Innovation showcase with numerous world premiers

Transcription

1 ENGEL Symposium 2015: more than 3000 guests expected Innovation showcase with numerous world premiers Schwertberg/Austria April 2015 Experience. Innovation. Passion that is the motto at the ENGEL Symposium 2015 in St. Valentin and Linz, Austria, 16th 18th June. Every three years, the injection moulding machine manufacturer and system expert invites its customers and partners to Austria for its in-house exhibition. The innovative strength of the ENGEL Symposium 2015 will once again surpass its previous editions with several world premiers, numerous challenging applications and pioneering solutions. More than 3000 visitors from all regions of the world are expected. For three days, everything at ENGEL in St. Valentin and in the Design Center in Linz will revolve around the current and future challenges of the injection moulding industry. The ENGEL large-size machine production plant will practically be transformed into an injection moulding production facility for this event. Sophisticated components for the automotive, technical moulding, teletronics, packaging and medical industries will be produced at new levels of product quality and with previously unseen efficiency in a total of 15 highly integrated and automated production cells. In numerous Expert Corners, the focus will be on topics like new developments for intelligent process optimisation, controlled plastification and the broad spectrum of ENGEL service products, among other things. Beyond that, a topclass lecture programme, a partner exhibition, and the 2015 ENGEL HL-Awards ceremony make the ENGEL Symposium an important international event for the industry. Machine innovations: presenting a triple pack Liquidmetal: efficient injection moulding of metal alloys With Liquidmetal, ENGEL opens the door to completely new classes of material and product characteristics; metal alloys can now be efficiently injection moulded. As the exclusive ma- 1

2 chine manufacturing partner of Liquidmetal Technologies from Rancho Santa Margarita, California, USA, ENGEL is the only provider worldwide to offer system solutions for the injection moulding of Liquidmetal materials. For the first time, showcased in the production of medical instruments at its 2015 symposium, ENGEL will be presenting the technological and market possibilities that its collaboration with Liquidmetal Technologies opens up for plastics processors and metal goods manufacturers. Liquidmetal alloys also called metallic glass represent a completely new class of material with outstanding mechanical characteristics. The alloys are significantly stronger and at the same time significantly more elastic than the alloys and steels conventionally used, which makes it possible to produce components with a completely new profile of characteristics. Together with Liquidmetal Technologies Inc., ENGEL has developed an innovative solution for the processing of the Liquidmetal alloys on the basis of its all-electric ENGEL e-motion series of injection moulding machines. This solution prepares the way for economical largescale production of high-precision metal components that previously could only be fabricated with MIM processing or machined individually with CNC systems. ENGEL sees great potential for the new technique in the area of medical technology. Beyond that, possibilities present themselves in a number of other areas, such as in the sporting goods or the aviation and aerospace industries. The first Liquidmetal applications have already been realised in the electronics industry. New O-ring machine: producing mass products competitively O-rings and flat gaskets are central to the reliability and safety of many different applications. Moreover, standard mass-market products in particular are subject to exceptionally high pressure on pricing. These products can only be built competitively with highly precise, reliable and efficient manufacturing technology. In order to provide even better support for its customers in this area, ENGEL has developed a new hydraulic machine for all common rubber compounds. The horizontal machine with screw injection unit ensures very high precision for production with small and mid-sized shot volumes. It makes fully automatic processing possible with conventional brush modules. Additional features include the compact footprint and high energy efficiency thanks to the standard ecodrive drive unit. Because of the long heating phases, the ENGEL servo-hydraulics achieve particularly large savings in the production of O-rings and flat gaskets. 2

3 ENGEL e-speed: new machine size reduces cycle times with large shot volumes ENGEL e-speed that is the latest machine innovation from the ENGEL packaging business unit. ENGEL presented the 650-tonne hybrid machine with electrical clamping unit and hydraulic injection unit for the first time at the K At its 2015 symposium, ENGEL will be presenting a second variation of the large high-speed machine with a larger injection unit. The machine size 6 with a screw diameter of 120 mm has added a larger dimension to what the system can offer. Until now, the ENGEL e-speed 650 was available with a 90 mm screw. The new machine size guarantees short cycle times even with large shot volumes. The ENGEL e-speed will provide an impressive demonstration of this during the symposium with the production of cartridges for the do-it-yourself market. The cartridges have a wall thickness of 1.4 mm and a weight of 50 g each. In a 16-fold mould from Otto Hofstetter (Uznach, Switzerland), this results in a total shot capacity of 800 g. A cycle time of under 10 seconds is achieved for this process. The cartridge production makes optimal use of the benefits of the hybrid machine. The long hollow forms require a high injection force while the mould must also be able to be opened and closed very quickly. For such requirements, ENGEL has a particularly energy-efficient with ecodrive as a standard and also IML-capable solution in its programme: the ENGEL e-speed. The ENGEL e-speed 650 in machine size 6 achieves the highest hydraulic force that ENGEL has realised in the area of packaging thus far, and with that it sets new standards in the industry. Large-size machines: great sensitivity for the flexible integration of technology Dimensionally stable components with little material Together with Georg Kaufmann Formenbau (Busslingen, Switzerland), Daimler has developed a production process for the production of boot coverings based on the ENGEL coinmelt injection compression moulding technology. Before this process will go into series production after the ENGEL Symposium, the visitors at the Symposium can convince themselves of its high efficiency. An ENGEL duo 11050/1700 injection moulding machine with an 3

4 integrated ENGEL viper 60 linear robot will be demonstrating the production of ready-toinstall components. What is special about this application is the three-dimensional very complex part geometry which is strongly ribbed and has several undercuts. Here, the injection compression process allows an excellent fine structure reproduction without warpage. Compared with compact injection moulding smaller wall thicknesses can be realized. This reduces the weight and saves raw material costs. In the injection compression moulding process, the polymer melt is injected into the gap for the compression stroke which requires less injection pressure compared to conventional injection moulding processes. Just before the polymer melt flow stops, the clamping unit starts to close with controlled parallelism and defined clamping force. The sealing pressure, which replaces the post-injection pressure of the conventional injection moulding process, is distributed homogeneously along the entire length of the part, therefore reducing material shrinkage, also when small wall thicknesses are produced. An important prerequisite for this is a very precise opening stroke of the moving mould mounting platen, which is assured by the individually controlled short stroke pressure pads of the ENGEL duo machine. ENGEL coinmelt is a low-pressure injection moulding method. This means that machines with lower clamping forces can be used compared to standard injection moulding processes. Under the name of ENGEL coinmelt ENGEL offers system solutions for the different variations of the injection compression moulding. Set targeted component properties To control specific component properties with the injection moulding process and boost cost efficiency at the same time this challenge is at the focus of the production of seat shells for office chairs. The Allgaier Kunststoffverarbeitung company in Nesselwang, Germany, specialises among others in 2K sandwich processes for this purpose. A current project employs a co-injection head, a new development from their machine construction partner ENGEL, that will be presented at the ENGEL Symposium. There an ENGEL 4400H/2500H/700 combi injection moulding machine with an integrated ENGEL viper 40 robot will be producing seat shells for the new IN office chair from Wilkhahn (Bad Münder, Germany). Because the backrest and the seat constitute one unit, diverse properties must be combined in the component. The backrest must achieve high rigidity, while the seat must be flexible in some areas. In 4

5 addition, there are high demands placed on the quality of the surface finishing, because the visible areas are not processed any further after the injection moulding. Allgaier masters these challenges with the help of co-injection technology. Glass-fibre reinforced polyamide is processed for the core, and unreinforced polyamide for the outer layer. Compact integration: an ENGEL easix multi-axis robot does a headstand The Teletronics business unit also presents itself with a large-scale machine application, the most impressive aspect of which is its extremely space-saving robot integration. The ENGEL easix multi-axis robot hangs head-down into the production cell and therefore needs no separate floor space. An ENGEL duo 1800/400 is employed for the production of operating consoles. The ENGEL easix places two capacitive films in the mould per cycle, and removes a finished part at the same time. One film provides a single-touch and the other a multi-touch functionality. They are situated at the back of the component, while the front side is decorated via IMD. The decoration film has blank areas that will later be backlit in the completely assembled console. Transparent ABS is injected between the decoration film and the functional films. In so doing, the ENGEL duo machine demonstrates its sensitivity. In order to avoid displacing the films or damaging the capacitive electronics, the flow of the melt must be controlled very precisely. Together with Leonhard Kurz and the functional film manufacturer PolyIC (both located in Fürth, Germany), ENGEL presents the immediate future of functional surfaces with ready-forconnection capacitive film technology with this application. The exhibit shows a complete process chain for the production of sensitive functional components in a clean-room environment. After take-out, the multi-axis robot transfers the component to a cleaning station provided by the Kist Maschinenbau company (Dresden, Germany) for the ENGEL Symposium. The laminar flow unit is provided by Max Petek Reinraumtechnik of Radolfzell, Germany. Technology Centre for Lightweight Composites: interdisciplinary expertise Composite technologies from a single source Lightweight design in automobile construction is currently one of the strongest motors for innovation. Aircraft construction leads the way, although the processes for producing light- 5

6 weight components that have become established there cannot be transferred to the automobile industry that is characterised by large batch numbers. It is therefore necessary to develop new processes as well as new materials that achieve the productivity and costefficiency required for automobile manufacturing. Important keys for this include injection moulding, which offers much potential for process integration and automation, and also thermoplastic matrix systems that allow for short cycle times. As an injection moulding machine manufacturer with a great amount of expertise and experience in automation, ENGEL makes significant contributions in this area. At its Center for Lightweight Composite Technologies in St. Valentin, ENGEL promotes the intensive interdisciplinary development of fibre composite technology together with partner companies and universities. During its symposium, ENGEL provides visitors insights into the work being done at the technology centre and calls attention to the opportunities that collaborative research make possible. Together with its partners Fill (Gurten, Austria) and Hennecke (St. Augustin, Germany), ENGEL will be giving a step by step demonstration of an HP-RTM process with a generic test component on an ENGEL v-duo 3550/1100 machine during the symposium. Hennecke is its partner for polyurethane processing; Fill specialises in the production and processing of fibre-reinforced composite preform elements. Thanks to the close cooperation with its partners, ENGEL can also provide highly integrated system solutions including the production of preforms for the production of FRP components from a single source. ENGEL v-duo keeps production cells compact The ENGEL v-duo was developed specifically for fibre-reinforced composite applications, but is also flexible enough to be used for processes involving high cavity pressures such as those employed in conventional injection moulding. The large-size vertical machine is characterised by a very high degree of rigidity and excellent platen parallelism, and platenparallelism control for injection compression moulding is included in the standard version of the machine. The ENGEL v-duo enables very compact production cells to be used at low costs. In comparison with conventional presses, the ENGEL v-duo machine has only about half the height and is about 60 percent lighter. This reduces the work and costs involved in laying a base for the machine. In many cases, existing hall structures can be used. The clamping unit can be accessed from all four sides instead of just two, which speeds up maintenance work and also 6

7 simplifies automation. In addition, handling devices can be integrated to save space, and move straight into the mould area. Using sliding tables, insertion tasks, for example, can be carried out outside the clamping unit, which slashes the cycle time even further for many applications. The standard version of the ENGEL v-duo also comes with the ecodrive servohydraulic system. The usual hydraulic accumulator has been done away with completely here, allowing the ENGEL v-duo to set new standards in energy efficiency as well. Visitors at the ENGEL Symposium will also be given exciting insights into the assembly of the ENGEL v-duo machines during the tour of the exhibits. Among the things that can be seen will be an ENGEL v-duo 3600 the largest model in the series. All-electric: efficient implementation of high performance LSR: take advantage of the full potential High-precision, burr-free, no reworking required, automated these are the demands placed on elastomer processing. ENGEL demonstrates just how the full potential can be optimally exploited in this area with the production of earplugs made of liquid silicone rubber on an allelectric ENGEL e-mac 170/50 injection moulding machine. For this, a four-cavity mould is used provided by ENGEL partner awetis engineering+manufacturing from Laudenbach, Germany. The earplugs are removed by an ENGEL e-pic robot. The new pick-and-place robot from ENGEL convinces with a completely new kind of kinematics that combines linear movements with a swiveling arm making it particularly compact and energy-efficient. The ENGEL e-pic fits in the space within the extended safety perimeter of the ENGEL e-mac injection moulding machine. Maximum performance up into the largest clamping force classes High performance is the theme of the packaging exhibit. Disposable cutlery will be produced on an all-electric ENGEL e-motion injection moulding machine. Knives and forks, sorted and packaged respectively, leave the manufacturing cell to 24 pieces each per shot. The manufacturing of mass-market products in the packaging industry is subject to particularly strong pressure on pricing. One trend is therefore moving towards multiple-cavity moulds that re- 7

8 quire correspondingly larger injection moulding machines. ENGEL responded very early to this trend, and offers all-electric machines with a clamping force of up to 6,500 kn. Because the mould for producing the cutlery does not include any hydraulic components, the efficiency potential of the all-electric machine can be exploited optimally. The machine's rapid acceleration, short opening stroke and simultaneous movements reduce cycle time. About 4.5 seconds are required for the injection moulding of the forks and knives. The production process is fully automated. The cutlery is removed from the side, separated, stacked and packaged. The automation technology partner is Campetella from Montecassiano, Italy. Since absolutely no oil is required, the production cell fulfills the high hygienic demands placed on applications for the food sector. Expert Corners: intelligent add-ons for machines Increase the homogeneity of the melt without intervening in the process One prerequisite for the production of high-quality injection-moulded parts is the thermal homogeneity of the plastificated plastic mass. However, the mass transported by the screw into the screw antechamber exhibits radial and axial gradients in temperature. For a long time, the precise measurement of these differences in temperature during the injection moulding process was impossible due to the difficult conditions. Together with the Johannes Kepler University of Linz, ENGEL has developed an innovative method for measuring the radial and axial temperature gradients in the melt in the screw antechamber based on fact that the speed of ultrasonic waves varies depending on temperature. During its symposium, ENGEL will be presenting the potential this method has for applications. Measuring systems based on ultrasound are of interest for the monitoring of injection moulding processes because it is a non-invasive method that can be carried out without interfering with the process. The applications for the ultrasonic methods range from the efficient verification of numeric simulations to the optimisation of components in the mix. New iq software automatically determines the required clamping force The iq product family for intelligent process control and optimisation is growing. A new software will celebrate its world premier at the 2015 symposium. The software automatically determines the clamping force required for the respective mould without any specifications 8

9 being set by the technicians. The clamping force is ascertained quickly and objectively on the basis of mould breathing. Since mould breathing is caused by the expanding pressure in the cavity, it can therefore be used like the cavity pressure to optimise the process. In contrast to the cavity pressure, this significant signal can be utilised without additional sensors. By monitoring mould breathing, the risk of flaws such as burr formation can be reduced significantly, and the mould can be reliably protected against overfilling. Even when the process conditions change, the software ensures that mould breathing remains constant by automatically adjusting the clamping force accordingly. The software and the functions it includes is the first of its kind worldwide and represents yet another unique product that distinguishes ENGEL on the market. The innovation is already the second product in the iq family. The iq weight control software, which automatically detects fluctuations in the ambient conditions and raw materials and compensates for them within the same shot, has already been very successful in establishing itself on the market. ENGEL plus More than a machine Smart solutions are also the topic in the ENGEL plus exhibit area of the ENGEL customer service division. There it becomes clear that industry 4.0 is not just a buzzword for ENGEL, but has already long become daily practice in many areas. The latest product is the new ENGEL e-connect customer portal that makes processing service requests and ordering spare parts even easier and quicker while also adding even more transparency. The customer app which carries the same name makes it possible to send service requests directly from a smart phone from any location. Further smart solutions in the Expert Corner are ENGEL e-factory, the MES solution from ENGEL for the far-sighted control of production processes on a real-time basis, and ENGEL e-flomo, the intelligent cooling water monitoring and control system which is integrated into the machine control unit. In addition to ENGEL e-connect, two more apps are being presented: ENGEL e-calc for the configuration of injection moulding machines according to material and component being produced, and ENGEL plastyfine, the comprehensive image database that not only helps operators identify faults, but at the same time also describes the physical causes and possible technical processing solutions. 9

10 Industrie 4.0 for ENGEL, that means supporting the people in the production department. The goal is not just to boost the productivity, efficiency and availability of the machines and system solutions, but also to increase the stability and safety of the processes. Anniversary: 25 years of tie-bar-less technology Special exhibit showcasing the success story Compact manufacturing cells, efficient automation and fast set-up processes: With their large platens and free access to the mould area, tie-bar-less injection moulding machines fulfil the need for high efficiency and cost-effectiveness in production in the best possible way. 25 years ago, ENGEL became the first injection moulding machine manufacturer worldwide to present a tie-bar-less machine that still today remains a unique product distinguishing ENGEL on the market. The tie-bar-less injection moulding machines have long become one of ENGEL's biggest revenue sources. More than 60,000 tie-bar-less machines have been delivered worldwide and are successfully adapting to constantly changing requirements. The ecodrive servo-hydraulics and the new ENGEL e-motion TL all-electric tie-bar-less compact series show that ENGEL also has tie-bar-less answers to the trends of the 21st century. "25 years of tie-bar-less technology" ENGEL is dedicating a special exhibit to this success story at its 2015 symposium. The 2015 ENGEL HL-Awards ceremony on the evening of June 16th represent another highlight of the anniversary celebrations. ENGEL will be honouring outstanding tie-bar-less applications for the eighth time. New this year is that the prizes will be awarded in three categories: efficient use of the mould area, innovative process integration and economical automation concept. Learning from a master of the trade: Karim Rashid is coming to Linz It is already a long-standing tradition for ENGEL to not only present numerous innovations in the areas of products and technology at its symposium, but also to organize top-quality presentations and speakers for the accompanying conference at the Design Centre Linz. Industry 4.0 is only one of the many interesting topics that will be discussed this year in the context of the current challenges and trends in injection moulding. 10

11 A special highlight will be the topic presented by Karim Rashid, who will be coming to Linz from New York for the ENGEL Symposium. Karim Rashid is considered to be the pop star in the world of design. Over the past 30 years, his product designs, which are unusual, but always suitable for everyday life, have significantly influenced the way we see products. Rashid will take the guests at the ENGEL Symposium into his world of "blobism" and will reveal new aspects of functionality and design. ENGEL Symposium 2015: 16th to 18th June, St. Valentin and Linz Further details and registration: 11

12 Components made of Liquidmetal alloys demonstrate outstanding mechanical properties. ENGEL is the only provider worldwide to offer system solutions for the injection moulding of Liquidmetal materials. (Image: Liquid Metal Technologies) O-rings are subject to exceptionally high pressure on pricing, but must still be manufactured with maximum precision. ENGEL has developed a new injection moulding machine specifically to meet these requirements and will be presenting it for the first time at its 2015 symposium. (Image: ENGEL) At the ENGEL Symposium 2015, the ENGEL e-speed injection moulding machine will be celebrating the premier of a new machine size. The hybrid machine for high-performance applications in the packaging industry will then also be available with a 120 mm screw. (Image: ENGEL) 12

13 The ENGEL Symposium is a home match for the ENGEL duo injection moulding machines. The largesize machines are assembled at the plant in St. Valentin. (Image: ENGEL) An ENGEL 4400H/2500H/700 combi injection moulding machine with an integrated ENGEL viper 40 robot will be producing seat shells for office chairs with co-injection technology. (Image: Allgaier) Three-fold back injection of films: two capacitive films provide a single-touch and a multi-touch functionality. A third film carries the surface decoration. (Images: Kurz) 13

14 The ENGEL easix multi-axis robot does a headstand for the production of operating consoles. This makes it possible to achieve an extremely compact production cell. (Image: PolyIC) During its symposium, ENGEL provides visitors insights into the research at the Technology Centre for Lightweight Composites that is at home in the large-scale machine manufacturing plant in St. Valentin. (Image: ENGEL) The ENGEL v-duo machine has been specifically adapted to the requirements of composite applications. (Image: ENGEL) 14

15 An ENGEL e-mac injection moulding machine will be producing earplugs at the ENGEL Symposium The new ENGEL e-pic compact robot is also part of the production cell. (Images: ENGEL) Via the ENGEL e-connect app, machine status and other operating figures can be kept track of in real time. (Image: ENGEL) Over the past 30 years, Karim Rashid s product designs have significantly influenced the way we see products. Rashid will take the guests at the ENGEL Symposium into his world of "blobism" and will reveal new aspects of functionality and design. (Image: Karim Rashid) 15

16 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 nine production plants in Europe, North America and Asia (China and Korea), and subsidiaries and representatives in more than 85 countries, ENGEL offers its customers the excellent global support they need to compete and succeed with new technologies and leading-edge production systems. Contact for journalists: Birgit Degwerth, Group Marketing Director, ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH, Ludwig-Engel-Strasse 1, A-4311 Schwertberg, Austria, Tel.: +43 (0)50 / , Fax: -3009, birgit.degwerth@engel.at Susanne Zinckgraf, Public Relations Manager, ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH, Ludwig-Engel-Strasse 1, A-4311 Schwertberg, Austria PR Office: Theodor-Heuss-Strasse 85, D Neustadt, Germany, Tel.: +49 (0) , Fax: -03, susanne.zinckgraf@engel.at Contact for readers: ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH, Ludwig-Engel-Strasse 1, A-4311 Schwertberg, Austria, Tel.: +43 (0) , Fax: -3009, sales@engel.at 16