Page 56 - Plastics News October 2024
P. 56
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
means it is compatible with most off-the-shelf mold supplied by Harting, Germany.
injection molding materials. Moreover, it allows
for the production of complex components with A Harting connector is also built into the ma-
chine to connect the Tempro plus DC appliance.
undercuts to be manufactured more cost-effec-
tively. The tools are fully soluble, eliminating all Power is supplied by an ecological salt battery
technology on a sodium-nickel basis from innov-
tool storage and maintenance costs.
energy. The battery has a total capacity of over
Energy-efficient injection molding technology 45 kWh, more than sufficient for uninterrupted
is the main theme at the Wittmann Battenfeld machine operation throughout an entire eight-
stand (B1-1204) as well. In addition to all-electric hour trade fair day. In addition, electrochemical
machine models from the EcoPower and Micro- capacitors, known as supercaps, will be used to
Power series, a servo-hydraulic SmartPower complement the sodium-nickel storage units by
with an electric injection aggregate will also be balancing out short-term load peaks.
shown for the first time.
Amid the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of
The machine, a SmartPower B8X 120/350H/130S Fanuc's high-performance Roboshot fully elec-
with an electric injection unit, will be producing tric injection molding machine, the company is
a bottle opener made of PC and TPE, using a set to present the latest solutions in injection
mold supplied by FKT Formenbau und Kunst- molding technology and automation, with par-
stofftechnik, Germany, with a W918 robot from ticular focus on sustainability, energy efficiency,
Wittmann and a conveyor belt integrated in the compact design, reliability and the industry's
work cell. The robot inserts the metal parts fed lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) at this
from a magazine into the mold, where they are year's Fakuma (B3-3211).
overmolded with polycarbonate. The resulting
base body is passed on to the second station Among many highlights will be a fully automated
by a rotary unit and overmolded with TPE, for a production cell comprising a Roboshot a-S150iB
better grip. The finished parts are then depos- with a clamping force of 150 tons and an LR-10iA
ited on the conveyor belt of the Insider cell. compact six-axis robot, demonstrating the ef-
ficient and precise processing of biopolymers.
Wittmann has also taken the use of DC energy Longitudinally mounted on an additional linear
as a power source for injection molding systems axis, the complete footprint of the exhibit has
a step further. Last year, the company showed been minimized.
a machine with a robot operating on direct cur-
rent; this year, the temperature controller, too, Artificial intelligence is the heart of the latest a-iB
series Roboshot. The injection unit, for example,
can run on energy from the machine's DC in-
termediate circuit. Further DC-compatible aux- includes AI metering that uses torque — rather
than speed — control to compensate for chang-
iliary appliances are planned. The EcoPower
B8X 180/750 DC Insider cell with an integrated es in material viscosity such as drying conditions
and variations in regrind.
WX142 robot in DC version from Wittmann and a
DC-compatible Tempro plus D temperature con-
In addition, Fanuc AI mold and ejector protec-
troller will be molding the housing of a plug-in
tion prevents mold damage and costly repairs/
connector for DC technology using a two-cavity
56 PLASTICS NEWS October 2024
