Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • K Show Livestream
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
July 21, 2003 02:00 AM

Krauss-Maffei takes new turn with press

Bill Bregar
Senior Staff Reporter
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Krauss-Maffei Corp. launched a revolution at NPE 2003, with the world premier of its multicomponent injection press that features a rotating mold carrier between the two platens.

    At NPE, a 200-ton Revolution press molded a black ABS cover for a cellular phone. The second shot was a soft gasket around the edge, a thermoplastic elastomer. The two injection units were arranged in a straight line, with the molding area in the middle.

    Paul Caprio, executive vice president, said using a small rotating table between the platens is less expensive than competing multishot machines that require specialized molds.

    ``There are systems in the marketplace, either a turning cube or four-face, that have broached this system from the tooling end. And we're attacking it from the machinery side so that you can work with any mold maker that has competence. All the utilities are going to that rotary table unobstructed,'' he said in a June 24 press conference at Krauss-Maffei's NPE booth.

    The Revolution is available in clampings forces of 180-4,000 tons. On the larger-tonnage Revolutions, 800 tons and bigger, the entire middle platen is designed to swivel. The company is targeting the automotive industry for large Revolutions.

    Caprio said the system doubles the output of a standard two-component press. ``The full face of the mold is finished product,'' he said. ``You can also take that another set and go 90 degrees on a turn for cooling and another 90 degrees on the opposite side for ejection out of the cycle.''

    Caprio said KM sold the 200-ton Revolution at NPE to Tecstar Manufacturing Co., a unit of MGS Manufacturing Group of Germantown, Wis. Another MGS unit, Moldmakers Inc., made the mold running the cell phone parts at the show.

    Krauss-Maffei sold all four of its injection presses at its NPE booth, officials said.

    Multicomponent molding was a major NPE focus for Krauss-Maffei. The company also showed its bolt-on injection units, a lower-cost and flexible path to multishot molding. Complete with its own power pack and controls, the injection unit can be moved from one machine to another. The bolt-on can run on any make of machine.

    It's an easy way for a molder to try multicomponent molding, Caprio said.

    ``The bottom line is that we feel we get our foot in the door with any company, and they can get into this system much less expensively than a full-blown machine. It can help them gain that business and we gain a new customer,'' he said.

    Florence, Ky-based Krauss-Maffei Corp. is the U.S. unit of Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik GmbH of Munich, Germany.

    At NPE, top officials discussed how KM is responding to the depressed machinery market. Josef M„rtl, chairman of the KM managing board, said the company has remained profitable. Sales for 2002 were $421 million, from injection presses, extruders and polyurethane processing equipment. The company expects 2003 sales to surpass that figure.

    M„rtl said KM wants to increase its North American sales by stressing how its machines can boost productivity and reduce costs. And he said, despite statistics that show low capacity utilization for molders, NPE visitors gave a different story. ``The companies at our booth, they were all loaded with work,'' M„rtl said. ``It seems like it's picking up slightly.''

    Caprio said the changes to the U.S. plastics industry have been dramatic. ``The days of just shooting plastic and shipping parts, that's really leaving the U.S. and mainly heading to China,'' he said. ``And our molders really have to add more value, to bring more value to the table for their customers and keep that business here.''

    Late last year, Krauss-Maffei bought a German automation supplier, Neureder AG, to get into the robot business. The result was running at NPE, as one of the robots removed baby-bottle nipples, molded on a hybrid, 110-ton Eltec press from liquid silicone rubber. The robot placed the parts on a scale for quality checking, then moved them on to a conveyor.

    ``The robotics are integrated into the controller of the machine, so there's one less piece of equipment that the operator has to deal with,'' Caprio said.

    The Eltec was sold to Dow Corning Corp. for use in a laboratory, Caprio said.

    KM also demonstrated a 450-ton press molding closures on a stack mold, 288 at a time.

    The company also announced - but did not display at NPE - a new series of large-tonnage press called the MX machine to replace the MC series of two-platen machines. Clamping forces range from 800-4,000 tons. Features include a new wide-platen option and better plasticizing rates. One key innovation is that the locking and clamping force buildup mechanisms have been moved to the moving half of the clamp, which improves access to the fixed platen and nozzle area.

    Caprio said big machines have remained a core strength of the firm, which consistently sells more than 100 presses a year from 800 tons and above. ``This year will be a record, that's nearly 170 units in that range,'' he said.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Georgia home to new PET chemical recycling plant
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • K Show Livestream
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified