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Kiefel's CAT system will make operators purr

April 30, 2008

1 Min Read
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Thermoforming machine manufacturer Kiefel (www.kiefel.de; Freilassing, Germany) plans by this autumn to introduce a new process and control optimization package, using CAT (Computer Aided Teaching) so that even inexperienced operators will be able to adequately thermoform parts. Erwin Wabnig, sales director for packaging and technical parts, introduced the system during a presentation at the 6th European thermoforming conference in Berlin, Germany in early April. The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) organized the event.

Wabnig noted that, in times past, thermoforming processors only had to concern themselves with 10-20 parameters that could be adjusted. Now, though, new mold control systems, integrated into machine controls, allow for better control of plug speed, pressure control of forming air, and other key parameters. Having the new options is good, of course, because it allows for better control and for rejection of bad parts before they are stacked; the downside is that taking control of the many parameters is beyond the realm of many operators’ current knowledge of the process.

Enter CAT. Wabnig said the technology should be available by the time of the Fakuma trade show in Friedrichshafen, Germany in October. CAT will prompt a user to input known parameters with regard to tooling, material processed, and even parts themselves (such as negatively or positively formed), and then the machine will develop a processing solution. CAT calculates the parameters using the entered data.

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