Arburg introduces its largest-tonnage press at K 2016

Düsseldorf, Germany — Arburg GmbH + Co. KG took the wraps off its new hybrid Allrounder 1120 H — its largest-tonnage injection press ever at 650 tons of clamping force, with a sleek new design and the new Gestica control system.

And when you visit Arburg in Hall 13/A13, you can see the press in a manufacturing cell molding — and automatically assembling — an eight-piece folding step stool. That will come in handy during K to rest your tired feet.

The press extends the company's portfolio up to 650 tons. The dry cycle on the Hybrid Allrounder 1120 is 2.4 seconds, and the maximum opening stroke is 1,050 millimeters.

“The new Allrounder 1120 H is a response to our customers' needs for large and efficient high-performance machines,” said Gerhard Böhm, Arburg's managing director of sales.

Arburg has designed the press with an aesthetic appeal and a modern color scheme and shape.

“With the new design, our renowned high-quality technology has been given an appropriately visionary appearance: aesthetically pleasing, dynamic and modern,” Juliane Hehl, Arburg managing partner, said at a news conference held Oct. 18, the day before K 2016 kicked off.

The complete manufacturing cell is an example of a turnkey system, a growing area for Arburg. Böhm said in 2015, growth in the turnkey segment helped drive a 12 percent increase in the value of incoming orders over the year before, expressed in euros.

Arburg built an expansion at its headquarters in Lossburg, Germany, to handle production of turnkey systems and larger-tonnage injection presses.

The new Multilift V 40 linear robot system, in cantilever design, is configured for the new machine size. It has a moving demolding axis, and a payload capacity of 40 kilograms. The robot gently removes the parts from the mold and sets them down on a rotary transfer table in a connected assembly station.

For final assembly, a six-axis robot works together with the Multilift, attaching non-slip stoppers to the feet of the step stool and assembling the product.

The new Gestica control has the look and feel of a tablet computer, Arburg officials said. Features include a modern glass front, a high-definition screen and multitouch technology as well as one-click hardware keys. The operating panel is ergonomically tilted as well as height-adjustable and rotatable.

Arburg said the Gestica is based on its Selogica controller, but gives easier and more intuitive operation, such as the Easyslider operating element that simply and precisely controls via color-variable LED technology during setup. Acceleration and deceleration can be controlled with the swipe of a finder along a bar at the end of the screen.

At K 2016, the hybrid Allrounder 1120 H is molding eight polypropylene parts in a cycle time of about 60 seconds, in a family mold. During mold opening, the eight undercuts are demolded using spring-loaded drag slides.

Plus, it has some practical extras for the big machine, including fold-out steps for accessing the clamping unit, service cabinets for the power supply equipment and integrated LED light strips that indicate the status of operation.