ORLANDO, FLA. (April 4, 7:30 p.m. ET) — NPE2012 marks the U.S. premier of Arburg Inc.’s Edrive all-electric injection molding machine — one of six presses at Arburg’s NPE exhibit (Booth 3729).
Arburg has positioned the Edrive as an entry-level all-electric, at the same price as a hydraulic machine.
“The NPE is an ideal time to present the new fully electric Edrive machine range because the North American market now has more extensive experience with the use of electric machines for producing technical components,” said Friedrich Kanz, president of Arburg Inc.
Arburg offers Edrive presses in clamping forces of 66 tons and a 3.7 ounce injection unit to a 220 press and a 15.3 ounce injection unit.
In Orlando, a 66-ton Edrive is molding ABS trays in a 12-second cycle.
Arburg’s theme is production efficiency, a natural angle after focus on energy efficiency. Officials said the entire value chain should be analyzed, covering all variables. That includes product design, even down to the material chosen, since energy requirements for melting different types of plastics can vary widely.
Another featured press at Arburg’s NPE2012 display is a 220-ton Allrounder 570A molding a two-component pad for an automotive rain sensor, that joins together a frame of polybutylene terephthalate. A Multilift Select robot places the premolded part into the mold and also removes the finished parts, molded with LSR in the second station. The flexible LSR component forms the connection to the car windshield, connecting the sensors to the windshield.
Four premolded parts and four finished components are produced in a 38-second cycle.
Arburg also is demonstrating in-mold labeling by molding two one-liter polypropylene buckets fully assembled with handles, in a cycle time of 4.8 seconds on a 350-ton, hybrid Allrounder Hidrive. Arburg has configured the injection unit for high performance. An extended 70-millimeter screw gives a high degree of plasticizing.
Arburg also shows a production cell that uses a six-axis Kuka robot that grabs lengths of cable, then moves it into a vertical Allrounder, which molds parts onto the completed wiring harness. The Selogica control screen links the robot to the machine controller. The cell eliminates the need for manual insertion of the cable into the mold.
In a micromolding application, a tiny Arburg press with an 8-mm screw, and a second screw to melt the material. The 38-ton Allrounder Alldrive press is molding micro-parts from polycarbonate in a 20-second cycle time.
Arburg also is showing a stainless steel molding 32 syringe barrels on a 165-ton all-electric Allrounder Alldrive. A clean-room module sits on top of the clamping unit room.
And Arburg is showing total mobile access to key parameters and production data in real time, through the new ALS Mobile analysis tool. A modular structure allows a molder to start with a basic platform, then expand it over time.
