IPF Japan show: Bigger molds with smaller machines

Featured at the recent IPF show near Tokyo, the 220-tonne NEX220 IV all-electric injection molding press from Nissei Plastic Industrial is now available for worldwide shipping. The machine was designed with larger, more complex molds in mind, and can mount a tool that would normally be more at home on a 280-tonne machine.

The prototype FNX 220IV-50A was another example of increased daylight in the Nissei stable. The 220-tonne machine can accommodate molds that would normally be mounted on a 350-tonne press. The company’s N-SAPLI low pressure molding system plays a key role here in optimizing clamping force, which also results in longer tool life and lower peak pressure, meaning less propensity for warpage.

Nissei also has its sights set on the auto sector, where it notes that headlamps are getting larger. To this end, its DCE140111-9E all-electric two-color machine was molding an acrylic prism that was then over-molded with ABS resin. Nissei Plastic’s two-color hybrid machines range up to 800-tonnes clamping force. Besides headlamps, Nissei sees opportunities in instrument panels and interior components such as trim with injection-molded stitching.

Nissei also reports booming interest for its PQ Manager production and quality control software package as processor seek traceability, flexible production scheduling, trouble shooting capabilities, and maintenance scheduling. Orders have tripled over the past two years. To accommodate this trend further, Nissei’s latest controller, the TACT 5, comes with built-in wireless communication capability.

Increased market needs for insert molding are also proving a boon for Nissei’s vertical injection machines. The tiebarless TNX100RIII8V was combined with a two-arm, six-axis Kawasaki robot that could pick up randomly placed inserts and set them in the mold, as well as undertake demolding and assembly operations. The era of selling machines alone is over, notes Nissei.

Increased automation across the plastics industry is also influencing delivery times for electric injection molding presses. Hozumi Yoda, President of Nissei, says that implementation of IoT/Industry 4.0 is resulting in a global shortage of servomotors and ball screws, pushing out delivery of all-electric injection molding machines to as late as July 2018 of they are ordered now.