Molder and mold maker Univac Precision Engineering Pte. Ltd. of Singapore has taken a license in SpinStack multicomponent mold-making technology from Gram Technology ApS of Birkerød, Denmark.
Univac wants to use the Gram technology to expand the tools it builds for exporting, for the medical and health-care and caps and closures markets. Univac believes it is the first Asian company to offer this technology, according to Fritz Maier, marketing and sales manager with the firm's office in Frankfurt, Germany.
Gram's SpinStack system incorporates in-mold assembly, decorating and coating into multicomponent molding, and allows secondary operations to be done within the molding process, boosting efficiency and speed, the firm said.
Univac said it will use the technology in its 150-person Singapore toolroom, but eventually may expand to its Shanghai toolroom, Maier said. The company will continue to use other multicomponent molding technology in addition to SpinStack, he said.
The company hopes to make its first SpinStack mold by the end of the year, and sees it as more of a niche market for its export-oriented tooling, Maier said.
``You can save labor and processing time, which is much more valuable in the high-cost countries,'' he said.
Maier claims the Gram system can work with any injection molding machine, unlike other specialized multicomponent technology such as Foboha GmbH Formenbau's ``cube'' system, which works on Ferromatik Milacron presses.
Univac is also adding a 500-ton injection press for testing of molds in its Singapore facility, including testing multicomponent molds, according to Maier.