Milacron debuts possibilities in plastics with flagship products at NPE2015

Milacron is expanding its processing expertise with the M-PET 300, combining speed and flexibility to revolutionize production in the growing PET and PP preform market. NPE2015 also will mark the North American debut of Milacron's pioneering Klear Can product line, enabling plastic solutions for food and beverage packaging previously dominated by metal and glass products.

"Milacron's 2015 product lineup reflects our commitment to push the boundaries of what plastic can do," said Tom Goeke, CEO of Milacron. "We're excited to show our customers the impact of integrating the best of our technology, products and brands into industry-leading solutions."

Systems and machines in booth W-2703 will include the M-PET 300, a system that advances preform molding technology in mono- and multi-layer systems. Milacron will launch the M-PET 300, its new servo-hydraulic PET system offering unparalleled performance and unmatched output to capital. Based on an F series clamp, a new two-stage injection unit and innovative pack handling, the M-PET series offers leading edge performance and low energy consumption at an attractive price-to-performance ratio. The system operates with Milacron's preform tooling, as well as existing industry tooling solutions, all supported by Milacron's single-source capabilities and global aftermarket support.

Pioneered by Milacron's most recent acquisition, Kortec, Klear Can features co-injection methods to elevate product-packaging possibilities. Klear Can replicates the benefits of air-tight metal cans in a plastic container, enabling food storage for shelf-stable foods as well as carbonated and oxygen-sensitive beverages. The Ferromatik 280 opens the doors for plastic molders to enter the food industry, long dominated by metal canning and glass storage. End users gain flexibility in attractive design options and increased product shelf life.

FME and Kortec worked closely together with moldmaker Calfromax to develop a solution for molding five-gallon plastic pails with 50% postconsumer recycled content in the center. The secondary injection unit sits above the primary injection unit and interfaces with a Kortec co-injection hot half. Milacron's new Ferromatik 580 machine is available in nine sizes, from 120 to 650 metric tons of clamping force. The versatile Ferromatik 580 can be built in single- or multi-component, mono-sandwich, co-injection and cube machine form with electric, hydraulic and hybrid drive options. The fully modular system provides a more economical solution for molding pails and other industrial container applications.

Milacron's solution for multi-material molding of both thermoplastic and thermoset materials using an electric machine, an E-Multi secondary injection unit and Varian rotary turntable will debut at NPE. The new all-electric system uses a combination of nylon and liquid silicone rubber (LSR) over-molding to produce an automotive diaphragm. The system's concise repeatability makes it ideal not only for automotive diaphragms, but for a range of medical, consumer, packaging and electronics applications.

Milacron also will launch its latest extrusion machine, the GPAK 45, which constructs polyethylene (PE) pipe. The machine gives users increased extrusion and output efficiencies with the benefit of lower energy consumption.

But what good is machinery without the molds and tooling required to make optimum parts? Milacron's DME product line introduces large mold bases with plate lengths up to 66 inches, increasing the company's capacity to handle larger, more diverse molds. The mold bases are manufactured on the fastest, most powerful machines within their class and use machining centers that rapidly and accurately process data. The equipment used to make large mold bases provides consistency in high-quality finishes that significantly reduces manual polishing and additional rework.

MUD (multi-unit die) aluminum insert molds are Milacron's answer to reducing lead times. Fabricated from an Alumold 500 mold plate, this high-strength alloy withstands extensive machine operations without movement or distortion commonly seen in standard steel materials, and without additional thermal treatment. MUD aluminum insert production benefits include superior machining qualities, lighter weight, excellent thermal conductivity and faster molding cycles.

Hot-runner systems will be a hot topic at NPE, and Mold-Masters will introduce the Summit Series hot runner for premium applications. The stainless-steel hot-runner system runs with four times less thermal variation from set-point, compared to the typical thermal variation seen in a nozzle with a heater band. With less than 5% temperature variation, this nozzle series is ideal for molding shear and temperature-sensitive resins like PC, POM and PBT. The nozzle profile is especially effective for medical molding applications where precision is tantamount. This series offers new valve gating methods using servo-controlled actuators.

Milacron will showcase its enhanced Fusion G2 series for automotive and large part molding. An extended nozzle-length range provides more flexibility for customers while the new valve pin open speed control and position monitoring option enables more control over the resin flow and molding process to improve the surface finish. Additional new gate seal options allow handling of new and challenging resins.

For molders who want to see details about their molds that have never been possible before, there is SmartMold, a revolutionary new technology. Contactless wet cycle counting, uptime and cycle time sensing, over-pressurization, over-temperature, over-tonnage and abuse of the mold can now be easily sensed and recorded to ensure that the mold is run as intended. All of this is possible without the need for clumsy and invasive parting line sensors, pressure transducers, wiring or thermocouples. The collected data is seamlessly transferred to production monitoring systems.

Users can interface with SmartMold via a compact multitouch screen mounted directly on the mold or via a Smartphone using Bluetooth or a Wi-Fi connection. Customers can now locate their molds anywhere in the world and SmartMold will automatically notify the user and supplier of the pending need for parts or service. SmartMold opens the door to a world of possibilities never seen in injection molding until now, claims Milacron.