K 2016 in Dusseldorf – October 19th – 26th is coming – Are you going ?
ENGEL will once more underscore is global claim to technological leadership. The injection moulding machine manufacturer and systems experts are headquartered in Schwertberg, Austria. ENGEL will showcase its challenging applications targeted for the automotive, teletronics, technical moulding, packaging and medical industries. Sophisticated applications generate huge benefits to customers thanks to their innovative process technologies, custom-built manufacturing concepts and intelligent control systems technology. ENGEL gives its customers the decisive edge in international markets with great cost efficiency, productivity and consistent quality.
Be the first – that is the motto of the ENGEL exhibit at K 2016 in hall 15, stand C58
Automotive: two premieres for even lower costs per unit
DecoJect brings colour, structure and haptics into play IMD technologies are increasingly replacing painting in the production of car interiors in order to combine a high quality surface finish with a high degree of flexibility for small batch sizes and low unit costs. With the DecoJect film-based solution, ENGEL together with its partners present the next development step at K 2016: the combination of injection moulding with IMG (in-mould graining) in a roll-to-roll process. Unlike conventional IMD processes, the paint is not simply transferred from the film onto the component. Instead, the film is punched out and stays on the component. This way, in addition to colour and pattern, surface structure and haptics also come into play.
ENGEL will present the DecoJect technology in a fully automated pro-duction cell for the first time. On an ENGEL duo 5160/1000 injection moulding machine sample parts simulating large door panels are produced.
Teletronics: process integration with extreme thin-wall technology
Whether notebooks, tablets or smartphones, when it comes to producing handheld devices, the key to less weight and more stability lies in using innovative composite materials for the housing. The goal of a development cooperation project between ENGEL AUSTRIA, Bond-Laminates (Brilon, Germany) – a company of the LANXESS group headquartered in Co-logne, Germany – and LEONHARD KURZ (Fürth, Germany) is to also significantly increase production efficiency. At K 2016, the three partner companies are introducing the revolution-ary result of their collaboration: the injection moulding of an extremely robust, fit-for-purpose housing with a sophisticated surface decoration in extreme thin-wall technology. With a wall thickness of only 0.6 mm, the demonstration part offers completely new possibilities.
The highly automated production cell operating at ENGEL’s exhibition stand was specially desigened for the material combination of continuous fibre reinforced thermoplastic preforms (Tepex®) and IMD films. For the In Mould Decoration of composite components in large scale serial production it integrates three processing technologies: ENGEL organomelt for shap-ing and functionalising thermoplastic continuous fibre reinforced semi-finished products (thermoplastic fabrics) in the injection moulding process, ENGEL variomelt for optimising the surface quality via variothermal mould temperature control and In Mould Decoration (IMD) for optical and functional surface finishing directly in the mould.
Extremely robust and extremely thin: the housings have a wall thickness of only 0.6 mm and come ready-to-fit direct from the injection moulding machine.
Technical moulding: in-situ polymerisation and injection moulding combined
In-situ polymerisation of ε-caprolactam opens up new opportunities in the production of fibre-reinforced composite components with a thermoplastic matrix. It makes it possible to achieve highly efficient processes and flexibly designed composite components. Starting with dry, preformed reinforcing fabrics (preforms), the in-situ method combines the polymerisation and moulding process in a single injection moulding machine. Since the presentation of the first prototype machine four years ago, ENGEL has continuously opti-mised the system components and developed a completely new reactive aggregate that can be combined with different types of ENGEL injection moulding machines. The new unit also differs markedly from the 2012 prototype from a technological viewpoint. As the only provider on the market, ENGEL can melt and process the solid monomer in a just-in-time manner. The advantages are a significantly shorter material dwell time, a reduced thermal load, and thus increased product quality. ENGEL sees great potential for both the automotive industry and for other applications, for example in the field of technical injection moulding.
In-situ polymerisation of ε-caprolactam opens up new possibilities for the production of fibre-reinforced composite components with a thermoplastic matrix – not just in the automobile industry.
ENGEL elast: tie-bar-less for high efficiency and process consistency
Liquid Silicone – multi-component processes with reliablility –
The importance of multi-component technology is also growing with increasing momentum in LSR (Liquid Silicone Rubber) processing. In many applications, only the integrated injection moulding process makes it possible to bond thermoplastics and silicone together in stable layers. Pressure reservoir diaphragms used in pressure compensation vessels are an exam-ple for this. At K 2016, ENGEL is producing these two-component parts of PBT and LSR on an ENGEL victory 200H/200L/160 combi injection moulding machine with integrated ENGEL viper 40 linear robot. The mould and the LSR metering pumps come from ENGEL’s partner Elmet (Oftering, Austria). The LSR is a product delivered by Wacker Silicones in Burghausen, Germany.
Producing two-component parts makes optimal use of the efficiency potential of the ENGEL victory machine’s tie-bar-less clamping unit. The bulky mould extends right up to the edge of the mould mounting platen and therefore fits on a comparatively compact 160 ton injection moulding machine. Automation is a second efficiency factor. The linear robot can access the cavities directly from the side without having to negotiate obstacles and operate safely there. Third, the very high process consistency which is ensured by the tie-bar-less clamping unit provides a significant contribution to the high overall efficiency. The patented force divider enables the moving mould mounting platen to follow the mould exactly while clamping force is building up and ensures that the clamping force is evenly distributed across the platen face. This way, both the outer and inner cavities are kept closed with exactly the same force, which reduces mould wear and raises product quality. Virtually burr-, waste- and rework-free and fully automated processing of LSR is the prerequisite to producing high-tech products made of liquid silicone in an economic way.
In many applications, only the integrated injection moulding process makes it possible to bond thermoplastics and silicone together in stable layers. Pressure reservoir diaphragms used in pressure compensation vessels are an example for this.
Medical: inject 4.0 for even greater reproducibility
1-K interdental brushes with up to 500 bristles –
“scrub!” – that is the name of a new interdental brush that pheneo in Bremen, Germany, is soon introducing to the market. It will celebrate its exclusive preview at K 2016 because its production process is also a world first. Up to 500 bristles can be moulded directly in single-component injection moulding together with the core and the grip. At the fair, the cleanroom version of an all-electric ENGEL e-motion 170/100 T injection moulding machine is being used to process a three-component compound. The high-performance precision mould with eight cavities which is extremely delicate in the bristle area comes from Hack Formenbau (Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany), and Hekuma in Eching, Germany, is responsible for the automation. The presentation showcases a highly integrated, automated production cell in Hekuma’s modularised HEKUflex design. Immediately after injection moulding, the parts are camera inspected and the good parts automatically packed into retail sales bags, 16 pieces each. One bag leaves the production cell every four seconds.
Up to 500 bristles can be moulded with the single-component process.
Packaging: process integration reduces unit costs
Integrated injection blow moulding in up to 96 cavities –
Injection blow moulding makes it possible to achieve economical production of ready to use small containers in a single step. However, the number of possible cavities was hitherto limited. Together with its system partners Foboha (Haslach, Germany) and Alpla Werke Al-win Lehner (Hard,Austria), ENGEL has succeeded in developing the integrated process fur-ther for use with multi-cavity moulds, thus reducing cycle times significantly. Based on cube technology, upscaling to up to 96 cavities is possible without compromising cycle time and accuracy. This significantly reduces unit costs for high production output. ENGEL is show-casing the potential of the new injection blow moulding process at K 2016 using a packaging application as an example.
Polypropylene containers are being produced on an all-electric ENGEL e-motion 740/220 T WP injection moulding machine in an 8-cavity cube mould built as a proof-of-principle proto-type. The containers were developed by Alpla for a customer in Asia that until now packages its products in glass vessels. By substituting the material, it reduces both production costs and packaging weight while increasing consumer safety at the same time.
In order to achieve short cycle times, the previously produced preforms are blown up in the opposite mould position parallel to injection moulding. At the same time, the ENGEL easix six-axis robot integrated in the production cell removes the finished containers from the fourth position and places these onto the conveyor belt with the opening facing upwards. The entire handling thus occurs in phase with the injection blowing and does not increase the cycle time. An insulating cover in position 2 prevents the preforms from cooling off. The shot weight is 8 grams per container.
Up to 96 containers per shot can be produced in the injection blow moulding process.
High performance in a new dimension – “e-speed”
With their innovative drive concept, the injection moulding machines of the ENGEL e-speed series guarantee high efficiency at continuous high-speed operation, even with high shot weights and high clamping forces. But ENGEL now takes this one step further at K 2016. Thanks to IML integration, long thin-walled packaging can be produced ready-to-fill with in-jection moulding. ENGEL is presenting this increase in efficiency at K 2016 in Dusseldorf in the production of cartridges for the construction and DIY retail sector. For this, an ENGEL e-speed 500/90 injection moulding machine is being combined with IML automation from Beck Automation (Oberengstringen, Switzerland). The 16-cavity mould comes from Otto Hofstetter (Uznach, Switzerland), and the system partner for the labels is Verstraete in mould labels (Maldegem, Belgium). For the first time it is possible to decorate cartridges using IML technology, with the extrem length-to-diameter-ratio requires specific IML solutions.
The cartridge production makes optimal use of the advantages of the hybrid machine, which has an electric clamping unit and a servo-hydraulic injection unit. Moulding the long hollow bodies with a wall thickness of only 1.2 mm requires very high dynamics and injection per-formance. Very short cycle times are achieved despite the relatively high total shot weight of 800 grams. A basic prerequisite for the high efficiency of the IML process are very precise movements of the mould mounting platen, which the ENGEL e-speed ensures thanks to its all-electric clamping unit.
The cartridge production makes op-timal use of the advantages of the hybrid machine, which has an electric clamping unit and a servo-hydraulic injection unit.
16 cartridges at once are produced on an ENGEL e-speed 500/90. ENGEL is combining its big high-speed machine with IML automation for the first time at K 2016.
ENGEL at K 2016: Hall 15, Stand C58
