ORLANDO, FLA. — Niigata sold all three injection molding machines displayed at its booth during NPE 2015 — and many more than that, officials said.
Peter Gardner, vice president of sales and general manager of Niigata at DJK Global Group, said Niigata took orders for 12 machines.
All three show machines had “sold to” signs at Niigata's booth. All of the company's presses are all-electrics.
Whirley Industries Inc., the maker of food and drink containers based in Warren, Pa., bought an MD385W6000 press with 400 tons of clamping force. The machine was running Whirley's two-cavity mold, turning out drink cups, during NPE 2015. A Campetella IML robotic system installed the labels and removed the finished cups.
Apex Resource Technologies Inc. of Pittsfield, Mass., purchased Niigata's new vertical toggle-clamp press, the 110-ton press with a two-station rotary table. The press, which also has vertical injection, is model MDVR110S7000.
Gardner said Niigata lowered the table height to just 3.4 feet from the ground, including leveling pads. That means the customer does not have to build a work platform around the machine, he said. The press also boasts a wider table than standard verticals, according to the company — so larger molds can be used, measuring up to 33.64-inches by 33.64 inches.
The press can run at an ultra-low injection speed of just 0.1 millimeters per second, to handle thicker-walled insert molding jobs. Each mold has an independent injection profile.
The third press at Niigata's booth — actually two of them — went to Hy-Ten Plastics Inc. of Milford, N.H. Hy-Ten bought two of the 110-ton horizontal presses, MD110S7000 presses. The machines are Niigata's seventh generation of all-electric presses.
The MD presses eliminate the moving platen's lower-side tie bar bushings, to improve cleanliness of the part drop area. And the grease supply system that is used is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — designed for molding in medical clean rooms and food grade applications.
Gardner said Niigata's 55-ton press running in Lube USA Inc.'s booth at NPE was sold to Prototype & Plastic Mold Co. Inc. in Middletown, Conn. The machine is model MD55S6000.
