Integrated solutions for more competitiveness · 2014-03-14 · Press release ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH,...

Press release

ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH, A-4311 Schwertberg/Austria, Tel.: +43 50 620-0, Fax: +43 50 620-3009 E-mail: [email protected], http://www.engelglobal.com

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ENGEL Symposium 2012: 2500 Guests expected

Integrated solutions for more competitiveness

Schwertberg/Austria – April 2012. It’s show time at ENGEL AUSTRIA – on 13th and

14th June, the international injection moulding ind ustry will be convening in Austria

for the ENGEL Symposium 2012 in St. Valentin and Li nz. With challenging applications

and innovative technologies on a total of 18 exhibi ts, with keynotes on the megatrends

of the future in injection moulding, an exhibition by partner companies, and the HL

Awards Ceremony 2012, the ENGEL Symposium is a high light in this year's event

calendar that some 2500 guests are expected to atte nd.

How can one continue to boost efficiency in injection moulding? What opportunities do

innovative technologies offer for more competitiveness? How can individual strengths be

converted into factors for global success? – Attendees can look forward to answers to these

questions and others at the ENGEL Symposium 2012. For two days, events at the ENGEL

large-scale machine works in St. Valentin and at the Design Centre in Linz will focus on

every aspect of injection moulding technology and its automation solutions.

Different industries pose different requirements and need different solutions – focusing on

automotive, technical moulding, telecommunications, packaging and medical technology,

ENGEL will be showing – based on the example of 18 highly integrated and automated

production cells – how customisation of the systems to best match the task in hand can help

to leverage the maximum efficiency potential. The whole of the ENGEL product portfolio and

a wide selection of new and established process technologies will be deployed. Visitors can

look forward to several global firsts: among other things, ENGEL will for the first time be

showing the large-scale, electric ENGEL e-duo machine, the new design of the ENGEL

victory 500 and innovative solutions for in situ polymerisation and low-temperature

vulcanisation.

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Automotive: In situ polymerisation pointing the way to the future

The highlights in the automotive section of the exhibition is a prototype plant for

manufacturing fibre composite semi-finished products in reactive thermoplastic injection

moulding. Inserts for brake pedals will be produced on an ENGEL e-victory 310H/310V/120

combi injection moulding machine. For this purpose, first of all a fibre pre-mould is created.

The latter is then insert-placed into the mould by an ENGEL easix multiple axis robot, where

it is impregnated with ε Caprolactam by a newly developed, servo-electrically driven high-

pressure RTM injection unit immediately before polymerisation to polyamide 6 occurs in the

heated mould.

ENGEL developed the in situ polymerisation technology in cooperation with the

Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT in Pfinztal/Germany. This technology is

characterised by a totally new type of monomer preparation and metering as well as an

efficient solution for automated handling of the unstable shape of the fibre pre-mould. "Due to

the extremely low viscosity of ε Caprolactam, even the finest fibre filaments can be infiltrated

without damage and tailored fibre structures can be integrated to reflect the load",

emphasises Peter Egger, the Head of the Technology Centre for Lightweight Composites at

ENGEL AUSTRIA. "This development clearly points the way into the future of fibre composite

lightweight construction." Another developing partner is ZF in Friedrichshafen/Germany.

Two production cells centring around ENGEL duo large-scale machines show how what

were formerly multiple stage production processes can be combined in a single step to

achieve efficiency and product quality. Using ENGEL clearmelt technology, an ENGEL duo

2050/350 pico – equipped with the ENGEL ecodrive energy saving option – and using

rotary plate technology, will be creating central consoles with integrated functional elements

in a single step.

The second duo machine, an ENGEL duo 11050H/4550M/1500 combi M , will be using the

Dolphin process to create dashboards with a soft touch surface. This extremely economical

production process went into serial production for the first time last autumn. Daimler supplier

SOLE uses Dolphin to produce cockpit covers for the new Mercedes-Benz Actros.

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An all-electric ENGEL e-max 310/100 injection moulding machine rounds off the spectrum of

automotive applications with the production of visible parts.

All five production cells in the Automotive division are highly automated. Both ENGEL viper

linear devices – including the new size viper 90 – and ENGEL easix multiple axis robots are

used. "easix sees ENGEL enter into a new age of convenient robot control," emphasises

Jörg Fuhrmann, Head of Automation Systems with ENGEL AUSTRIA. "Thanks to the

complete integration of the robot control unit into the CC 200 control unit on the ENGEL

injection moulding machine, the robot can be controlled using the familiar, uncomplicated

instructions of the ENGEL control unit."

The systems are also efficient in terms of their consumption. Fitted with ENGEL ecodrive

servohydraulics, hydraulic injection moulding machines by ENGEL can realise energy

savings of up to 70 percent – depending on the machine type and application – thus

achieving consumption levels on a par with those of all-electric machines. The ecodrive

energy saving option is available for all hydraulic injection moulding machines by ENGEL.

The ENGEL e-victory hybrid machines are equipped with ecodrive as a factory standard.

Technical Moulding: tie-bar-less technology frees u p space for large moulds

Lightweight construction is not only the driver for new developments in the automotive

industry. Manufacturers of household appliances are increasingly looking into this trend, as

the wringing forks for floor mops by ENGEL customer Leifheit, Nassau/Germany go to prove.

The wringing forks are manufactured from polypropylene on a tie-bar-less ENGEL victory

3550/500 tech injection moulding machine with ecodrive and viper 40 robot using the

ENGEL gasmelt process. Gas injection technology makes components lighter, which in turn

makes them more convenient to use. At the same time, this reduces the material

requirements and the cost per unit without impacting stability and quality. Besides these

advantages, the high level of process stability achieved by ENGEL injection moulding

technology was an important criterion for Leifheit, when they came to select a machine

supplier. The wringing forks are injected into a 4-cavity mould whose balance posed a major

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challenge for legacy gas injection technology. However, ENGEL gasmelt helped Leifheit to

achieve a very high level of reproducibility and minimal reject rates.

Something that will be particularly impressive for visitors to the symposium is the size of the

4-cavity mould which can be mounted on a 500 tonne machine despite having a height of

2 metres. Thanks to tie-bar-less technology, the mould fixing platens can be used right up to

the edges on the ENGEL victory machines. Additionally, the wide machine frame, which

allows the mould to protrude down into the shaft, also turns out to be an advantage.

The ENGEL victory 500 injection moulding machine is showing off its new design for the first

time at the symposium. The two-part safety gate, which is particularly easy to open, is

another new feature. In addition to this, the designers have also created space next to the

machine control unit for depositing a laptop, clamping data sheets, and for additional

operator control units.

ENGEL is exhibiting a particularly sophisticated two-component application in collaboration

with its customer Zumtobel Lighting, whose head offices are in Dornbirn, Austria. Ceiling

lamp housings are first injected in polycarbonate on an ENGEL victory 1350/300 tech and

then immediately sealed with a polyurethane bead. An ENGEL easix multiple axis robot

demonstrates its excellent consistency and reproducibility of movement in this application

with the sealing bead being applied to the root of the sealing groove which is just a couple of

millimetres wide. The entire production cell including the PUR plant (Sonderhoff,

Cologne/Germany), robot and conveyor belt is extremely compact and fits inside the footprint

of the machine.

Teletronics: ENGEL duo large-scale machine electrif ied

ENGEL has electrified its dual platen large-scale machine from the duo series for highest

precision with the shortest possible cycle times. The new ENGEL e-duo will be celebrating

its world premiere at St. Valentin in June, and featuring a highly innovative application into

the bargain. An ENGEL e-duo 2440/500 will be producing in-mould decorated laptop covers.

The labels and the finished parts are handled by an integrated ENGEL easix robot.

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In collaboration with system partners, ENGEL has succeeded in using injection-

compression moulding to develop a highly efficient solution for manufacturing premium

laptop covers in an IML process which allows previously unachievable thicknesses of less

than 1 mm to be realised. The material pairing shown at the symposium with a scratchproof

coated PC foil and a PC carrier demonstrate a torsion free component without damage to the

foil on an injection-compression mould by Inmold Technologies, Suzhou/China. The plant is

also an innovation in terms of the foil feed. Despite cleanroom technology, the rejects rate in

in-mould labelling is frequently still too high; for this reason ENGEL has improved the foil

cleaning technology and shifted the brushes (Wandres, Buchenbach-Wagensteig/Germany)

immediately close to the machine's mould space. In terms of cleanroom technology, Max

Petek Reinraumtechnik, Radolfzell/Germany is supporting this project.

"The trend in Consumer Electronics products is towards customisation. The design is

becoming an important differentiating feature", emphasises Heinz Rasinger, Head of the

ENGEL Teletronics Business Unit. "The challenge for the manufacturer now is to create

premium, individually-decorated surfaces while at the same time reducing the component

size and weight." ENGEL will be processing a wide range of foils during the event. A variety

of foil designs in analogue and digital printing technologies document freedom of design for

visible parts. Our partner here is Bayer MaterialScience, Leverkusen/Germany, for the

polycarbonate and hardcoat foils.

Thin wall technology in combination with excellent surface quality, this is the requirement

that Amazon poses for the case of its Kindle eReader. The front covers are manufactured on

ENGEL injection moulding machines using Variothermal technology. During the symposium,

a single cavity mould by RocTool, Le Bourget du Lac/France, will be used for this on an all-

electric ENGEL e-motion 940/200 T injection moulding machine. "This application shows the

optimum performance that can currently be achieved using inductive-variothermal mould

temperature control," says Heinz Rasinger. "The matt grey surface is just as demanding as

designs using glossy piano black." Thanks to variothermal temperature control, the surface is

free from sink marks and flow lines, although the wall thickness varies across the

component. It is just 0.4 mm at the thinnest part. The material processed here is a viscose

polycarbonate type. The small shot volumes necessitate extremely precise machine

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technology. The all-electric ENGEL e-motion returns the best results here. At the same time,

parallel operation of the individual electric drives keeps the cycle times low despite

variothermal technology.

No warpage on parts and a short time-to-market, these are the most important benefits of

the ENGEL foammelt technology, foam injection moulding in line with MuCell (Trexel,

Wilmington/MA, USA), which will be demonstrated in St. Valentin on an ENGEL e-victory

310/90 injection moulding machine. The machine will be producing plug housings of

PBT/ASA with 30 percent glass fibre. The decisive thing about this technology is the high

dimensional stability of the foammelt components, into which the contacts are shot after

completing injection moulding. Our project partner here is FCI in Mattighofen/Austria.

Medical: Higher throughput with lower costs per unit

The all-electric ENGEL e-motion injection moulding machine is the focus of the Medical

section of the exhibition. Three machines in cleanroom design will be presenting integrated

solutions that live up to the trend of more efficiency in high-volume production of disposables.

After all, cost pressure is increasing in medical technology, too. "We are seeing a trend

towards larger, electric machines," says Christoph Lhota, Head of the ENGEL medical

Business Unit. "The factor driving this trend is the increasing use of large, multiple cavity

moulds for comparatively small articles with exacting precision requirements."

An ENGEL e-motion 80H/80W/180 T WP combi will be creating parts for auto-injectors on

a servo-electric 16+16-cavity index platen mould by Hack Formenbau, Kirchheim u.

Teck/Germany, in a two-component injection moulding process . This is a product by

SHL (Scandinavian Health), a Swedish medical technology manufacturer.

The syringe barrels including needles are produced in a single step on an ENGEL e-

motion 200/100 T . To allow this to happen, the needles are inserted into a 4-cavity pilot

mould by ZAHORANSKY, Freiburg/Germany, and overmoulded with COC/COP. An

ENGEL easix takes the syringe barrels out of the mould. Because take-off occurs in

parallel to insert-placing of a new set of needles, the plant achieves extremely short cycle

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times. In the legacy process, the needle holder is first manufactured in an injection

moulding step and the hollow needles are then glued in later.

With the third ENGEL medical exhibit, it's all about speed. An all-electric ENGEL e-motion

310/100 T machine will be producing polystyrene needle holders for safety hypodermics

using a 16-cavity precision mould by Fostag, Stein am Rhein/Switzerland. In high-speed

automation the moulded parts are taken off the mould and deposited sorted by cavity. The

take-off only takes half a second. ENGEL's partner for automation for this exhibit is

Hekuma, Eching/Germany.

Packaging: Ready for maximum performance

Taking speed and performance to the next level in packaging: "With cycle times of less

than 3 seconds and injection speeds of up to 460 mm/second, the all-electric ENGEL e-cap

injection moulding machines are perfectly suited to deployment in fast-cycling and high-

performance applications in the packaging industry", says Dr. Christoph Steger, Head of

the ENGEL packaging Business Unit. During the symposium, an ENGEL e-cap 3440/420

will be producing just over 130,000 sealing caps per hour in a 96-cavity mould by Plastisud,

Castelnaudary/France, with a cycle time faster than 2.8 seconds. A single cap including its

seal strip weighs just 1.3 g, thus enormously and sustainably reducing the unit costs in

combination with the unusually high levels of energy efficiency achieved by the e-cap. A

camera-based quality monitoring system by IMD vista, Brügg/Switzerland guarantees 100

percent quality control.

The production of 12 litre buckets on a new ENGEL s-duo 4500/700 pico machine with

ecodrive plus will be setting a different kind of speed records. To be able to use the

benefits of the duo series – lots of power on a small footprint – for that kind of applications,

the machine was equipped with a special inline injection unit for high injection speeds and

pressures. In addition, the motion sequence on the clamping unit has been substantially

accelerated. “This enables the dual-platen machine to achieve unusually short cycle times

for this machine type", says Dr. Christoph Steger. The ENGEL s-duo injection moulding

machine was specially designed for bucket production. "s" stands for speed.

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Where lightweight rules the automotive industry, packaging is the domain of thin-wall

technology. On an all-electric ENGEL e-motion 310H/50V/180 T combi , ENGEL is

demonstrating the production of food packaging with particularly thin wall thicknesses that

still possess a middle layer with a barrier function to protect the product against light and

oxygen. A high precision injection unit is necessary to allow the barrier layer to be reliably

implemented up to the edge. An additional camera system ensures 100 percent quality

control and confirms the high level of reproducibility achieved by the all-electric ENGEL e-

motion machine. The 2-cavity mould for this application is provided by ENGEL customer

ZAO Mir Upakovki, who is based in Sertolovo near St. Petersburg/Russia.

Elast/LIM: Low-temperature vulcanisation opens up new opportunities

ENGEL also has a world premiere in the elastomer processing product programme. For the

first time, a new vulcanisation method developed in collaboration with partner Elmet,

Oftering/Austria, will be demonstrated on an ENGEL victory 200/80 LIM machine. "Low-

temperature vulcanisation opens up new opportunities in multi-component technology",

emphasises Leopold Praher, Head of Sales Elast/LIM with ENGEL AUSTRIA. "Liquid silicon

can now be combined with a wide range of thermoplastics directly in injection moulding."

During the symposium, sample parts made of a silicon by Momentive Performance Materials,

Columbus, OH/USA, will be injected.

The vertical ENGEL elast 2700/400 V compact injection moulding machine with ecodrive,

which will be producing lashing belts using an 8-cavity mould by ÖKT, Hostim/Czech

Republic, will be demonstrating the enormous energy-saving potential in elastomer

processing. The long heating times required in comparison with thermoplastic processing are

decisive. As the ecodrive drive is idle during the heating phases, ecodrive is particularly

apparent in the energy equation in this application. One boost for ergonomics is the low

operating height of the ENGEL elast 400 V compact machine, which facilitates manual insert-

placing work. The raw materials supplier for this application is Kraiburg,

Waldkraiburg/Germany.

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An all-electric ENGEL e-motion 740/180 T WP injection moulding machine with roto feeder

will be used to manufacture BMC headlamp housings at the symposium. The ENGEL roto

feeder feed system ensures maximum process reliability in the processing of duroplasts and

solid silicons. A rotating hopper with counter-rotating screw ensures that the material is fed in

continuously, without inclusions and at a constant pressure. The partner companies for this

exhibit are Automotive Lighting in Reutlingen/Germany (processing and mould making) and

Lorenz Kunststofftechnik in Wallenhorst-Hollage/Germany (raw material).

HL Awards for excellent tie-bar-less applications

Innovation is the driving force for shorter cycle times, increased productivity and less energy

consumption – as the 18 exhibits at the ENGEL Symposium 2012 impressively demonstrate.

At the same time, the applications reveal how important collaboration with the right partners

can be. ENGEL system partners from the fields of mould making, peripheral units, raw

materials and services will be presenting their businesses and products during the event in

the scope of a partner company exhibition. In the accompanying programme of keynotes, the

topics include machine concepts of the future, the potential of injection moulding technology

and new lightweight solutions. Another highlight at the ENGEL Symposium is the HL Award

Ceremony 2012 on the evening of 13th June at the Design Centre in Linz. These are

ENGEL's awards for excellent applications with ENGEL tie-bar-less machines.

ENGEL trend.scaut 2012: Focus on electromobility

The automotive industry is meeting one day before the ENGEL Symposium opens. On 12th

June, the international automotive conference, ENGEL trend.scaut, takes place in Linz. The

focus topic this year is electromobility. In particular, technologies revolving around the topic

of lightweight construction play an increasingly weighty role. OEMs are faced with the

challenge of implementing the new technologies in a production-mature and economically

viable way. ENGEL trend.scaut and the ENGEL Symposium 2012 point the way into the

future.

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Pictures

With 18 exhibits, keynotes and the HL Awards Ceremony, the ENGEL Symposium is a highlight in this year's event calendar. The automotive industry is meeting one day before the ENGEL Symposium opens. On 12th June, the international automotive conference, ENGEL trend.scaut, takes place. ENGEL automotive

Inserts for brake pedals will be produced on an ENGEL e-victory 310H/310V/120 combi injection moulding machine by applying the in situ polymerisation technology.

The ENGEL viper robots are available with a nominal load-bearing capacity of 90 kilograms.

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ENGEL technical moulding

The ENGEL victory 500 injection moulding machine is showing off its new design. Wringing forks for floor mops are manufactured on an ENGEL victory 3550/500 tech.

Ceiling lamp housings are first injected in polycarbonate on an ENGEL victory 1350/300 tech and then immediately sealed with a polyurethane bead. An ENGEL easix multiple axis robot demonstrates its excellent consistency and reproducibility of movement in this application. ENGEL teletronics

The new ENGEL e-duo will be celebrating its world premiere. An ENGEL e-duo 2440/500 will be producing in-mould decorated laptop covers.

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Thin wall technology in combination with excellent surface quality, this is the requirement that Amazon poses for the case of its Kindle eReader. The front covers are manufactured on ENGEL injection moulding machines using Variothermal technology. ENGEL medical

Higher throughput with lower costs per unit: An ENGEL e-motion 80H/80W/180 T WP combi will be creating parts for auto-injectors on a servo-electric 16+16-cavity index platen mould.

The syringe barrels including needles are produced in a single step on an ENGEL e-motion 200/100 T.

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ENGEL packaging

Ready for maximum performance: An ENGEL e-cap 3440/420 will be producing just over 130,000 sealing caps per hour in a 96-cavity mould by Plastisud with a cycle time faster than 2.8 seconds.

The production of 12 litre buckets on a new ENGEL s-duo 4500/700 pico machine with ecodrive plus will be setting a different kind of speed records. The dual-platen machine achieves unusually short cycle times for this machine type. ENGEL elast/LIM

The ENGEL roto feeder feed system ensures maximum process reliability in the processing of duroplasts and solid silicons.

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ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH ENGEL is one of the global leaders in the manufacture of plastics processing machines. Today, the ENGEL Group offers a full range of technology modules for plastics processing as a single source supplier: Injection moulding machines for thermoplastics and elastomers, and automation, with the assurance that individual components are also competitive and successful in the world markets. With eight production plants in Europe, North America and Asia (China, Korea) as well as subsidiaries and representatives in over 85 countries, ENGEL offers its customers the optimal global support they need to compete and succeed with new technologies and leading-edge production systems.

Contact address for queries:

Gerd Liebig, Group Marketing Director, ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH, Ludwig-Engel-Strasse 1, A-4311 Schwertberg/Austria, Tel.: +43 (0)50 / 620-3800, Fax: -3009 E-mail: [email protected] Susanne Zinckgraf, Manager Public Relations, ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH, Ludwig-Engel-Strasse 1, A-4311 Schwertberg/Austria, PR Office: Theodor-Heuss-Str. 85, D-67435 Neustadt/Germany, Tel.: +49 (0)6327/97699-02, Fax: -03 E-mail: [email protected]

Integrated solutions for more competitiveness · 2014-03-14 · Press release ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH,...

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Transcript of Integrated solutions for more competitiveness · 2014-03-14 · Press release ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH,...