Plastics News senior reporter Bill Bregar picked up these news items at the Fakuma 2005 trade show, held Oct. 18-22 in Friedrichshafen, Germany.
60-ton vertical Boy is largest yet for Dr.
Fakuma visitors saw the largest-yet vertical insert molding press from Dr. Boy GmbH & Co. KG - a 60-ton VV press, with both vertical clamp and vertical injection. The press is called the 55 VV, a reference to clamping force in metric tons.
Fakuma marked the worldwide launch of the 55 VV. The company also offers smaller machines, the Boy 22 VV with 24 tons of clamping force, and the 38-ton Boy 35 VV.
Features of the 55 VV include a low table height and generous spacing between the four tie bars, for mounting large molds and family molds. The compact machine takes up just 37½ square feet of space, so it can be integrated into automated production lines.
To create the fixed lower platen, machine designers turned the two-platen clamping unit from the standard horizontal machine 90 degrees. That configuration prohibits the movement of inserts during the mold-closing phase.
Boy also showed a second insert-molding machine, a 35 VV, with 38 tons of clamping force, molding a steak knife. The parts were removed by an articulating, six-axis Mitsubishi robot mounted on the machine.
A 100-ton horizontal press demonstrated in-mold labeling. A robot placed foils into a cup mold from the rear of the machine.
Finally, Boy showed micromolding by producing tiny gears in a two-cavity mold on a 13-ton Boy 12 A. Each gear weighs 0.0009 gram. Boy said the machine sports the world's first 12-millimeter plasticizing unit.
Boy, based in Fernthal, Germany, also announced customers can buy an integrated sprue-sorting system on their Boy 22 and Boy 35 presses.
``Without the loss of cycle time, the sprues will be separated from the molded parts,'' said Bernd Fischer, director of process engineering and service.
The company's U.S. operation is Boy Machines Inc. of Exton, Pa.
Battenfeld introduces new models to market
Battenfeld Injection Molding GmbH rolled out a new model of its two-platen HM presses with 440 tons of clamping force and a larger, 605-ton HM with a newly designed injection unit.
Battenfeld said the new HM will be available in sizes from 352-550 tons. Features include quick-stroke cylinders mounted on the exterior for fast opening and closing, maximum injection pressure of 3,000 bar and injection speeds up to 300 millimeters a second.
The 605-ton HM at the show had a smaller footprint, thanks to the new injection unit design. The HM line features tie bars that retract to give unrestricted access to the molding area, very large, rigid platens, a solid moving-platen support and precise axial movements of the injection unit stabilized by linear guides.
Also, Battenfeld showed a 297-ton HM molding multicomponent parts, a vertical press, a TM toggle-clamp press and a Microsystem 50 that turned out a micromolded medical part - a bio-absorbable vascular clamp.
Battenfeld Injection Molding is based in Kottingbrunn, Austria. Its U.S. unit, Battenfeld of America Inc., is in South Elgin, Ill.
Mold-Masters invests in European HQ plant
Hot-runner maker Mold-Masters Ltd. has invested more than 2 million euros ($2.5 million) on new metalworking equipment at its European headquarters plant in Baden-Baden, Germany.
The firm installed three horizontal machine centers for manifold and hot-half manufacturing. It also bought five-axis computer numerically controlled machines for making nozzles. Other new equipment includes hardening ovens, grinders and laser writers.
The investment will help Mold-Masters meet fast delivery times in Europe, said Hans Hagelstein, managing director of Mold-Masters Europa GmbH.
Mold-Masters is based in Georgetown, Ontario.
Berstorff adds lines for sheet extrusion
Berstorff GmbH, which builds compounding extruders in Hanover, Germany, has added three lines to make sheet for the thermoforming packaging industry.
The lines are an extension of Berstorff's traditional business in engineering film and sheet for automotive and fabric-reinforced sheet for roofing membranes.
The firm now makes standard extrusion lines, with throughput of 3,300 pounds an hour, to make thermoformable sheet from polypropylene, polystyrene and PET.
Leistritz Batchtester checks filter pressure
Leistritz Extrusionstechnik GmbH, a compounding extruder maker in Nurnberg, Germany, introduced BatchTester 20.
The device can help test masterbatches for color quality of injection molded test pieces and lab film samples. It also can run pressure filters tests to determine the useful life of screens in fiber production. Options include a bypass for on-line screen exchange and a device for easy hopper emptying.
U.S. unit American Leistritz Extruder Corp. is in Somerville, N.J.
Fakuma show beats visitor count of 2003
Fakuma drew a record crowd of 40,084 visitors, a 10 percent increase from the 2003 show.
In all, 1,504 firms from 39 countries showed processing equipment, materials, tooling and software covering 720,000 square feet in 11 buildings. New this year was an extrusion hall, to broaden a perceived focus on injection molding.
