Friedrichshafen, Germany — Aichach, Germany-based mold maker Deckerform Technologies Toyo GmbH brought a strong focus on sustainability to Fakuma 2023, with several demonstrations of molding recycled plastics into new parts that are in-mold decorated by either film insert molding (FIM) or hot foiling techniques.
The demonstrations used both virgin and recycled film from decorative and hot foil producer Leonhard Kurz Stiftung & Co. KG. Deckerform simultaneously showed the capabilities of the machines it represents in Europe for the Japanese electric drive toggle injection molding machinery producer Toyo.
The booth drew many visitors thanks to a clip molded on a 50-tonne Toyo Si-50-6s machine. Managing Director Anna Tschacha said the cycle time for the 8-gram part is 60 seconds in a single-cavity mold and that it is made in PET compound produced by recycling Kurz decorative film off-cuts.
A particular attraction for booth visitors was the hand-operated hot foil equipment that all visitors could use to hot foil the clips themselves at 180° C with the slogan "Be a green leader."
The press featured a fast mold insert changeover system, with inserts being first placed in "a sort of drawer." This system was developed with another mold maker, Marienheide, Germany-based Röttger Werkkzeugbau GmbH & Co. KG.
Tschacha said, "This is an example of two companies working and growing together. It doesn't really matter if such projects succeed, as the close cooperation is the most important aspect."
Tschach says Toyo was the first company to build an all-electric injection molding machine in 1985. She said they use a swiveling toggle system that reduces tiebar strain while ensuring high stability. The tie bars can be retracted to easily accommodate mold mounting, thereby reducing the risk of mold damage. She says this is not only safer in avoiding collision, but contributes to long tiebar life beyond 20 years without obvious signs of wear.
Tschach is proud of the Class 20 best-class energy consumption rating according to the Euromap 62 standard, with 3-mm-thick technical parts typically in ABS or PP typically achieving specific energy consumption of 0.2 kWh/kg. She added that hydraulic drive machines typically have around 70-80 percent higher specific energy consumption. A key factor is that hydraulic machines use clamping energy even when not running, while electric machines do not, other than with their control systems.
She claims no hydraulic machine can close and apply full clamping force within one second, with Toyo machines being at least 10 percent better in clamping force build-up. Foam molding and injection-compression molding "doesn't cost a euro more, irrespective of the type of foam process used," she said.
Another application on display was a single-trip salad bowl for the Edeka retail store chain, produce by Hanover, Germany-based Crafting Future GmbH. A cross-section showed extremely thin skins, so full foam insulation potential is available. Tschacha says the typical foam surface swirl effect can be seen as a positive design feature. The translucent lid is injection-compression molded, which means it withstands dishwashing cycles for longer before warping.
Tschacha also showed a "proof of concept" foamed polycarbonate/ABS recyclate door trim, in-mold decorated by a Kurz metallic effect and molded on a 350-tonne Toyo Si-350-6s with 48 seconds cycle time. Deckerform is looking at both passive foam molding without partial mold opening, as well as active foaming with a partially opened mold, with respectively 5-10 percent and 20-30 percent weight-saving potentials.