In perhaps the thinnest part being molded at IPF, a Sodick LP20EH2 machine with a 16-mm diameter plunger was demonstrated molding a camera shutter from polyacetal resin with minimum wall thickness of 0.08 mm at its tip.

The shot was injected in 6.4 milliseconds at a speed of 800 mm/s translating to an acceleration of 12.7 G. The part was being molded in a four-cavity tool at IPF, although in a production environment, an 8-12-cavity mold would most likely be used according to Shuji Aiba, Senior Manager of the Application Engineering Division at Sodick. The toolmaker Hakkai Creates (Niigata, Japan) employed a Sodick EDM machine in fabricating the mold.

Sodick Plustech (Yokohama, Japan) also exhibited a liquid silicone rubber (LSR) injection press based on its V-Line plunger system with the LSR fed through a conveying screw to prevent surging. The LSR100A employs a shorter plasticizing screw of L/D 10 compared with 18 for a standard machine in order to minimize material wastage, which is a particular advantage in the medical sector where LSR grades are typically costly. Sodick Sales Manager Kyosuke Mutoh reports demand for such machines is increasing in Singapore and Malaysia due to a booming medical device industry.

Sodick recently inaugurated a plant in Xiamen, China to manufacture a low-cost machine for overseas markets called in the GA100. The supplier also plans to manufacture the machine in Thailand but ongoing flooding has put this project on hold.

Sodick also exhibited the 60-ton LA60-Vent injection press that minimizes mold deposits through venting gas. According to Sodick, its V-line  in-line plunger system reduces mold deposits by 40% compared with conventional injection  presses but by employing a vent in the plasticizing screw, mold deposits can be reduced by a further 40%. This machine is recommended for molding PPS, from which is was molding a water pump impeller in a two-cavity mold with cycle time of 30 seconds for a 35.4-g shot weight on the show floor.

Sodick has also ventured into inline compounding with a co-rotating twin-screw plasticizing unit docked with its plunger system. The 980-kN PE100 was demonstrated compounding and molding samples from biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) resin and scallop powder in a four-cavity mold in a cycle time of 30 seconds with a shot weight of 67 g. Target applications include carbon nanotube-reinforced compounds.-[email protected]