Practical example of Industry 4.0 - elastic tension straps "on demand"
As a practical example of Industry 4.0, a turnkey system built around a vertical Allrounder 375 V injection moulding machine will show how customers' requirements can be incorporated online into the ongoing injection moulding process. Elastic tension straps will be produced in different variants "on demand" and yet cost effectively in a flexible process from shot to shot without any need to change the machine set-up, thanks to a clever product and mould design. In industrial practice, such an application would be ideal for cable assembly in the automotive industry, for example.In the application demonstrated at the trade fair, visitors can choose between straps of different lengths, colours and end piece combinations and can enter the variant of their choice directly at the terminal. The requirements are transmitted to the central Selogica control system via the OPC UA communication protocol. The strap is cut to the selected length from the roll and handling is by means of a six-axis robot, which is compactly arranged within the machine installation area. The mould has two cavities each for hook and eyelet. The strap ends are placed in the cavities and overmoulded according to the order. This allows hook/hook, hook/eyelet or eyelet/eyelet combinations to be produced in a cycle time of about 40 seconds. The finished elastic tension strap is finally removed by the robot and removed from the system.
Networked and flexibly automated production
Visitors to the Arburg stand can also get an idea of all aspects of digital transformation: they will see solutions for the smart factory, combinable Industry 4.0 components or for the individualisation of high volume parts in batches of a single unit thanks to the combination of injection moulding and additive manufacturing. At the Plast 2018, all exhibits on the Arburg trade fair stand and on the Sverital partner stand are networked via the Arburg host computer system (ALS). As an important component of Industry 4.0, the ALS, enables the comprehensive traceability of orders and batches. Machines can be networked in a simple, standardised manner by means of interfaces based on the OPC UA communication protocol. The Arburg experts provide detailed information on the connection of this MES system to ERP systems.Cost-effective automated moulded part production
With two other injection moulding exhibits, Arburg will be demonstrating the cost-effective automated production of plastic parts at the Plast 2018. An Allrounder 470 E Golden Electric that produces four 5.75 g switch housings from PA6 (GF 30) for the automotive industry in a cycle time of around 20 seconds, demonstrates that the electric entry-level series is ideally suited to technical injection moulding. A servo-electrical Integralpicker is used for sprue removal.A specially equipped hydraulic Allrounder 370 S is configured for the processing of liquid silicone (LSR). The LSR machine uses a 4-cavity mould to produce a four-gram valve diaphragm (hardness 60 Shore A) in a cycle time of 30 seconds.
As a central building block of Industry 4.0, the Arburg host computer system (ALS) ensures end-to-end IT networking of moulded part production. The "Mobile Maintenance" module for mobile devices is a new feature of the MES system.
