Wittmann Battenfeld premiers MacroPower

Wittmann Battenfeld GmbH & Co. KG premiered the first of its new MacroPower two-platen large injection molding machines at its Competence Days open house in Kottingbrunn.

At the open house, an 800-metric-ton MacroPower 800/5100 molded a 4.2-pound polypropylene dryer frame, using a 20 percent talc-filled PP compound, within a cycle time of 4.58 seconds.

The MacroPower series project was first announced at the opening of the new Wittmann Battenfeld sales and service center in Meinerzhagen, Germany, in September. The MacroPower 800 machine will be available in July.

Injection molding machine development manager Andreas Lechner said 1,000- 1,300- and 1,600-tonne MacroPower versions also have been designed.

One advantage of the Macro­Power series is a small footprint, according to Lechner. The 29-foot length of the MacroPower 800, for example, is shorter than the 30- and 34-foot lengths of machines from two competing producers. Similarly, the MacroPower 1000 measures 33 feet, compared with the 35 and 37 feet of other machines on the market, Lech­ner added.

The Macro­Power 800 machine also weighs less: 82,000 pounds compared with 84,000 and 95,000 pounds for competing 800-tonne machines.

The company highlighted how molds may be mounted on the MacroPower system by an overhead crane — larger molds being divided and slanted as they are introduced into the mold area.

“In most cases a mold can be put into the machine without moving the one upper tiebar that is retractable,” said Managing Director Georg Tinschert.

He also pointed out the linear bearing guides for the moving platen, which he claims reduce energy use.

The retracting tiebar feature has a less-complex design than the earlier, HM-series large two-platen Battenfeld machines, which have retractable tiebars that all have to be rotated and locked, Tinschert added.

The Macro­Power will eventually replace the present HM series, Tinschert said.

Following introduction of the MacroPower 800 as the first in a series of machines that will reach a clamping force of 1,600 tonnes, a 1,000-tonne machine will be shown at the K 2010 show in October, Werner Wittmann revealed during the open house. He told European Plastics News, however: “We will go down in tonnage first before we go up, as we will need a new building in Kottingbrunn to produce the largest MacroPower machines.”

Tel. 43-2252-404-1400, fax 43-2252-404-5502.