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ENGEL at Plast Eurasia exhibition - 27th to 30th October 2011 - Hall 2, 202-203

During Plast Eurasia from 27 to 30 October in Istanbul everything will be focused on efficiency at the exhibition stand of ENGEL ENJEKSUIYON MAKINA TIC. Ltd STI, (ENGEL AUSTRIA's) Turkish subsiderary.

On two exhibits the injection moulding machine manufacturer and automation expert will be demonstrating ways of increasing productivity in injection moulding while at the same time cutting unit costs. The keys to success: process integration, automation and fully electric drive technology. Complex 3-component hollow parts will be produced in a single working step at the ENGEL stand in Hall 2, 202-203 on a compact tie-bar-less ENGEL victory 1050H/500W/200 combi machine. The Multitube mould system developed by ENGEL partner Pernoud from Oyonnax/France ensures a high level of process integration. To produce sample parts like intake manifolds for 3-cylinder engines, the threaded bushings are first insert-placed into the mould and over-moulded. The pre-moulded part for injection of the second component will be turned in the mould by a Stäubli six-arm robot before the third component, a TPE seal is applied. To support multiple component injection moulding, the victory machine is equipped with a piggyback unit and a third small injection unit.

The finished component is taken off by a multiple axis robot and deposited on an integrated conveyor belt. Because the robot works inside the extended safety guarding, the production cell only requires a relatively small footprint. The advantage of the plant's high degree of integration is that the hollow parts are produced in a single process step that eliminates the need for finishing, for example, a welding process. Compared to legacy gas injection technology, the Multitube concept also ensures enhanced quality of the interior surfaces and consistent wall thicknesses.

Fully integrated robot control:
The control unit of the multiple-axis robot in this application without Euromap 67 interface is fully integrated into the CC 200 control unit of the ENGEL injection moulding machine. This sets the ENGEL solution apart from the many other suppliers whose understanding of integrating multiple-axis industrial robots is that of simply mirroring the robot's user interface on the injection moulding machine's display, without removing the need for the users to familiarise themselves with the two different control approaches. The ENGEL product developer's primary goal is thus: if you can operate the injection moulding machine, you can operate the robot, too.

To allow for simple and fast programming and control of the robot, despite the complexity of the overall system, the control unit offers the users different user levels, from a simple view, to a fully object-oriented visualisation of the sequence. The industrial robot is programmed with the familiar and simple graphical instructions supported by the CC 200 control unit. The additional movement instructions for the multiple-axis robot integrate seamlessly with the graphical user interface.

From the point of view of the CC 200 control unit on the ENGEL injection moulding machine, it really doesn't matter whether the machine cooperates with a linear device or a multiple-axis industrial robot. The control concept is identical for the two robot types. Besides ease of control and programming, the fact that the machine and the robot share data storage is another advantage of control unit integration which both improves efficiency and ensures a greater degree of process reliability.

Fully electric energy-saving champion for high-performance applications:
The second trade fair exhibit focuses on energy efficiency. An ENGEL e-motion 740/180 T fully electric injection moulding machine will be producing thin-walled lids for food product packaging with an integrated spoon using a 4-cavity mould from Greiner Packaging, Kremsmünster/Austria. The machines in the ENGEL e-motion series combine a high level of performance and precision with minimum energy consumption. All machine movements - from injection and plasticising, through to the mould and ejector movements - are executed by servoelectric drives. The result is optimum efficiency. During idle times, for example when cooling, no energy is consumed. Furthermore, the energy lost by conventional systems during braking movements is recovered as electric power. Thanks to the encapsulated toggle lever with recirculating oil lubrication, friction in the toggle lever joints is extremely low. This means that the ENGEL e-motion requires comparatively little power for building up, reducing clamping force, saving energy and ensuring particularly clean operation. Fully electric injection moulding machines of the ENGEL e-motion series are fast gaining ground in the packaging industry, especially in the field of high-performance and quick running applications. Cycle times of less than 5 seconds and injection speeds of 450 mm per second are now feasible – a performance class that was previously the domain of energy-intensive accu machines.

System solutions from a single source – worldwide:
As one of the world's leading manufacturers of machinery for the plastics industry, the ENGEL Group sees its mission not only in the production of injection moulding machines and robots, but in supplying integrated system solutions worldwide. This means injection moulding technology from a single source, both for thermoplastics and for elastomer processing. Injection moulding machines and automation, process technology and mould project engineering, training and service are all seamlessly integrated at ENGEL. And we always look to the future. Innovation and technology leadership give a decisive competitive edge to ENGEL's customers.

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