Duluth, Ga.-based LS Mtron will host the largest booth devoted to injection molding machines at NPE2024 — W1101 — showing it has grown exponentially since the North American plastics industry last gathered for the triennial trade show in 2018.
The spinoff of LG Group has evolved from a relatively unknown upstart to one of the top 10 injection molding machine suppliers worldwide.
In North America, LS Mtron has more than 2,000 machines installed, mostly for automotive, appliance, electronics and logistics packaging applications.
While many presses went to LG and LS company plants and other South Korean transplants, others were purchased by Ford, GM, Tesla, Volkswagen, Mahle, Parker Hannifin, US Merchants, Quantum Storage, Luxit Automotive Lighting, Integrity Mold and Tessy.
LS Mtron's 13,500 square feet of booth space in the West Hall at NPE2024 will be filled with new equipment and demonstrations, including a hybrid processing method that combines virgin and recycled material as well as a larger multifunction touch controller.
The machine builder will showcase three new lines of injection molding machines:
• LSG-E full-electric presses with 35-950 tons of capacity for high-precision applications. The line features a high-stiffness platen with a five-point toggle design for high-speed clamping and high-intensity injection.
The injection volume has been increased by up to 27 percent for LSG-E, a company news release said, with injection speeds up to 11.81 inches per second, or 300 millimeters per second.
A new 1,500-ton model will be available later this year following field tests, LS IMM USA President Peter Gardner said in an email.
• LSG-H servo-hydraulic presses available at 500-3,600 tons geared to "advanced productivity and position reproducibility," the release said. These machines feature a mold open-and-close-speed of 39.37 inches per second, or 1,000 mm per second.
• LSG-V vertical series of machines with models available from 30-660 tons and numerous configurations, including single- and shuttle-type vertical injection and single-, shuttle- and rotary-type horizontal versions. The series offers reduced operating and maintenance costs thanks to minimized cooling water, tank size and oil lines.
LS Mtron will demonstrate an LSG-VL vertical injection molding machine, which is aimed at the electric vehicle battery market. The press features the 18-inch, multitouch Keba controller and is available in clamping forces from 35-660 tons.
A 170-ton LSG-V machine will mold an EV component at NPE. The company release said the press vertical series can slash energy usage 65-70 percent thanks to its servo pump system while four tie bars ensure greater stability.
The enlarged Keba controller, which offers easy cycle analysis and unit conversion, also has a memo function that lets users associate data with a specific mold.
The controller will be demonstrated with LS Mtron's One series, which is a portfolio of hybrid injection molding machines for high-precision molding of automotive parts. The series uses heavier molds to produce larger parts with detailed surface treatment.
In the demonstration, a One-1400 will produce rear door side trim with a clean surface finish for a Hyundai Motor Group vehicle.
To address environmental sustainability demands, LS Mtron will demonstrate its sandwich injection molding with what it calls the Piggyback Multi Component. By molding surface layers of virgin material and recycled materials in the core, the release said, LS Mtron achieves high-quality appearance with structural integrity.
LS Mtron is part of the LS Group, a South Korean-based conglomerate with more than 25,000 employees, annual sales exceeding $30 billion and a profit of about $1 billion.