As with many other Japanese OEMs at the recent IPF Show near Tokyo, injection machine builder Nissei Plastic Industrial (Ueda, Japan) chose to focus on the processing capabilities of its existing machine line-up rather than debut an extensive array of new machines. Company president Hozumi Yoda explained the rationale behind this decision to PlasticsToday during the show.

"During organization committee meetings I attended, the consensus was that we should make this year's IPF different from other shows in Asia where stand-alone machines are typically exhibited. We wanted to display the automation, system and energy-saving capabilities of Japanese machinery," said Yoda. "While no one implicitly said 'no new machines at IPF,' in the end that was happened. In effect we were raising the bar of existing technology and translating this to higher profitability for our customers." One example of Nissei modifying an existing machine was its NEX180III-5ELMN multi-shot liquid silicone rubber (LSR) system based on an existing thermoplastic injection press.

Nissei also applied an existing injection machine to a high-performance packaging application at IPF. The 2160-kN NEX220 III-50ETN all-electric machine was molding multi-layer beverage containers in a four-cavity mold in a cycle time of 8.4 seconds (64 g/shot). The application is reportedly already commercial.

The 0.7-mm thin-wall containers were molded from polypropylene (PP) with a polyethylene (PE) core layer, and also featured in-mold labeling. "We employed PE in this demonstration at IPF due to the high cost of the EVOH barrier resin that would actually be used in this application," says Kazuo Usui, company director and head of technology at Nissei. Usui adds that in an actual production environment, a cycle time in the 7-second range would be possible for the multi-layer construction versus 3-4 seconds for a single layer container.