Injection molding fans will find nirvana at NPE 2006, as McCormick Place in Chicago will be packed with presses - most with robots - cranking out medical parts, auto parts, packaging ... parts, parts, parts!
Automation and resin-pinching technologies will be major themes again this time, as molding companies try to run as efficiently as possible and squeeze out every drop of gold - er, resin from their equipment.
Expect to see a heavy dose of all-electric machines, which now account for 40 percent of the U.S. market, according to figures from the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. in Washington.
Here is a preview of what NPE visitors can expect to see.
A.B. Machinery (Booth E9463): Floor and bench-top plastic injector machines for injection molding, including insert molding and overmolding. Semiautomatic AB 400 floor model with a half-ounce shot size, 5-ton clamp and two-stage injection cylinder.
Boy Machines Inc. (Booth S2660): New Boy 55Ae injection press, a hybrid with electric screw drive and hydraulic clamp and injection. To reduce cycle times, eject-on-the-fly is standard using a double-pump system. Also, a new Boy 55 VV, an insert molding press with vertical clamp and vertical injection.
Cinpres Gas Injection Inc. (Booth S3206): New gas-dosing station and multifoam nozzle; improved nitrogen generation system, the GPS 15/15. Nitrogen foam molding.
Demag Plastics Group (Booth S2502): New sizes of the big-tonnage Titan two-platen press, 1,500 and 1,100 tons. A 165-ton El-Exis machine demonstrating in-mold labeling. A 615-ton El-Exis molding a dipping sauce container on a stack mold. A 385-ton all-electric IntElect press making a rear valance for a race car and a 110-ton Multi machine running a two-material part.
Engel Machinery Inc. (Booth S2286): New line of Speed presses for packaging and other thin-wall molding, 200- and 300-ton Speed presses with cycle times as low as 2.6 seconds. A 200-ton all-electric E-Motion press using Engel's X-Melt technology; two other E-Motion machines molding medical and telecommunications parts; and an E-Motion 110 Combi press, billed as the first two-component injection press to mold liquid silicone rubber and polybutylene terephthalate. All-electric press cell with RJG Inc.'s decoupled molding built directly into the machine controller. Also, the Duo 1650 Combi M, molding an automotive sunroof panel with Glazemelt technology.
Haitian Machinery North America Inc. (Booth S1449): All-electric injection molding machine. Dual-platen, two-component and toggle-clamp presses.
Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. (Booths S2132, S2140): Hylectric press doing in-mold labeling. New injection press and hot-runner technologies for automotive, packaging, closures and PET preforms.
JSW Plastics Machinery Inc. (Booth S2960, N5057): All-electric presses, including the J5AD-60H-US, with injection speeds up to 31½ inches per second. A J180-AD-300H will mold yogurt cups with in-mold labeling and will feature a nitrogen gas generator to eliminate burning of optical-grade resins. Also, the JT40EL3-20V-HS, featuring extremely precise operation, and the J110-180H, which boasts high accuracy using JSW's ejector compression system.
Krauss-Maffei Corp. (Booth S2102): New CX-series small-tonnage machine, with two presses, doing multicomponent molding with a bolt-on, and another machine with a stand-alone robot. The EX series of all-electric presses with a Z-toggle clamp. A C3 Sprinter press molding stadium cups with an in-mold label produced with a three-dimensional hologram. An IMC system that does injection molding on a 1,000-ton press and compounding, all in a single machine, turning out a glass-reinforced automotive part.
MGS Manufacturing Group (Booth S2570): Multishot technologies, portable injection units, tooling, development and molding services. An all-electric, three-shot injection molding cell.
Milacron Inc. (Booths S1702, S1715): Injection molding machines demonstrating applications for the medical, automotive, consumer goods, closure and packaging industries. First North American showing of the Mosaic machine controller. A Milacron technical center with cutaways and models of machines.
Negri Bossi USA Inc.-Sacmi Group (Booth S1870): The Canbel, a second-generation all-electric press with 525 tons of clamping force and a 64-ounce shot size. The Elma LSR, an all-electric press for liquid silicone rubber molding.
Netstal Machinery Inc. (Booth S2616): A trade-show first: a 192-cavity PET preform mold running on a PET-Line press. The machine pumps out more than 90,000 preforms an hour. Also: SynErgy press molding a stadium cup and doing in-mold labeling of a lenticular label. Another SynErgy machine molding 72 closures on a four-second cycle. All-electric Elion making a medical syringe.
Niigata Engineering Co. Ltd. (Booth S708): New MD-X 55-ton press and MD 385W wide-platen 385-ton press. Also, a 55-ton MDVR vertical clamp/vertical injection with two-station rotary.
Pro Systems LLC (Booth N4401): Customized and standard automation systems. Remanufacturing services for vertical insert molding injection presses.
REP Corp. (Booth N5139-Q): Injection molding machines with reciprocating screw and ram.
Sumitomo Plastics Machinery America LLC (Booth S1885): New SE-HS line of midsize all-electric presses with direct-drive power for high-speed molding, boasting injection speeds of 11.8 inches per second. Clamping forces of 242, 306 and 385 tons. Press has new twin-cylinder contact force system (nozzle touch). New SM screw gives low-shear plasticizing and thorough mixing at low temperatures. Also: SE7M direct-drive all-electric press with 8 tons of clamping force; SE-DU line of direct-drive all-electrics, from 20-198 tons; SE-HD line of midsize, high-duty all-electrics in clamping forces of 242-496 tons.
Toshiba Machine Co. America (Booth S1402): New ECN-II series of all-electric injection presses, with high speed and precision. Also on display, a new controller.
Toyo/Maruka USA Inc. (Booth S1176): Vertical-clamp, horizontal injection molding press with a four-station rotary table.
Wilmington Machinery Inc. (Booth S1118): New structural foam molding machine line, the Lumina LP (large platen). Versafil independent nozzle control gives flexibility when filling large parts. The hybrid machine uses electric power on the injection unit and hydraulics for clamping. Lumina LP has five cylinders on the clamp, instead of the typical three cylinders. Also, NextGen, a two-platen hybrid machine.
Xaloy Inc. (Booths S1432, N5016): Packages to modify shot sizes, the JCP 1760 Jet Cleaner for injection screws, new Posi-Melt and Fusion II injection screws.
Zeiger Industries (Booth S522): Screws, barrels, end caps and high-performance plasticating unit.