Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. said its new approach to molding hinged, flip-top lids for wet-wipes containers can lead to a 10-15 percent increase in output and can cut needed floor space 15-25 percent.
Most flip-top lids are injection molded and either free-dropped or removed by a robot. A separate machine outside the injection press then is used to close the lids. But Husky said free-dropping can damage or contaminate the parts, or even cause them to jam in the closing machine. Robots can increase cycle time and floor space and add costs.
Husky modified its SwingChutes for the lids to incorporate a lid-closing feature run by a pneumatic cylinder. A space-saving alternative to robots, Swing-Chutes are mounted on the press to remove the lids and snap them closed.
The parts slide down the guide chute, then are conveyed to other downstream processes.
Husky is based in Bolton, Ontario.
Tel. (905) 951-5000, e-mail bca [email protected]
Battenfeld machine offers tiny shot sizes
Rapidwerks LLC, a Chicago-based company specializing in micromolding, rapid prototyping, tooling and complex assemblies, is using a Microsystem 50 molding cell from Battenfeld Injection Molding Technology, Austria, a division of SMS Plastics Technology Group.
The all-electric injection press uses a plunger injection system that permits tiny shot weights from 25 milligrams to 1 gram. The injection speed is 30 inches per second, a key when making parts such as watch gears that have fill times as low as 0.14 millisecond.
Because of the very small shot weight, the Microsystem 50 generates much smaller sprues and runners than conventional presses that have been modified for micromolding, the firm said.
Rapidwerks is a division of Stratos Lightwave Inc., a Chicago firm that makes optical subsystems for data networking, storage and telecommunications. The molder also targets the medical-device and automotive markets.
Battenfeld, based in Meinerzhagen, Germany, has its U.S. headquarters in West Warwick, R.I.
Tel. (401) 823-0700, fax (401) 823-5641.
Injection Moulding replaces stack molds
A German company, Injection Moulding Innovations Ltd., has introduced Simplex TandemMoulds, which replace complicated stack molds with two standard hot-runner molds by shooting the melt right through one part to mold the second part.
Injection Moulding Innovations estimates that at least 30 percent of all molds built worldwide could use the technology. The company claims part production costs can be reduced more than 30 percent, compared with a larger injection press with a stack mold or two standard presses with single, regular molds.
TandemMoulds can be run on standard machines. The processor can mold family parts such as waste bins, containers, buckets, cosmetic cases and margarine tubs with lids on a single machine with two simple hot-runner nozzles and needle valves positioned behind each other. There is no need for a manifold.
Normally, when two cavities are positioned behind one another in a single stack mold, the mold maker has to fashion a complex network of runners.
The company gives an example of a container and a lid molded in two alternating cycles, the lid first, followed by the container. Regular injection pressure shoots a hole through the lid, allowing the plastic to flow to the container. With thicker-walled parts, a needle valve also can be applied to pierce a flow path to assist melt flow.
According to the company in Versmold-Loxten, Germany, melt energy is sufficient to re-melt the part so the slug can reform, and the finished lid has no hole.
Tel. +49 (5423) 9512-10, e-mail [email protected]
Freeglass employs swivel technology
Freeglass GmbH & Co. KG of Schwaikheim, Germany, is using swivel-platen technology from Krauss-Maffei Kunststofftechnik GmbH to do multicomponent injection molding of automotive side windows and sunroofs from polycarbonate.
Freeglass molds the parts on two KM presses that combine an expansion/compression molding process with the swivel platen, to produce parts with large surface areas virtually free of internal stresses, according to the Munich, Germany-based machinery manufacturer.
The parts are coated after molding for protection against ultraviolet light and scratching.
Not only does a PC sunroof weigh less than a glass one, it eliminates the danger of glass splintering on impact.
Freeglass molds the parts in its new factory in Schwaikheim.
The press maker's U.S. unit, Krauss-Maffei Corp., is based in Florence, Ky.
Tel. (859) 283-0200.
PET preform system can save floor space
Han-Tek Inc. of Victor, N.Y., partnered with a packaging maker to develop a PET preform-handling system that moves preforms from the injection press to a blow molding station overhead, conserving floor space.
By moving preforms directly instead of filling up gaylords, Han-Tek said, its system reduces product marring and waste, and eliminates the need to cart preforms in and out of storage.
Tel. (585) 924-2200, fax (585) 924-2503, e-mail [email protected] .com.
JVH brings '86 press to current standards
JVH Engineering Inc., a systems integrator that retrofits Allen-Bradley control systems onto injection molding machines, said it has rebuilt a 700-ton, 1986 Milacron press by integrating an AB unit and Rexroth Bosch Corp.'s DPQ-2X for clamp injection and part ejection, and DPC for clamp control.
The hydraulic system of the press was upgraded with a 4WRTE-type proportional valve.
Grandville, Mich.-based VH retained the existing valves for the clamp cylinder and ejector cylinder, which are 4WRZ open-loop, proportional valves.
Pilot valves were replaced on the existing valves with a newer, integrated-electronics version. The change made the older valves adequate for closed-loop control of the clamp and ejector cylinders.
JVH found the rebuilt Milacron press performed well on hydraulic response, speed linearity, load compression, clamp repeatability, ejector repeatability and other parameters.
Tel. (616) 531-9861, (616) 531-7763.
New Oberburg model makes small batches
Oberburg Engineering of Oberburg, Switzerland, has introduced a compression molding machine, the KKP 4-32, to make caps in smaller batches for the beverage industry.
President Rajiv Santwan said the machine can mold 600 closures a minute. The firm's other model, the KKP 3, can run 1,200 closures a minute.
Tel. +41 (34) 427-3333, fax +41 (34) 427-3340, e-mail [email protected] sysglobal.com.
