Ferromatik Milacron will unveil the latest addition to the modular F-Series with a super-fast packaging application at Plast 2012. In addition, the company will demonstrate an all-electric machine from the Elektron series producing beach toys for children.The show marks the debut of the F 200. “With this new machine, the modular F-Series now covers the complete middle range of clamping force sizes from 800 through 3,500 kN,” said Robert Trube, Director Sales & Marketing at Ferromatik Milacron. “These are most in-demand sizes and are the machines we’re selling the most of,” he explained. The F-Series will continue to expand until the complete portfolio is available, from 500 to 6,500 kN.
The F 200 has a clamping force of 2,000 kN and will be presented at Plast with a High Performance (HP) 60 injection unit. The machine reaches injection speeds of 900 mm/s. A barrier screw with a diameter of 50 mm and a length of L/D 25 ensure a homogenous melt. The machine has tie-bar spacing of 630 x 630 mm.
Every 4.5 seconds four dessert containers will be removed from the machine by a Ferromatik Milacron Robot (FMR 8-5 High Speed) and stacked on a conveyor. The controls for the robot are integrated with the machine controls so that the mold data can be administered and monitored from the MOSAIC operator panel. The containers feature a distinctive shape: the base has four corners; the top is round. The parts are made of transparent Polystyrene, have a volume of 150 ml, and weigh 13 g each. The mold was made by Glaroform (based in Näfels, Switzerland) and has been made available during the show by SAF F.lli Bianco (based in Schio, Italy), where it is already at work manufacturing dessert containers.
Every injection molding machine has five individual machine axes. With the innovative modular design of the F-Series, each of these axes can be configured with electric or hydraulic drives. Thus every machine can be either all-electric, hydraulic, or a hybrid. The F 200 at Plast is a hybrid, with clamping and plasticizing driven electrically, while ejection, carriage movement, and injection itself are hydraulically powered.
The injection units offered with the F-Series include General Performance (GP), Advanced Performance (AP) and High Performance (HP) versions. GP injection units can reach speeds of 330 mm/s with an injection pressure of 2,300 bar, and are well-suited for medical and consumer goods production. AP injection units can achieve speeds of 500 mm/s with a pressure of 2,300 bar, and HP injection units are capable of 1,200 mm/s injection speeds and 2,500 bar of pressure. These are mostly used for packaging, with HP injection units being most suitable for thin-wall packaging applications.
The second injection molding machine in the Ferromatik Milacron booth is the all-electric Elektron 75 with a clamping force of 750 kN and an international size 300 injection unit. It is equipped with a 3-zone screw with a 35 mm diameter and a length of L/D 20. The machine will produce toy sieves for playing at the beach or in a sandbox. The toys will be produced on a mold from B&K Kunststoffwerke (based in Breitungen, Germany). The parts are 80 percent LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) and 20 percent HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) and weigh 56 g.
The Elektron is a global machine series produced by Milacron providing a cost-effective universal solution for standard production tasks. “The Elektron is opening up new markets for us where the high-performance F-Series is either not needed, or not affordable,” said Paolo Zirondoli, Sales Manager at Ferromatik Milacron. “Since introducing the Elektron in Europe in 2010, the country with the most sales has been Italy, closely followed by Sweden,” he added.
The Elektron is available in eight sizes, from 500 to 3,500 kN, with a choice of seven injection units (international size 55 to 1,540). In total there are 23 possible combinations each available with a choice of three different screw diameters. A list of options allows manufacturers to adapt the machines for a variety of molding applications.
