Engel puts manufacturing efficiency in the driving seat at Interplas
The efficient production of lightweight automotive components for metal replacement applications will be the theme of choice for Engel at Interplas 2014.
During the three days of the event the machinery manufacturer will show an example by manufacturing clutch pedals on a tie-bar-less Engel victory 1800/220 injection moulding machine with an integrated Engel viper 12 linear robot.
The company says thanks to the targeted formation of a hollow structure by means of its water injection technology, Engel Watermelt, raw material is saved, the component weight decreases and the cycle time drops.
In addition, the injection of water into a cavity partially filled with plastic melt ensures a uniform wall thickness throughout the clutch pedal and no sink marks despite the complex part geometry. This also results in a very precise part surface.
The tie-bar-less technology, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, contributes greatly to the efficiency of the manufacturing cell, says Engel. Due to the size and the complex geometry of the clutch pedal, the mould is relatively large, whereas the necessary clamping force is comparatively low. The barrier-free clamping unit of the Engel victory machines allows selecting the machine size based on the clamping force required in the injection moulding process, rather than the mould size.
"Particularly in manufacturing technical parts, we can often fall back on a smaller machine, which significantly increases the overall efficiency," commented Graeme Herlihy, Managing Director of Engel UK in Warwick. "The purchasing cost of a smaller machine is lower. It requires less energy and most importantly takes up less space. Thus the productivity per square metre of production space increases, which in the meantime has become a key figure in our customers' businesses."
Herlihy will expand on Engel’s use of manufacturing technique for the production of lightweight automotive components when he delivers a paper during the ‘Plastics in Automotives’ seminar session on Wednesday, October 1st at 11.30am.
In addition to automotive parts, Engel will also produce a medical application to demonstrate both efficiency and reliability during manufacturing. The working cell will manufacture polystyrene needle holders for safety hypodermics using a 16-cavity precision mould.
Finally, Engel will introduce its CC300 control unit for the first time in the UK, a system designed to make the operation of highly integrated and automated production processes easier, more comfortable and safer.
"The CC300 is setting a new trend," explained Herlihy. "We transferred user technologies that have since become standard to the demands of the injection moulding processes – for example, the intuitive gesture controls found in smartphones. This makes it very easy for machine operators to find their way in the new control unit. Furthermore, we retained basic principles that operators appreciated in the previous model."
Visitor Information:
Engel - Stand C70/71