Sponsored By

The cube mold system is suited for the cost-effective molding of technical and medical parts, even in low volumes.

Injection molding machine maker Arburg has added a new press with an 1800-kn clamping force to its hybrid cube molding line. The Allrounder Cube 1800 is suited for the cost-effective molding of technical and medical parts, even in low volumes, said Arburg in its announcement.

When the Allrounder cube machines were first introduced, the two-component machines were primarily intended for high-volume applications in the packaging sector. Cube mold applications soon expanded into the production of technical parts to take advantage of reduced cycle times. The new Allrounder Cube 1800 “completes the portfolio of products on the lower end of the range,” said Arburg.

The distance between tie bars on the hybrid Allrounder Cube 1800 is 570 x 570 mm, and it can be equipped with horizontal injection units ranging in size from 400 to 1300 and moving injection units sized from 70 to 800. The compact cube, manufactured by partner company Foboha, is conveniently accessible from above. Cube rotation is powered servo-electrically and the horizontal movement relies on rack and pinion mechanisms.

When it is fitted with an 8+8-cavity mold, for example, the Allrounder Cube 1800 can more than double the output of a conventional 570 Allrounder with a 4+4-cavity rotary mold working with the same mold mounting surface. Similarly, the system achieves the same output as at least two Allrounders with comparable tie-bar spacing or one injection molding machine three numbers larger, substantially reducing the machine's footprint.

Arburg provided an example showcasing the Allrounder Cube 1800's capabilities for molding a personal care product. Size 400 and 170 injection units with a 4-cavity pilot mold from Foboha each produced four bi-chrome sealing caps made from chemically recycled PP from Borealis in a cycle time of 8.7 seconds. Four frames weighing 0.85 g each are injected at the first station. Once rotated 90 degrees onto the passive side of the cube, the pre-molded parts are cooled at station two. Following a second rotation, the second component (2.10 g) is injected at station three. Finally, the finished parts are removed automatically at station four, all without extending the cycle time.

The application cited above involves the use of a six-axis robot, which is fully integrated in the machine controller. The robot sets the finished parts down on a conveyor belt. The controller runs a check for defective parts, which are removed by the robotic system. Test samples can be removed at the touch of a button and placed in quality assurance trays, sorted by cube side, for visual inspections.

The Allrounder Cube hybrid series combines speed and precision with reliability and energy efficiency, said Arburg. The machines are available with clamping forces of 1800, 2900, and 4600 kN. Injection molding in two sequential mold parting lines takes place simultaneously with cooling and removal. Just using the passive sides of the cube as a cooling station can reduce cooling time by 30%, according to Arburg.

In some cases, one Allrounder Cube can replace several conventional injection moulding machines, reducing footprints by up to 75% and lowering energy consumption by as much 45% compared with conventional Cube machines.

An interdisciplinary cube team at Arburg provides customers with a single source for custom solutions. These include special designs such as reverse cube technology with counter-rotating cube halves and cube machines for three-component injection molded parts.

Sign up for the PlasticsToday NewsFeed newsletter.

You May Also Like