Data transparency in the digital age
Expected to come into effect from 2026, The European Commission (EC) are introducing Digital Product Passports (DPPs) as a response to their ‘net-zero emissions by 2050’ target and overall sustainability goals. Under this forthcoming legislation, companies selling products in Europe will need to digitally collect and share detailed data about their products and processes. A DPP will contain the information of an entire product lifecycle, including the product’s composition, origins, production, and recyclability, with the aim of accomplishing full processing transparency, unlocking circularity and shaping the future of supply chains.
The EU recommends that companies take early action to digitise record-keeping, increase data collection and optimise processing practices. This suggestion comes from a desire for plastics manufacturers to improve their compliance and resilience, bridge the data gaps across the supply chain that obscure product footprints, unlock investment synergies and increase transparency. By preparing for DPPs now, companies can also mitigate the impact of non-compliance when the legislation comes into force.
As part of this increased push for digitisation, connected data sets, and assessment of sustainability efforts, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag has created a suite of advanced digital tools and cross-platform, open-communication software. “In today’s modern market, plastics processors need to meet higher demands for productive, energy efficient, sustainable processes, in order to achieve ambitious growth targets and meet stricter government standards. The key to success is total integration and seamless interactive connectivity between all devices, from injection moulding machines and robotics to temperature controllers and mould flow digital tools,” states Thomas Schilling.
Productivity parameters under pressure
One of the many digital features Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is showcasing at Fakuma 2024 is activeMeltControl. A completely independent software module, activeMeltControl can compensate for melt viscosity variations in nearly all applications and materials, including recycled plastics. Resulting in significantly reduced reject rates.
Automatically adapting to the injection moulding process, aMC continually monitors for variations in holding pressure and switch over position. Once a parameter is identified as drifting towards the tolerance limits that have been set by the user, aMC automatically amends the set parameters to compensate for the variation. The adjustment bandwidth is also defined by the processor.
Schilling expands: “Variations in the melt flow index (MFI) in 100% recycled material, for example, can now be corrected by the software. Meaning that the process stability is now comparable to a process that uses virgin material. This offers processors greater manufacturing flexibility, allowing for the use of a broader range of post-consumer and post-industrial recycled material types.”
Even customers with defined processing references benefit, as aMC instantly addresses any variability to maintain absolute processing precision and stability, adds Thomas Schilling. “In terms of production stability, this innovation makes a big difference to productivity and processing continuity.”
Visit Sumitomo (SHI) Demag at Fakuma 2024, booth B1-1105, to see these transformative digital tools in action and gain insight into how to best digitalise production processes for EU compliance, strengthen supply chain transparency and achieve your sustainability goals.
