will be running the latest in packaging innovation, the Klear Can.

CBW typically performs an engineering evaluation of each project to determine the best custom solution for each indvidual customer. CBW’s current products include the TS-303, which offers the fastest retrieval on the market, according to the company; the TSE, with a reduced footprint and high-flow part capture; and the SSE, which offers strip stroke with high-flow part capture. CBW also offers an extensive package of downstream equipment.

The new Advantage series continues the longstanding CBW tradition of proven performance, reliability and optimal productivity while reducing costs and retaining the same intrusion times that CBW customers expect.

Additionally, the series is designed for ease of packing and installation: It ships “wired” and ready to go to enable a faster time to production with less disassembly and reassembly.

The modular system uses a standardized base and frame. Part-retrieval options, including strip stroke, allows molders to accelerate this operation with all types of injection molding technologies including multi-face stack molds and in-mold labeling. The modular design allows the system to be easily and quickly adapted to new parts, minimizing downtime for changeovers.

CBW has eliminated high-flow vacuum blowers, and, instead, has incorporated a suction cup retrieval system. This change increases flexibility simply by relocating the suction cups to accommodate the parts being handled and eliminates the need for a high-flow blower and expensive plumbing from the vacuum to the end-of-arm-tooling.

CBW is not an off-the-shelf automation provider. The company’s lean manufacturing strategy allows it to standardize certain components of its automation systems to reduce lead time. All of CBW’s automation systems are made in the USA at the company’s 45,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.