Plastics News - Show Daily - October 22, 2022 - 23

SHOW DAILY
Plastics News, October 22, 2022 * 23
Arburg tools up its automation
By Catherine Kavanaugh
Plastics News Staff
Step aside, stepping stools - a
popular giveaway from Arburg
GmbH Co + K (Hall 13, Booth A131-B13)
at past major trade shows.
At K 2022, attendees are tooling
around with toolboxes produced
at the Lossburg, Germany-based
company's exhibit to demonstrate
fi lm-insert molding and automation.
The exhibit is one of the larger
applications in action at the show.
A hybrid Allrounder 1120 H with
650 tons of clamping force and a
size 7000 injection unit produces
the housing halves from a blend of
polycarbonate and ABS. The toolbox
has overmolded 3D design
fi lms on the corners for styling and
demonstrates the
family-owned
company's progress in fi lm-insert
molding and integrating robots.
A Scara robot processes the
fi lm inserts from Arburg's project
partner, Leonhard Kurz, and a linear
robotic system, Multilift V40,
provides further handling.
" We really want to enlarge our
capabilities in terms of automation.
This is one example, " said Andreas
Reich, Arburg's head of the
turnkey department, noting that
50 of the company's 3,600 employees
are focused on automation.
The fi lm undergoes in-mold
lamination in the injection mold
and is refi ned afterward with embossed
Arburg lettering in a hot
stamping station.
The lid and lower tray are discharged
via a conveyor system
and the toolboxes are completed
manually outside the turnkey system
using pre-manufactured components
made from post-industrial
recyclate for the center section,
handle, closing clips and feet.
Getting closure
For
multicomponent molding
that needs precision and a delicate
touch, Arburg has an Allrounder
More 1600 with a 4+4 cavity mold
producing Luer connectors for the
pharmaceutical industry.
Named after German instrument
maker Hermann Luer, the
fi ttings provide leak-free connections
between syringes and needles
while maintaining a continuous
lumen for fl uid fl ow.
At K 2022, the two-component
closures are made of a polypropylene
part that weights only 0.2
grams and a TPE part that is 0.005
grams.
Four servo-electric axes from
Arburg's sister company AMKmotion
control the internal mold
sequences, including lifting the
lid, capping the closures and unscrewing
the Luer threads.
A Yaskawa six-axis robot that is
being presented for the fi rst time
at the trade fair is removing the
fi nished parts and feeding them
for camera inspection.
Complex networking
Some plastics processors are
turning to complex production
cells as they incorporate more automation
into their factories.
At K 2022, Arburg is showing
an Allrounder 375 V molding a
bicycle tool in work cell that also
includes a six-axis robot, insert
separation, a turning station, a laser
station and Arburg's turnkey
control module (ATCM).
Molded from recycled nylon,
the bicycle tool is used for removing
and installing tires without
damaging the tube, tire or rim.
The two-part tools are clipped together
via compression spring element
supplied as an insert. Then
the fi nished part is laser marked
and completed with instructions.
The ATCM collects part-specifi c
data from the inserter and fi nished
product. This allows each product
to be 100 percent traceable.
Cube molding advance
For high-volume production in
the packaging and medical markets
as well as producing technical
parts, Arburg offi cials are
touting compact cube machines.
One Allrounder Cube series press
can replace several conventional
injection molding machines and
reduce the overall footprint by up
to 75 percent, the company says.
At K 2022, Arburg has an Allrounder
Cube 1800 producing a
component from polypropylene,
TPE and acetal using an 8+8+8
cavity cube mold. The exhibit is a
current customer project that ArArburg
is demonstrating
turnkey manufacturing at K
2022, producing toolboxes
with insert molding,
hot stamping and other
operations at the press, a
hybrid Allrounder.
Messe Düsseldorf photo
burg says shows how maximum
output can be achieved in a minimal
footprint.
Eight components can each
be produced in a cycle time of
around 9.5 seconds.
First, a frame made of PP is injected
on the moving nozzle side.
The cube rotates 90 degrees, then
the pre-molded parts are turned
180 degrees by new technology
and, after another 90-degree cube
rotation, a TPE seal is applied on
both sides and a functional element
made of POM is molded on.
The new technology - called
Cube with Integrated Turning Inserts
(CITI) - was patented by
Foboha, which supplied the cube
mold. The 8+8+8 cavity tool has
two index platens on each side
of the cube that feature the CITI
technology.
The fi nished molded parts are
produced directly in the mold
thanks to assembly injection
molding. Mold fi lling, cooling,
part removal by a six-axis robot
and other assembly steps, including
capping in the gripper, take
place in synchronization.
Processing bioplastics
In another demonstration, at the
VDMA Circular Economy Forum,
an electric Allrounder 370 A produces
Greenline-brand anchors
for fastening systems producer
Fischer, an Arburg neighbor in Germany,
from nylon 6/10, which is 50
percent renewable raw materials.
The machine is equipped with
a recyclate package and Arburg's
new aXw Control RecyclatePilot,
which the company says ensures
a stable shot weight by means of
adaptive process control.
The sprue is deposited directly
in a mill and the regrind is fed
straight back into the process.
Arburg apprentices are talking
to visitors about recycling materials,
resource conservation and
sustainability actions the company
is taking to prepare the next
generation of machine builders
and processors to treat plastics
as a valuable material and to protect
the planet.
On Sept. 1, 106 new junior employees
from ages 16 to 35 started
their careers at Arburg, which
is more than ever before in the
company's history. The team
now comprises a total of 304 apprentices
and students from the
Baden-Württemberg Cooperative
State University.
Whether it is inhouse, postconsumer,
bottle or chemical
recycling: closing the loop in
a precise and profitable way if
machines are perfectly tuned
for the respective application.
Choose the number one
technology from EREMA when
doing so: over 6500 of our
machines and systems produce
around 14.5 million tonnes of
high-quality pellets like this
every year - in a highly
efficient and energy-saving
way.
K22 MAIN BOOTH: Hall 9 / Booth C09
OUTDOOR AREA: FG-CE03
2209024ERE_Plastics News Show Daily.indd 1
21.09.22 12:00
erema-group.com
http://www.erema-group.com
Plastics News - Show Daily - October 22, 2022

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