"Green" resource conserving applications
The HolyGrail technology was presented as an example of an innovative solution for "intelligent" marking and separating by type, a requirement for a closed circular economy. With this technology, a digital product passport with recycling-relevant information can be placed directly on the plastic part. As an application example, 5-litre buckets were produced from Post-Consumer Recyclate (PCR) by a hybrid Allrounder 820 H in Packaging version with a cycle time of only around five seconds. An ingenious "rib structure" of the side walls allowed up to 18 per cent of the material to be saved.
The manufacture of sustainable reusable cups made of foamed PP was demonstrated by a hydraulic Allrounder 470 S, equipped with a MuCell® package. The highlight of this application from Bockatech: the material is enriched with gas both chemically and physically, and foams directly in the opened mould after injection. This saves on material and cycle time. The microcellular structures ensure a weight reduction of up to 50 per cent and also have an insulating effect. The foamed wall thickness is 2.0 instead of the compact 0.7 millimetres. The matching gripper for the handling Multilift Select robotic system was manufactured additively by a Freeformer beforehand. The gripping function with air guidance was integrated into the component, without any additional pneumatic drives or valves.
A hybrid Allrounder 920 H processed a PP compound with up to 70 per cent sunflower husks as filler and reinforcing material into beverage crates, while an hydraulic Allrounder 320 C Golden Edition produced perforated discs through paper injection moulding, with which straw insulation can be attached to mud walls.
Machine communicates with mould
A new solution for the communication between mould and machine was presented by Arburg alongside its partner Hack, using a hybrid "Packaging" Allrounder 630 H in clean room design, which produces transparent blood tubes from shatterproof PET. The "Moldlife Sense" computer system was integrated into the 32-cavity mould.
This monitors the complete life cycle and enables monitoring. The data is passed directly to the machine control system via an OPC UA interface. In this way, for example, malfunctions as well as performance-dependent maintenance intervals for the mould can be displayed.
LSR dosing unit integrated in machine controller
Digitalisation also offers practical benefits in LSR processing: via OPC UA and the Euromap interface 82.3, dosing systems can be integrated into the Allrounder control system. At the Technology Days 2022, three LSR exhibits had such an OPC UA connection: three Allrounders were equipped with LSR dosing units from Elmet, Nexus and Reinhardt Technik, and manufactured light conductors for the automotive industry, "Needle Free Valves" for infusion therapy, as well as foamed toe pads.
Part tracing without markings
Arburg demonstrated together with the start-up, Detagto, and an hydraulic Allrounder 470 A, a new solution for tracing moulded parts without markings by means of "invisible tracing". The process is reliable, tamper-proof, and requires little effort: a small camera station in or at the machine, a small server outside or in the Cloud, as well as a second camera station for recognition are sufficient. The image data of the photographed surface, that, like a finger-print, appears minimally different for each component, is converted into a storable character string, and transferred to a database. In this way, each component can be unmistakably identified later.
