Arburg's presence at the leading international trade fair K 2019 from 16 to 23 October 2019 in Düsseldorf, Germany, will focus on the topics of digitalisation and circular economy. With "arburgXworld" and "arburgGREENworld", Arburg provides answers to important and pressing questions for the world of plastics processing and use - a world which includes an increasing number of perspectives. The primary goal is to conserve resources and thereby make a significant contribution to production efficiency. In hall 13, stand A13, trade visitors can experience how Arburg has always been a pioneer in dealing with important future issues, providing answers to current questions and offering practical solutions. A number of new machines, processes and digital products and services are contributing to this.
“As the world's leading trade fair in its industry, the K trade fair is the most important platform for presenting important visions and innovations. Every three years, the world of plastics looks to Düsseldorf to see where the journey is headed in the future," says Michael Hehl, Managing Partner and spokesman for the Arburg Management Board, underlining the value of K for the Black-Forest based company. "Our one world is becoming ever more complex and richer in perspectives, so that our challenges are growing accordingly.” Ultimately, it is always a question of meaningfully exploiting the potential of plastics as an important resource, of efficient production and of conserving resources. Arburg will demonstrate what this can look like in practice by means of pioneering exhibits and applications.
In focus: Digitalisation and circular economy
"We are dealing with the two truly prominent issues of our time: digitalisation and the sensible use and recycling of plastics," Juliane Hehl, Managing Partner responsible for marketing and technology, emphasizes the duality of this approach. "We are showcasing very important progress in terms of digitalisation. In this context, the idea of 'arburgXworld' stands for much more than our customer portal of the same name.” New to the digital product and service portfolio are, for example, the filling assistant and the plasticising assistant, as well as extended connectivity for the Allrounders. In addition, there are further apps and functionalities for the customer portal.
"We very much welcome the fact that the circular economy is such an important topic at K 2019," adds Juliane Hehl, stating how environmental protection and the conservation of resources are deeply rooted in the company's philosophy. "In Düsseldorf we will be able to present our 'arburgGREENworld' more extensively to experts for the first time and demonstrate practical solutions by means of various examples, which have also been discussed at the international Arburg Packaging Summit in June 2019".
Immerse yourself in the digital world of Arburg
Stand "13A13" at K 2019 offers more digital Arburg world than ever before. At ten interactive stations along the "Road to Digitalisation", visitors are able to learn more about "smart machines", "smart production" and "smart services". This include, for example, the new "Plasticising Assistant" for material processing and predictive maintenance at the screw, and the control system simulator. Arburg’s six proven assistance packages, the Arburg host computer system (ALS), the Arburg Turnkey Control Module (ATCM) and the Arburg Remote Service (ARS) will also be presented at K 2019. All injection moulding exhibits are provided with so-called "Basis Connectivity", i.e., they have an IIoT-Gateway and can be interconnected with the higher-ranking ARS und "arburgXworld" customer portal systems easily and standardised using interfaces.
New apps in the "arburgXworld" customer portal
The "arburgXworld" customer portal has been available to customers in Germany since March 2019. The feedback is excellent. In addition to free functions such as the main "Machine Center", "Service Center", "Shop" and "Calendar” apps, there will be additional fee-based functions offering considerable added value starting at K 2019. New features are, for example, the "Self Service", the dashboard for the machine status, the control system simulator, the collection of process data and the machine design. In addition, the customer portal will be available internationally in 18 languages as of the trade fair.
“Smart” Allrounder knows the component to be produced
On an Allrounder 570 A with a clamping force of 2,000 kN and Gestica control system, Arburg will demonstrate a particularly "smart" application. The new filling assistant is integrated into the control system, meaning that the Allrounder "knows" the moulded part it is to produce – in this case a pair of Uvex goggles made of PA12.
Arburg developed the filling assistant together with its Aachen-based partner Simcon. It was first presented on an active Allrounder at the Technology Days 2019, but the application at K 2019 takes it one step further: The simulation model created offline and the geometry are read directly into the control system. At the Gestica control system, the degree of part filling, relative to the current screw position, is animated in real time as a 3D graphic. In co-operation with Simcon, the functionality of the filling assistant has been extended, in order to cover a larger mould and material spectrum. The machine operator can compare the results of the simulation created offline with the filling performance of the last cycle interactively on the Gestica monitor. This results in benefits with regard to set-up time, safety and efficiency.
The electric Allrounder 570 A is integrated into a turnkey system. It is used to injection-mould sophisticated goggles in a cycle time of around 45 seconds. Pick-up and transfer for optical inspection, laser marking and packaging is handled by a six-axis robot. In addition, the production cell is equipped with the Arburg Turnkey Control Module (ATCM) SCADA system, which enables 100% traceability of the parts.
