Billion adds technology center press for recycled-content trials

Bellignat, France-based Billion SAS will take delivery soon of an 800-ton GM model press to conduct product trials for customers that want to use more recycled material.

The injection molding machine builder is installing one of its own mid-range presses at its technical center in Oyonnax, France, to meet demand for tests of products that have a layer of post-industrial or post-consumer material sandwiched between layers of virgin material to meet corporate sustainability goals.

"A lot of times the cosmetic and packaging industries want a nice surface outside and to say they used X amount of recycled material," Billion General Director Georg Kiesl said at Fakuma 2023. "With this process, they can use 40 percent regrind, but on the outside, you can't tell."

Until recently, about 20 percent of mold trials were done for projects involving sandwich layers. Now it's probably 80 percent, Kiesl said.

"We've added the 800-ton machine in our technical center to do trials on big parts, with regrind that mainly comes out of construction, like floor tiles and roofing tiles. There's been a big increase in trial demand," Kiesl said.

For the sandwich technology, Billion's presses are equipped with a special nozzle designed to produce extra-thin walls to 0.7 millimeters.

"We've run applications in competition with other molders," Kiesl said. "Some big customers have come in and tried molds throughout town. Then, they came back to us and said we're able to have the highest amount of regrind inside."

At Fakuma, the next generation of the all-electric Select machine series — the Select 2 series — was introduced. The presses are designed for overmolding and sandwich technologies and are available in single- and twin-shot models.

The Select 200 T press at the trade show is in an automated production cell that is working triple time making beach ball rackets from recycled polypropylene using the sandwich process, then overmolding the handle and in-mold labeling a design.

The Select 2 series presses are being rolled out for certain tonnages, not everything yet, Kiesl said. The big differences between the two series of machines are energy consumption, changes to the clamping unit to handle large and bulky loads, and continuous lubrication of the ball screw.

To reduce energy usage, Kiesl said, "We took resistance out of the machine's clamping unit. The movable platen actually glides on the tie bars, so we're taking a little friction out to reduce energy use. The machines also offer more performance. We can run faster cycle times."

At Fakuma, two injection units bring the virgin and recycled materials together. The virgin material is first injected in the mold, covering the outer side of the part. The second material is injected in the middle of the part. Then, the mold is closed with a second injection of the virgin material.

After that, a third material is injected via Billion's plug-and-play injection unit. The thermoplastic elastomer material is overmolded on the racket handle to create a soft touch and easy grip.

In-mold labeling technology by partner MIHB, which is also a molder, helps to complete the process, eliminating the need for an adhesive label while providing a quality decoration that is integrated into the part.

The in-mold labeling, part transfer from one cavity to the other and final part extraction are handled by robot.

Billion presses have larger platen sizes and further tie bar distances so there is space to have complex tools inside the machine.

"We're less limited, and that's something we're quite proud of. Platen-size wise, we're among the biggest in the industry for electric machines of that tonnage," Kiesl said.

Many plastic processors are asking how much regrind they can use to meet sustainability goals. To maximize the amount, the Select 2 presses have an Easycontrol brand system that measures material viscosity in the barrel and adjusts the injecting parameters.

"A lot of customers have top-down initiatives to have 40 percent regrind in their projects by a certain date," Kiesl said.

However, the regrind varies between batches by properties and even temperatures if some was left outside.

"Depending on how fluid the material gets, you might have an overshot or undershot. The part might be nicely finished or not. The machine measures how well the melt is inside the barrel and adjusts it directly. That's quite unique to us. We're able to adjust it within the same cycle. We measure it and adjust it immediately. With a lot of the other systems, you measure it and you adjust in the next cycle. So you're always running behind a little bit. We're doing it in a real-time basis."

Kiesl said 2023 has been a quiet year, but he expects sales activities to pick up in the new year.

"2021 was a great year for us, and coming into 2022, we were working off that demand and it was still going somewhat well. Toward the end of 2022, you could feel things slow down, and 2023 was a slowdown without question," Kiesl said.

He sees a trend in the market toward Chinese companies supplying most standard equipment and is relieved Billion won't be too affected.

"Luckily, it touches us less, but when you talk about the industry as a whole, it's something you feel," Kiesl said. "A lot of small simple machines are now Chinese machines, and it used to be other manufacturers."

Looking ahead to next year, he added: "Given we're independent of standard equipment — and the automotive industry — we feel quite comfortable with the push to sandwich and the demand we see there. Markets that have been traditionally strong with us, like cosmetic packaging, are starting to pick this up."

Billion is focused on value-add applications like multishots.

"We're not in a low-price fight. It's value-based," Kiesl said.

Billion also is moving into more international markets.

"We're very focused on France and Europe," Kiesl said. "The United Kingdom is going quite well for us, and we're also now going more to North America, particularly Mexico, especially in a reshoring or near-shoring trend. And Canada is saying we want more local production."