Engel Austria GmbH has launched a smartphone app called e-calc, for making sure the Engel injection molding press perfectly matches the specific application.
After entering a few parameters, e-calc automatically supplies the values required for material and component-dependent design of the injection press, as well as the machine setup data. The materials data is stored in the software, and e-calc guides the user, step by step, as it computes values such as required stroke volume, fill pressure, the resulting clamping force, screw speed and cooling time.
Materials data contained in the app include the melt, mold and pre-drying temperatures and times, factors of viscosity and wall thickness, temperature conduction and demolding temperatures, permissible screw speeds, enthalpy values and guidelines for processing loss.
The new software has a glossary of technical terms.
“E-calc is one of the first apps to be developed for the injection molding industry,” said Wolfgang Degwerth, head of the customer service division at Engel in Schwertberg, Austria.
In philanthropic news, Engel's North American headquarters, Engel Machinery Inc. in York, Pa., supplied a hybrid tie-barless injection press, and automation, for Bradley University's new manufacturing laboratory—custom-painted in Bradley red. Bradley is in Peoria, Ill. The highly visible press, an Engel e-victory, has 30 tons of clamping force.
The laboratory was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Army. It is used by students in four engineering programs, including mechanical engineering, industrial and manufacturing engineering.
“The machine will be a key element in the educational programs for plastics and injection molding, as well as for developing molds and producing pilot part runs for student senior projects,” said Richard Johnson, professor of mechanical engineering.
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