Winzeler Gear Inc., which makes high-precision plastic gears for the automotive, lawn and garden and office automation markets, has purchased five hybrid tie-barless Engel injection molding presses.
Winzeler Gear bought five e-victory presses, four with 65 tons of clamping force and one 160 ton press for its factory in Harwood Heights, Ill.
The family-owned company was founded in 1940 to produce stamped metal gears. Later, Winzeler Gear moved into plastics. The company has adopted the principles of scientific molding. Their process engineers are trained and certified by RJG Inc.
Winzeler is an all-Engel house. All gear production is done on horizontal Engel presses. More than half of the 39 Engels running in Harwood Heights are tie-barless. The company uses a combination of linear and six-axis robots, and does automated box loading.
Automation ensures consistency of production for the 120 million gears Winzeler ships each year. President John Winzeler said the tie-barless design gives the molder flexibility when designing automation systems.
DuPont Co. supplies 90 percent of the gear maker's resin, mostly Delrin acetal.