Milacron Holdings Corp. will pack a lot of technology at its NPE2018 exhibit: 18,700-square feet of space at Booth W2703.
The company will exhibit Milacron injection and extrusion machines, Mold-Masters hot runners and control systems, DME mold components, Uniloy blow molding machines, Kortec coinjection technology and Milacron 4.0 internet of things solutions.
And Milacron is running what officials say is among the largest-tonnage injection molding machine to operate at an NPE show — as well as making a nod to the U.S. machinery maker's hometown roots — with the Cincinnati, a press with 2,250 tons of clamping force.
"We wanted to go big this year at the show," said Mike Sansoucy, vice president of sales for injection molding in the Americas.
Sansoucy said Milacron excels in large-tonnage presses. "We regularly manufacture large molding machines in the 1,000-ton range. No other injection machine manufacturer can match us in large-tonnage experience."
Milacron CEO Tom Goeke said: "I share Mike's excitement, the Cincinnati is a beast!"
Goeke joked that the company is currently building a 6,600-ton machine for a customer, and the Milacron injection molding team wanted to bring that behemoth to NPE.
"But I had to draw the line, we need space to show all of our other brand's technologies!" he quipped.
The 2,250-tonner will be molding a dashboard for a large side-by-side all-terrain vehicle. The part weighs 10.5 pounds. A six-axis Sepro robot will remove the big parts.
Milacron has sold the big machine to Innovative Injection Technologies Inc., a custom injection molder in West Des Moines, Iowa, that is known as i2Tech.
Milacron officials say the Cincinnati is a new large-tonnage, two-platen injection molding machine with higher performance and a shorter footprint, for large-part markets like automotive and appliance. Servo-motor Fanuc power packs offer improved reliability, expanded multi-component capability, higher maximum mold weights, faster clamping speeds and added tonnage sizes, the company said.
Here is a sampling of machinery Milacron will display in Orlando:
• The new all-electric Roboshot 500, which has an increased tonnage option up to 550 tons and tie bar spacing of 36.2 inches. The press will be molding a detergent cap with 24-cavity mold on a 6- second cycle. The work cell will feature a Mold-Masters Master-Series valve-gated hot runner and TempMaster M2 hot runner temperature control system and DME mold components.
• Another Roboshot press will star in a cell running liquid silicone rubber. The Roboshot 140 will mold an LSR puzzle on a 16-cavity mold, at a 40-second cycle. A Fanuc robot will place puzzle pieces onto a conveyor, and an Autobag machine will package the puzzle as a takeaway item.
• A Maxima Performance Series press, which debuted at NPE 2015, will mold an 825-gram map pocket for an automotive door panel, using MuCell technology. The company said the Maxima Performance Series is aimed at demand for higher performance, lower energy, precision, and flexibility. The two-platen Maxima Performance 600wp will be outfitted with Milacron's "Core Back/Reverse Coining" package.
• For coinjection molding buffs, Milacron's Kortec business will debut Kortec Connect coinjeciton hot runner designs combined with Mold-Masters' E-Multi secondary injection unit. That gives molders a cost-effective way to enter coinjection molding, Milacron officiasl said.
• Mold-Masters also has rolled out enhancements to its Fusion-Series G2, a drop-in hot runner system favored by the automotive industry for large parts. New for NPE2018 are the F3000 and F8000 nozzles, two new sizes aimed at both smaller under-hood components and larger parts like bumper fascias, instrument panels and door panels, as well as the appliance sector.
• Mold-Masters also will show a new design for its Melt-CUBE side-grating for hot runners that cuts service times by 85 percent. It is based in the company's advanced side gating technology.
• In blow molding, Milacron is showing the Uniloy IBS 85, an injection blow molder, turning out a 7.5-gram, 4-cavity medical tablet bottle, with a barrier layer, every 12 seconds, sporting the new Kortec Connect system — Kortec hot runners with a Mold-Masters E-Multi injection.
• For extrusion, the new Milacron SV350 single-screw extrusion machine is billed as a robust, flexible extruder for tube and profile processors plus sheet, fiber, wire and cable.
• Milacron also is offering its conical twin-screw TC Series of extruders in compact designs that optimize processing using natural compression.
