Plastics News - Show Daily - October 17, 2024 - 14

FAKUMA 2024
14 * Plastics News, October 17, 2024
Roundtable
Continued from Page 1
Umüt Topbac
from Yizumi at
Fakuma 2024 in
Friedrichshafen,
Germany.
Plastics News photo by
Caroline Seidel
Yizumi
Continued from Page 1
competitive market, " said Umüt
Topbac, director IMM at Yizumi
Precision Machinery (Germany)
GmbH.
Sales in Europe have continued
to grow each year. Unlike the
major European-based brands,
which are seeing their formerly
high sales levels tumble drastically,
Yizumi is starting from a
far more humble position.
" They had a lot to lose, whilst
we are still climbing. And today,
the feedback we get from our
customers is that the economy
is improving, and they see a light
at the end of the tunnel. They are
currently planning their investments
for 2025 and 2026, including
in new machinery, " he said.
The sectors that are starting
to show some signs of recovery
are packaging, logistics and consumer
electronics, he added.
" The automotive sector is still
struggling - here, in Europe, you
understand - not in China, " he
stressed. " In China, the automotive
business is in a better situation,
although the margins there
are down and prices are defl ating
- and ultimately, this affects the
machinery suppliers as well. "
Price competition among the
various injection molding machinery
brands is nothing new,
but in diffi cult market conditions,
companies must fi nd ways
to differentiate themselves. As a
Chinese machine manufacturer,
the price of a Yizumi machine
tends to be lower than a comparable
European-built one. However,
the price, said Topbac, is
not the differentiating factor.
" For us, the fact that we have
the capability to be a technology
partner is more important, " he
said. " We are not just another Chinese
machine builder, supplying
standard machines. We are able
to handle many special applications
- such as 2K, 3K - other
Chinese manufacturers cannot. "
A cut above
Topbac noted that the past
several years have seen demand
rising for technology that goes
beyond the standard solutions
available from many competitors.
The company produces
hydraulic, all-electric and servo-hydraulic
machines equipped
In China, the automotive business
is in a better situation, although the
margins there are down and prices are
defl ating - and ultimately, this affects
the machinery suppliers as well. "
Umüt Topbac
Yizumi Precision Machinery (Germany) GmbH
with all the modern sensor technology
available. Customers can
select the options they need.
" Once again, our philosophy
is - because we do a lot of special
applications - to offer customized
machines rather than
simply providing a standard
range of functionalities. We
want them to get exactly what
they need, " he said.
One area that has undergone
marked growth is automation,
with more and more customers
wanting
such comprehensive
solutions as turnkey production
cells, precisely tailored to their
demands. It is a development
that is at least partly driven by
the desire to be less dependent
on skilled workers. These workers
are increasingly diffi cult to
fi nd and recruit, leading converters
with little choice but to fi ll
the void through automation.
" In Germany, we work mainly
with a single company to deliver
the automation systems desired,
although for our automotive customers,
we develop them ourselves, "
Topbac said.
Among the exhibits at Fakuma,
one such solution is on
show. A UN700D1M two-platen
hydraulic machine featuring
two servo-injection units and
a six-station servo-turntable
structure is molding thick-wall
- 19.5 millimeters - transparent
optical lenses from acrylic.
The small-footprint cell
achieves two-color, six-layer,
one shot injection molding in a
cycle time of 60 seconds, down
from an original cycle time of
more than 300 seconds.
Another exhibit features a UN165V2CR
vertical injection molding
machine molding automotive
connectors
using dual-station
servo-turntable technology combined
with one upper and two
lower molds to synchronize the
robot-facilitated
insert embedding
and injection, realizing a
short, effi cient, 30-second cycle
time. Robots also pick up
products and detect in-chamber
product misalignment using machine
vision.
" It is with projects like these
that we distinguish ourselves
from competitors, " Topbac said.
" The customer comes with demands
or requirements and,
especially with big automotive
customers, we cooperate, working
together with the customer
to deliver precisely the solution
they want. "
Fakuma, a
signifi cant show
For Yizumi, Fakuma is an important
show. " It's situated at the
meeting point of three countries
and attracts visitors from all over
Europe. Yet it's still a relatively
small exhibition compared to the
K show, offering opportunities to
meet and talk with our customers
who are expected to attend. It is a
chance to see them all in a short
time, " Topbac said.
One of the main themes at the
show this year once again is sustainability.
As Topbac noted, it is
a huge issue.
" What I have noticed is that
our customers are increasingly
better prepared in this regard.
They are looking for machines
with a low energy consumption,
they've installed solar panels to
reduce their CO2 footprint, they
are looking to be able to process
recycled materials and produce
products that are reproducible
and of a consistent quality. So,
yes, that is something we can
support them with. In fact, our
energy consumption rates are
at least as good and sometimes
better than European-built machines.
But it's essential that we
continue to develop and innovate
- we can't afford to lose
that momentum. "
The European injection molding
machinery market is contracting,
he added. " The cake is
getting smaller. For us, special applications
are the path to growth.
More customization is key. "
corporate operations at Vienna-based
plastics packaging producer
Alpla Werke Alwin Lehner
GmbH & Co KG, expressed a processor's
view that it is necessary
to react quickly in real time and
that digitalization aids it.
Data should absolutely be uploaded
to the cloud and used
from there as the basis for decision
making, Burtscher said,
adding that " it is just as important
to analyze the data and ensure
different equipment intercommunicate. "
Thomas
Seul of Schmalkalden
University said digitalization
in toolmaking with the
use of computer-aided design
(CAD) is very important, but
highly trained professional
staff are indispensable to ensure
than tools and machines
work effectively.
" There are enough practical
cases that show we can do it, so
why don't we do it? " Seul asked,
adding that, " there is more to it
than just using a computer screen
and a mouse. "
Hans-Josef Endres of the Institute
for Plastics and Circular
Economy (IKK) at Leibniz University
in Hanover, Germany,
said it is important to realize
that there are huge opportunities
in the materials chain, specifi
cally that " we should use the
opportunities that we have in
Europe and not just leave it to
the Asians. "
Burtscher agreed, but stressed
that a lot of work still has to be
done by both technical institutes
and machinery producers.
On this point, Frohnhaus of Arburg
noted: " We are already more
than top, as we use digitalization
to reduce reject rates, obtain
faster cycle times and reduce energy,
but we can, of course, still
do more. "
Frohnhaus sees the potential
of artifi cial intelligence to obtain
identical quality worldwide and
said there are huge opportunities
in utilizing common Euromap machine
interfaces and with support
by technical institutes.
Endres stressed that with a
practical example of digital studies
of how people get into and out
of cars can lead to predictions as
to when a car seat will need to be
replaced. Once the seat's end of
life has been digitally predicted,
it is then possible to adjust plastic
materials and additives to extend
that period.
But it is equally important to
digitally study which plastics are
contained in a car and then how
A digitalization roundtable
discussion at Fakuma 2024.
Plastics News photo by Caroline Seidel
Irrespective of
whether you
run Arburg or Engel
machines, they have
to run intuitively.
Digitalization
doesn't help if
you can't use it
to master the
process. "
Thomas Seul
Schmalkalden University
to get them out for recycling at
end of life.
" If you only have five materials,
you don't need digitalization,
but you certainly do if you
have several hundred materials, "
Endres added.
Seul stressed: " Irrespective of
whether you run Arburg or Engel
machines, they have to run
intuitively. Digitalization doesn't
help if you can't use it to master
the process. "
Here, Burtscher commented: " It
is important to fi nd where there
are gaps in a process, and then to
use technology to close them. "
She said Alpla has digital assistance
in the cloud, but she
stressed that stored data should
be understandable. In a subsequent
open discussion, it was suggested
that there has to be a common
understandable
language
and that German molders should
get over their fears of putting a lot
of data into the cloud, otherwise
they cannot benefi t from it.
Werner Koch, founder of Ispringen,
Germany-based
ancillary
equipment producer Werner
Koch Maschinentechnik GmbH,
stood up and stressed importance
of sensors to identify and
sort plastics material on conveyor
belts " in a practical way, " even
if they are highly reinforced with
glass fi bers.
Plastics News - Show Daily - October 17, 2024

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