Page 54 - Plastics News December 2022

TECHNOLOGY

tact pins, Horizon’s in-house tech- include compact, high-performance sizes. In addition to the precision of-
nology can be used to design almost end-effectors for vacuum pick-and- fered by micro-AM, an intelligent
arbitrary electrode geometries while place devices with sufficient con- use of Horizon’s post-processes
maintaining manufacturability, said the ductivity to prevent ESD discharge. can increase the functionality of the
company. This opens up broader op- Additive manufacturing also lends packaging by reducing stray light in
tions to meet such requirements as itself very well to prototyping and the infrared, or by having integrated
three-dimensional placement of the small batch production of complex, electrical conductors, for example.”
active electrode areas, greater (or multi-level microfluidic chips. Sur- Years of R&D have now culminated
lesser) electrode stiffness, and electri- faces in contact with the liquid can in the commercial launch of Hori-
cal properties through enhanced con- be coated to improve wetting be- zon’s 3D microfabrication system,
trol of inductance and capacitance. havior, control surface energy, and said Frölich. “We work in a supplier-
“In addition, we can make electrodes introduce electrical conductivity. independent fashion with polymer
with different conductive materials micro-AM technology innovators
to achieve biocompatibility or bioin- Broaching mass production and have developed in-house post-
ertness,” said Frölich. “The same While AM is not typically considered build technological solutions that are
benefits apply to the design and fab- a mass-production technology, added an integral and important addition to
rication of electrical contact pins.” Frölich, “the reduction in the size the AM process chain. We look for-
In terms of ESD-safe parts, Horizon of electronics and optics — and the ward to working with companies
said it can make parts with a con- accompanying shrinkage of packag- across numerous industry sectors
trollably conductive surface coat- ing — has made it a viable produc- that will benefit from our solutions.”
ing and can coat internal channels tion alternative for MEMS and optics
with multiple bends. Applications housings for small to medium batch

Engel Demos How Digitalization Can Slash Energy Consumption in Injection
Molding

all-electric, efficiency-optimized injec- Constant temperature conditions
tion molding machine at stand A 1001 The production cell consumes only
in hall 1. 0.8 kWh of electricity to process
When all components in a production one kilogram of PBT. The all-electric
cell — from the injection molding ma- drives of the e mac machine contrib-
chine to temperature control and dig- ute to this high degree of energy effi-
ital assistance systems — are coordi- ciency, which is enhanced still further
A production cell in which all of the nated to the precise requirements of via integrated temperature control
components work in tandem to the product being manufactured and technology.
mold vehicle connectors will dem- work together in complete harmo- Mold temperature control is respon-
onstrate energy savings of up to ny, energy savings of up to 67% are
67% at Swiss Plastics Expo 2023. achievable, according to Engel. At the sible for almost 40% of the total ener-
gy consumption of a production cell,
igital solutions are making it easy Swiss Plastics Expo, Engel will dem- making it the greatest energy consum-
Dto maximize the full potential of onstrate the concept by producing a er in the injection molding process.
production cells. They deliver a ma- PBT connector for vehicle electron- With this in mind, Engel has devoted
jor contribution in terms of saving en- ics. At the show, the 800-kN all-elec- more than a decade to temperature
ergy and cutting carbon footprints. At tric Engel e-mac injection machine will control in injection molding, building
the Swiss Plastics Expo 2023 event, be equipped with a four-cavity mold, up its own product range. According-
which will take place in Lucerne, Swit- with a total shot weight of 28 grams. ly, the e mac 80 on show at the Swiss
zerland, on Jan. 17 to 19, Engel will An Engel viper linear robot will de- Plastics Expo will be equipped with e-
show how this works by running an mold the components and place them flomo, e temp, and iQ flow control.
on the integrated conveyor belt.

54 PLASTICS NEWS December 2022