High performance with maximum safety
In order to increase productivity, the field of medical technology is moving more and more to the use of multi-cavity molds along with the larger injection moulding machines they require. As a result, Engel has designed the Engel e-motion all-electric machine series to meet the requirements of high-performance applications, with no compromise to process stability and part quality, even when used with high clamping forces. Together with automation specialist Hekuma (Eching, Germany) and mold manufacturer Braunform (Bahlingen, Germany); Engel will be presenting the highly automated cleanroom production of needle holders for insulin pens at the NPE.The cores of the 96-cavity mold have a diameter of just 0.3 mm. To counter deformation of cores effectively, the electric injection unit of the Engel e-motion 440/240 T US is equipped with a direct drive, which provides highly dynamic injection movements and injection speeds of up to 500 mm/s. If, however, there is a problem with a manufactured part, the camera-based monitoring system registers it immediately. Thanks to cavity specific handling, reject parts are automatically separated and the injection moulding can carry on producing without deactivating the cavity. Despite the delicate mold cores, the all-electric machine achieves exceptionally short cycle times of around 3.5 seconds.
Engel packaging: the best of two worlds
High-performance applications have traditionally been the domain of the packaging industry, and the trend in that sector is energy efficiency. The new Engel e-speed 720 US injection moulding machine, presented in North America for the first time at NPE2015, brings together the best of two worlds. The new Engel high-speed machine relies on the all-electric technology of the high-performance Engel e-motion and Engel e-cap series while possessing the benefits of the Engel speed series; uniting highest injection speeds with maximum energy efficiency.The electric clamping unit of the 720-ton hybrid machine utilizes a completely new drive solution. In order to avoid the power peaks when short cycle times are combined with high clamping forces, a flywheel acts as an electrical power reserve. It stores the braking energy from the platen movements and transfers this energy back to the motor when it is required for processes such as the reacceleration of the clamping movements. When the storage capacity is reached, excess energy from the generator is fed back into the grid—not just converted into heat by the braking resistance, which has been the case until now. This allows the Engel e-speed 720 US to run with a relatively low and above all constant connected load.
On the injection unit side, the time-tested Engel inline injection unit is used. Its particularly high injection dynamics and an electric plasticizing drive enable injection speeds of up to 800 mm per second to be reached.
In addition, its particularly long opening stroke allows the new high-speed machine to work with large stack molds. An Engel e-speed 720/90 US with a 4+4-cavity mould from StackTeck (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) will be producing 1.5-liter containers. Thanks to the high-speed automation from CBW automation (Fort Collins, Colorado, USA), the machine only needs a very short 0.5 seconds to remove the containers from the mold.
