Injection Molding Machines- Web Exclusive: expanded content 18725

Inmold Manufacturing

A fully automated cell for producing ready-to-install, automotive B-columns was demonstrated by Battenfeld. A hydraulic, L-configured, 385-ton multishot press, designated HM 3500/1900+130L B4, was equipped with a textile feeding station. Robots in the cell included Battenfeld?s Unirob R15 10-(9x9)-45 for parts handling and a Robocut A300 that laser cut the textiles.

The textiles were trimmed in the mold, where the multishot press also injected the second material. The company has trademarked this system IMCmore and also promotes its use in producing door claddings, car trunk linings, and cable conduit covers. (See June 2003 IMM, p. 110 for the initial report.)

UBE wowed showgoers with the first U.S. performance of its patented Imprest inmold coating technology (see February 2002 IMM, pp. 64-65 for details). Company sources say the technology will go into production molding Class A parts for an unspecified vehicle in Q4 2003. Imprest was demonstrated on an UBE Ultima UN385/23E all-electric.

All-electric inmold finishing was on display in Toshiba?s booth. A Six-Sigma-compatible, 242-ton Model EC240-2C, equipped with two injection units in an L configuration, ran parts with sophisticated inlaid graphics from MGS Group?s new Albea Technologies LLP in a self-contained, fully automated cell. The horizontal rotary mold in the cell also was built by MGS. Each shooter, designed for positioning accuracy to within ±.0005 mm, had its own Toshiba V21 control.

Gram Technologies presented video-animation demonstrations of its Danish spin-stack inmold finishing solutions at the Multicomponent Solutions Center in Ferromatik Milacron?s booth. Inmold painting, welding, and articulation videos were shown. Also, a leading Austrian moldmaker, KTW, displayed a real spin-stack mold designed to produce closures with molded-in liners there.

Milacron sources say spin-stack applications benefit from the generous machine daylight area of its Maxima hydraulic molding machines, and from versions of its Powerline all-electric presses with 16 inches more daylight.

A European-built K-TEC 200 S 2F-EW Ferromatik Milacron 220-ton, two-barrel press ran mobile phone covers in the first U.S. public exhibition of four-faced, cube stack-mold technology, a big hit at K 2001. The press ran in the booth belonging to German moldmaker Foboha, codeveloper of the process with Milacron. The mold was a 4x4x4x4-cavity cube.

Insert Molding

Parting Liners and More

Gluco may have surprised many familiar with its lineup by bringing such a large rotary-table insert molding machine to the show, but there it was?a 150-ton, 10-oz, two-station, four-post model with parting-line injection (all-verticals also are available). The machine was fully closed loop. Barber-Colman controls are standard, as is light-curtain guarding.

Gluco sources say the four-post design yields a number of advantages over C-frames, including a reduced footprint, reduced platen deflection, and a reduced price. The 150-tonner was priced at $145,000 at the show. Its big new four-posters range from 100 to 300 tons.

A smoothly operating and silent all-electric parting-line insert molding machine was demonstrated molding automotive cooling-fan shrouds by Nissei. Designated Elject TD150RE, the 171-tonner on show was Nissei?s largest-tonnage model in the series, which ranges down to 22 tons.

The machine was equipped with a two-station, all-electric rotary table. Nissei sources recommend parting-line injection, because it reduces chances of drooling and stringing, while lowering the height of the molding system.

Battenfeld demonstrated the versatility of its Vertical R Series three-tiebar, rotary-table, parting-line-injection molding machines (44 to 220 tons) in a fully automated cell producing airbag initiators from Lifesparc (Hollister, CA). A 66-ton Model Vertical R600/50 was used.

Percussion caps were robotically loaded onto igniters, which were inserted into the mold, eight at a time, after the previously molded eight were removed. Finished parts were automatically transferred to bulk containers. The molding machine?s servohydraulics allowed different phases of the cycle to be overlapped, which reduced overall cycle times.

A 90-ton model of Toyo?s parting-line-injection, two-stage rotary table insert molding system was displayed by Maruka USA. Its PLCS-9 control remotely controls table rotating speed and pressures, in addition to the entire molding system. Up to 10 programmable injection speeds and pressures can be controlled, as well as the machine?s safety sensors.

Representatives of Milacron?s Autojectors were on hand at NPE to discuss new 130- and 280-ton models in their Evolution Series C-frame insert molding machines. The new models were introduced at an open house held at the company?s Batavia, OH manufacturing plant before the show.

The 130-tonner has a maximum daylight of 25 inches and can accept molds to 16 by 23 inches. The Evolution 280 model has a 35-inch maximum daylight and accepts molds to 24 by 36 inches. Two-station rotary tables are standard, as are infrared light-curtain guarding, variable- and fixed-volume pumping, and PC-based controls.

New Pacific Machinery, distributors for Multiplas Enginery, Taiwan?s biggest supplier of insert molding machines, displayed 85-ton and 120-ton models. The 85-tonner, representative of the company?s VC-SD Series, features a two-station, two-way shuttling table, which allows easy parts removal and insert insertion while parts are being molded, doubling productivity.

All-Verticals and More

Sumitomo?s new SR Series machines, currently available in 55- and 85-ton sizes, are all-vertical and all-electric. Rotary table presses are designed for everything from automotive to thin-wall overmolding and insert molding. Regarding thin-wall molding, injection velocity up to 300 mm/sec is standard.

SR Series machines are equipped with five Sumitomo-built synchronous a-c servomotors controlling all machine movements. They also pack a lot of versatility in a compact space?the 55-ton SR50 on show had a 63-by-63-inch footprint and 20.5 inches of daylight.

It insert molded 30 percent glass-filled PBT automotive sensor housings. Each part weighed just .69 oz, including the .13-oz brass insert.

Haitian?s Model HTVS-60-52-P is an all-vertical, 55-ton, 2-oz, four-tiebar press with 12.2 by 12.2 inches between the bars. It?s built primarily for automotive insert molding by Haitian in a joint venture with the Japanese OEM, Sanjo Seiki Co. Ltd. It was first shown at IPF 2002 in Tokyo.

The press features a vertical reciprocating screw with double cylinders on the shooter. Good rigidity, high precision, and low power consumption are features built into this space-saving vertical. Easy maintenance and low-noise operation are among its others. Control is through an easy-to-use black and white touch screen. The HTVS-60-52-P can operate in either manual, semiautomatic, or automatic modes.

A highlight of the Boy Machines booth was its new, compact, 37.8-ton, 2.39-oz, all-vertical Boy 33 VV. It?s a twin-platen, four-tiebar design with 11 by 10 inches between the bars. It features a fixed lower platen. The moving platen turns 90°. This design reportedly eliminates any unwanted movement of the insert during clamping. The Boy 33 VV comes equipped with either the color touch screen Procan CT or Boy?s midrange Procan MD control.

Another all-vertical at the show was Engel?s Insert 330/90V US, a 90-ton/6.5-oz machine. Standard hot runner molds can be used. Cycle times also can be reduced by eliminating sprue break with vertical injection. Nylon was molded onto rollers in an eight-cavity tool from Fabrïk Molded Plastics in 40-second cycles.

As a complement to its popular line of Newbury C-frame and four-tiebar verticals (30 to 400 tons), Van Dorn Demag chose to exhibit a 280-ton model of its Praxis line of two-platen, rotary table presses at NPE 2003. Designed specifically for the North American market, Praxis machines will eventually range from 60 to 380 tons.

The frames of Praxis presses reportedly are built to provide all the mold space you?ll ever need; more platen area for mold utilities and connections; and the largest-diameter, revolving or oscillating, two- or three-station rotary tables in the business, ton-for-ton.

Yuh-Dak Machinery was a newcomer to NPE. Based in Taiwan, its machines are built in the PRC. It specializes in insert molding machines with closed loop injection for thermoplastics and thermosets, and offers an extremely broad selection of sizes and configurations.

Two of its Y Series all-hydraulic, all-vertical, four-post presses were shown in Chicago: Model Y-310, a 15-tonner; and Model Y-350, a 25-ton machine. Both feature the company?s Ethernet-ready Easy-9000 computer controls and proportional hydraulics. The 15-tonner costs $9000.

Micro-Mini Molding

Downsized Molding

The Model 60 is the latest small-parts molding machine from Mini-Jector Machinery. As detailed in the July 2003 issue (p. 56), the Model 60 has a horizontal twin-cylinder direct hydraulic clamp with on-the-fly ejection capabilities, and a vertical 1- or 2-oz injection unit for parting-line injection. All-horizontal Model 60s also are available.

The Model 60 is very compact, requiring only 11 sq ft of floor space, for lean integration into assembly lines. It has 8.25 by 5.50 inches between the bars and a 5-hp motor that delivers 5.15 gpm. And the press is controlled by a user-friendly Mitsubishi PLC with a touch-screen LCD and storage capabilities for up to 36 setup recipes. The Model 60 costs $31,500.

At NPE 2003 Glenn Frohring, Mini-Jector?s president and the builder of the Model 60, ran an heirloom mold he had sitting on a shelf at his company?s HQ in Newbury, OH. The mold was originally built by Canadian moldmaker M&M Plastics to run at NPE 1968.

A small 5.5-ton, .16-oz Model TR05EH, Sodick Plustech?s smallest hybrid press, molded an array of 37.3-mm-diameter aspherical (irregularly shaped) lenses bundled together in one 7-mm master lens.

The lens arrays were run in a prototype two-cavity, edge-gated mold. Part weight was .0428g; runner weight was .5809g. Yushin provided a side-entry robot with runner degating and part separation systems.

A. Routsis Assoc. is the exclusive North American distributor of ultraquiet, tabletop all-electric High Force 5 machines built in the U.K. by Rondol. Linear positioning accuracy is to within ±.01 mm and they consume very little energy. All you need to run them is a 120V single-phase power outlet.

High Force 5s are cleanroom-ready, reciprocating-screw 5.5-ton, .11-oz toggle-clamp machines with 6.69 by 6.69 inches between their four tiebars. Omron PLC touch-screen controls are standard. High Force 5s sell for about $35,000.

Drying and loading equipment supplier Dri-Air Industries has assumed the North American marketing and sales of MCP Minimolder injection molding machines, built in the U.K. by MCP Equipment. MCP builds three models of pneumatic-powered and hydraulic-powered 12-tonners.

All feature screw/plunger two-stage injection through a hot sprue for runnerless molding of small ETP materials and compounds. Dri-Air has some interesting things in store for its Minimolders, such as packaging them as all-in-one systems with its own line of mini auxiliaries. We?ll keep you posted.

A 17-ton Arburg Allrounder 220 S molded POM parts weighing just .0031 oz in 10-second cycles at the show.

All-electric Micromolding

Multinational micromolder Makuta Technics returned to NPE to help Sumitomo demonstrate the capabilities of its 20-ton Model SE18D, a direct-drive all-electric micromolding machine. POM devices for organ suturing weighing in at .00035 oz were molded and put under a microscope so showgoers could see them. The SE18D has a maximum injection speed of 500 mm/sec, a maximum injection pressure of 34,130 psi, and a response time of 30 msec.

The Microsystem 50 from Battenfeld still turns heads even though it?s been around for a while. Some 80 percent of them out in the field today are being used to micromold parts for use in medical applications, like implants. Company sources say the machine is still a work in progress, though.

Recent improvements to its servodrives reportedly have improved its operating speed and accuracy. Parts at NPE 2003 were being run and automatically packaged in 2.4-second cycles. They were electronics parts?6-mm-long subconnector housings that weighed just .00017 oz with 27 bridges that were only 86-µm thick. The two-cavity tooling was from Zumtobel of Austria.

Nissei, which, as previously mentioned, introduced the first all-electric press 20 years ago at K 1983, a 5-tonner, came to NPE 2003 with its popular 3.3-ton all-electric, the Elject AU3E. PP battery gaskets were molded. Shot weight was only .075g. Nissei?s Elject AU3E all-in-one molding systems feature two-stage screw/plunger injection, two-tiebar clamping, and a-c servomotor control over every motion axis. They also feature built-in mold temperature controls and chillers and are caster-mounted, so you can roll them right up to an outlet.

The Sesame nanomolding machine designed to micromold parts from .5 to 10 cu mm was discussed in a booth belonging to the company that builds them, Hull/Finmac. Sesame machines feature the use of ultrahigh-speed linear servomotor injection. Company sources say two were recently built and shipped to a company in Korea. Two more are on order. (Search the Article Archive at www.immnet.com for technical details on the Sesame.)

Macromolding

Big Machines for Big Molds

Battenfeld may have won by a knockout by bringing the biggest iron into McCormick Place (see August 2003 IMM NPE Highlights, p. 16), but there were other heavyweight contenders in Chicago, like UBE.

UBE exhibited a 1000-ton model in its new U2-Max series of big machines, which will eventually replace its UM Series. Built in Ann Arbor, MI primarily with local content (only the castings are imported), U2-Max Series machines will be available in 500-, 720-, 1000-, and 1500-ton models. The show machine had a whopping 60 by 50 inches between tiebars.

U2-Max machines, like the 1000-tonner on show, are equipped with new PC-based controls with a familiar Windows operating system. It runs colorful and easy-to-understand animated graphics, has clear maintenance instructions, and supports online, real-time troubleshooting. The control also can use third-party software. UBE had interfaced its control with RJG software at NPE, for instance.

A ?smaller? all-electric UBE Ultima Series all-electric?a 720-tonner?also was exhibited. Equipped with a 28:1 L/D screw in an injection unit with an 82.75-cu-cm/sec injection rate, it ran living-hinge PP binders in 20-second cycles. UBE sources remind us that they have Ultima all-electrics in production out there up to 2000 tons.

Engel displayed the largest-tonnage all-electric tiebarless press it has ever built, the 200-ton, 12.7-oz Engel E-Motion 740/200 US. It?s not just big in tonnage. Being a tiebarless, the machine has 30 percent more clamping area than a comparably sized press with tiebars, which saves a lot of floor space, comparatively speaking.

In a fully automated cell featuring downstream automation from Automation Tooling Systems, the show machine ran PBT coasters in a two-cavity Innotech tool held in place by Tecnomagnete permanent-magnet QMC platens. Parts were removed by an Engel ERC 33-2Ea frequency-drive robot, which can move simultaneously in all three axes. An innovative closed loop Priamus Fill control system from Priamus was another feature. Engel plans to expand its E-Motion line up to 400 tons.

Smaller Big Twin-platens

Engel demonstrated a new, smaller-sized version of its Duo Series twin-platen presses, which go up to 6000 tons. A 720-ton, 80.5-oz model, designated Engel Duo 4550/720 US, was on show, molding nylon manifolds that were removed by an Engel ERC 64-1E three-axis servorobot at 60-second cycles in two-cavity tooling.

Fully modular and available in 40 standard machinery combinations, the 720-ton model at NPE can also be supplied to deliver 770 tons of clamping force and with standard, wide, and extra-wide platen options.

Engel definitely still builds big Duos, though. A 1000-ton, 160-oz model was at the show demonstrating the company?s Fibermelt long-glass-fiber molding technology. Big PP door panels were run in a Tecnomagnete-magnetized Carcoustics mold at 50-second cycles. The parts were deposited over the rear end of the space-saving two-platen press by a space-saving Engel ERC 85-OE servorobot.

Van Dorn Demag also may have surprised large-parts molders at the show by announcing a downsizing of its line of big Caliber twin-platen molding machines, which range up to 4400 tons. Space-saving, energy-efficient Calibers are now available in 500-, 730-, and 950-ton sizes. The 950-ton, 103.7-oz model at the show ran 52-oz litter box parts out of a 44-melt PP in 45-second cycles. The machine also was equipped with Tecnomagnete QMC platens.

Equally surprising was Ferromatik Milacron?s announcement of new, downsized models in its Maxima Series two-platen presses. Six sizes are available from about 300 to 860 tons (they?re spec?ed in kN), with three models in wide-platen configurations. Electric screw drives are optional.

But Milacron also announced an upsized model in its energy-saving Powerline Series of rack-and-pinion clamping all-electrics. A new wide-platen, 1125-ton, 220-oz model has been developed. Milacron?s PC-based Xtreem controls are standard on both new models.

A 716-ton twin-platen press built in Korea by LG International was displayed at NPE 2003. The design of the press, designated LGH 720M, saves more than floor space. The machine reportedly consumes half the oil of a conventional three-platen press. The company?s HICOM-4000 control with built-in SPC is standard.

Haitian also displayed an even smaller-footprint, twin-platen hydraulic at the show, a 64-tonner with 12.2 by 12.2 inches between the bars and proportionally controlled variable-volume pumping. Its economical Model HTK58 has all the two-plate specials, including a moving-platen-mounted clamping cylinder, tiebar piston rods, and linear roller guides for moving platen support.

A Low-pressure Alternative

You don?t necessarily need big iron to mold big parts, say Wilmington Machinery sources. Wilmington?s versatile, new Lumina-e Series two-platen, hybrid, low-pressure molding machines have plenty of real estate between tiebars. Completely configurable machines, their two-stage injection system is capable of delivering up to 1800 lb/hr of material in shot sizes ranging from 25 to 100 lb.

Incorporating the traditional features of low-pressure presses?such as extra-large platens, multiple injection nozzles, and large shot sizes?and configured for gas-assist and structural foam molding, Lumina-e machines are capable of producing enormous parts in a single cycle, or a variety of parts in separate molds or big multicavity family molds in a single cycle.

Three models are available: Lumina 1600e (400 tons, 38 by 54 inches between tiebars), Lumina 2400e (600 tons, 52 by 82 inches between tiebars), and Lumina 3200e (600 tons, 38 by 108 inches between tiebars).

Though it didn?t bring one to Chicago, Krauss-Maffei spokesmen announced the introduction of its new MX Series large twin-platen presses (800 to 4000 tons), which will replace its MC Series machines. Unlike their predecessors, the locking and clamping force buildup elements in the MX machines are fully integrated into the clamp?s moving half. This improves access to the fixed platen and the nozzle area. MX machines will be phased in throughout 2003.

Value Packed

General Purpose/Good Pricing

Haitian displayed 360-ton and a 640-ton models in its competitively priced HTW Series of five-point toggle clamp machines at the show. At its ISO/CE-certified plant in Ningbo, which is south of Shanghai on the East Cost of the PRC, Haitian produced and sold more than 8000 units last year. Its presses are built using some of the best European, Asian, and U.S. machining centers money can buy.

Vickers pumps, and proportional and directional valves from Yuken or Vickers are used on its HTW Series machines. The computer-based, full color machine controllers are from Siemens.

And its HTWs come loaded with all the standard features required for most GP molding jobs and options, like accumulators, extended mold height, hardened screws, and bimetallic barrels for special jobs.

GP Plus Series toggle machines (90 to 900 tons/3.4 to 181 oz) were introduced by Taylor Industrial Services? HPM Div. The machines are designed for molders who need reliable, versatile, and affordable GP press, rather than machines loaded with a bunch of high-tech bells and whistles.

Standard features include an improved toggle design, twin pumping for cycle phase overlapping, increased tiebar spacing, beefed up rigidity, and Barber-Colman Command 4000 closed-loop controllers. A 320-ton GP Plus was on show.

German-built Van Dorn EXTRA machines?Van Dorn Demag?s competitively priced GP presses available in eight models ranging from 28 to 220 tons?made their North American debut at NPE 2003. Models up to 120 tons have direct hydraulic clamps; those from 140 to 220 tons are toggles. Standard features include programmable backpressure, on-the-fly ejection, and automatic start-up/shutdown. Van Dorn Demag ran a 90-ton/3.6-oz EXTRA at the show. It molded 2-oz showerhead covers from an advanced styrene polymer in a single-cavity mold at 20-second cycles.

Sandretto brought a model of its latest, cost-competitive, GP Series NS five-point toggle machines into Chicago. A Series NS 100 was shown, a 100-ton/6.1-oz model with 16.4 by 16.4 inches between tiebars. Variable-displacement pumping is standard, as is a compact twin-piston injection unit design. Series NS machines, available from 75 to 485 tons, also feature Sandretto?s Sef2000 controllers, with high-resolution color LCD display screens.

Asian GP Machines

Gluco was full of surprises at NPE. Known for its vertical-clamping insert-molding presses, the company is now supplying GP, direct-clamping hydraulic horizontals from 50 to 550 tons. It?s private labeling SM series horizontals with closed-loop injection that are built in Taiwan, R.O.C by Multiplas Enginery. A 150-ton/9-oz machine was displayed at the show. All are built to conform to all OSHA safety standards.

The Gluco horizontals feature dual proportional hydraulic circuitry: Bosch proportional valves control the mains; Yuken proportional valving handles the ejector and core pull and charges backpressure. On-the-fly knockout and core pull is standard.

Meanwhile, a 70-ton/4.3-oz Multiplas horizontal with the Multiplas nameplate on it was on display at the booth belonging to the company?s exclusive U.S. distributor, New Pacific Machinery.

A clean, hose-free profile is a new look for LG International?s LGH-D Series of direct hydraulic clamp molding machines (90 to 385 tons). Its list of standard features?including its high-speed, full-color Hicom-600 controller?far exceeds its list of options. Durability, repeatability, and mold-protection sensitivity are designed into its hydraulic circuitry. And it?s designed to provide smooth control over backpressure relief during injection. A 275-ton/23.9-oz model LGH-280D with 24 by 24 inches between the tiebars was displayed.

Asian Plastics Machinery/Chen Hsong Machinery?s entry in the economy-model category was its model SM90HC, a 90-ton hydraulic. Primarily designed for molding consumer and IT products, lenses were molded at NPE. SM-HC Series machines, available up to 460 tons, feature an extra-wide diameter clamping piston designed for uniform clamping-pressure transfer. Multistage clamping pressure and injection-compression control also are provided.

Two models in its affordable PT-U line of semiclosed loop, toggle clamp machines were shown by L.K. Machinery USA: a 220-ton model PT200, and a new 33-tonner, designated PT30. Automatic die height adjustment, variable-displacement pumping, and energy efficiency are hallmarks of the PT-U machines. Both of the presses at the show were sold soon after it opened.