Available with clamping forces from 1,100 to 4,200 kN, the Engel e-cap is the only cap machine on the market providing all-electric operation in the high clamping force range. This makes it the most energy-efficient machine in its class at the same time.
A 24-cavity mould by Austrian mould maker HTW will be used at the Plastimagen. The processed material is a PEHD by Borealis (Vienna, Austria) at a shot weight of 2 grams per cavity. The peripheral units on display will include a dry air system by Eisbär (Austria). "By precisely matching the injection moulding machine, the material, the mould and the peripheral systems from the outset, we can leverage efficiency potentials to a maximum and further reduce energy consumption," as the Managing Director of Engel de Mexico in Querétaro, Peter Auinger, points out. The injection moulding machine manufacturer and system solutions provider, Engel, headquartered in Austria, delivers fully-integrated and automated manufacturing cells from a single source, worldwide. This also increases efficiency in project planning and after-sales service. "Our customers have just one central contact," Auinger explains. "As the general contractor, we have the overall responsibility, also for system components that we implement in collaboration with partners."
Minimum cycle times, maximum quality
Engel has adapted the e-cap series specifically to the requirements of beverage cap production. The high-performance machine achieves particularly short cycle times for the individual cap types. At less than 2 seconds, the shortest cycle times are achieved in the manufacture of lightweight caps for still water. For CSD caps, cycle times vary depending on the cap type. At Plastimagen, the e-cap will achieve a cycle time of 3.7 seconds for 28 mm PCO 1881 caps.
In addition to energy efficiency and productivity, precision and process stability are decisive factors when selecting a cap machine. “Caps have reached their lightweighting minimum in terms of geometry," says Auinger. "This means that they place higher requirements than ever in terms of the injection moulding machine's precision and repeatability." High-performance servo direct drives are responsible for the outstanding process stability of the e-cap injection moulding machine. They ensure the required plasticising capacity and the highest possible number of good parts even when high-strength HDPE materials are used with an MFI of below 1 g/10 min.
Enhancing machine availability
The challenge in maintaining and servicing injection moulding machines is to guarantee high availability while at the same time reducing costs. And again inject 4.0 opens up new opportunities for this. The e-connect.monitor condition monitoring solution makes it possible to check the condition of process-critical machine components during operation and reliably predict their remaining service life. In this way, unplanned downtimes can be avoided and the working life of the components fully utilised. Four modules are currently available, for plasticising screws, ball screws in high-performance electric machines such as the Engel e-cap, fixed displacement pumps in servo-hydraulic injection moulding machines and for hydraulic oil.
All Engel service products - in addition to e-connect.monitor, for example, e-connect.24 for 24/7 online support - are integrated into Engel's e-connect customer portal. At any time and anywhere, it provides an overview of the machine status, the condition of the monitored machine components, the processing status of service and support orders and the prices and availability of spare parts. In this way, the portal simplifies and accelerates communication between processors and the supplier, Engel. The associated app keeps the plant operator up to date, even if they are currently at a completely different location.
MES for newcomers and advanced users
At Plastimagen, Engel will also be presenting smart connectivity solutions for linking injection moulding machines and production cells within the enterprise. TIG authentig, the MES (Manufacturing Execution System) by Engel subsidiary TIG (Rankweil, Austria) is tailored to the specific requirements of the injection moulding industry down to the last detail. It ensures transparency in order to, for example, utilise the total capacity of the machines or correlate productivity indicators and economic objectives. The new products that TIG will be presenting in Mexico include the TIG 2go dashboard solution, which is particularly suitable for entering the MES world, and the TIG big data high-performance analysis platform for networking machinery around the globe in a central cockpit.
Present in Mexico for more than 20 years
Engel opened its own sales and service subsidiary in Mexico in 1996. In 2010, the Mexico City facility relocated to Querétaro and was substantially extended in the process. In Central Mexico Engel has its own technical centre and spare parts warehouse. To further reinforce customer proximity, Engel is opening a second location in the Monterrey region in the north of the country at the end of February 2019. All told, Engel employs some 70 staff in Mexico.
