Negri Bossi unveils new, all-electric machine range at K 2016

Negri Bossi has kicked off a year of celebrations marking 70 years of manufacturing innovation with the global premiere of a new generation of all-electric injection moulding machines at K 2016.

Company CEO, Craig Ward, unveiled the new ‘ELE’ machine, which has both improved physical specification and performance designed to have a wider appeal in areas such as packaging and medical.

“The initial launch range goes from 50 to 350 tonne. Our plan is to extend this range over the course of next year to include both higher tonnage models and also multi-component variants,” explained Ward. “The product is targeted at markets which require the performance that an all-electric gives and as such the specifications reflect this.”

The product features a new multi-touch controller – known as Tactum – which has features such as remote access, in built camera and gesture navigation thanks to the introduction of ‘multi-touch’ technology.

It is also equipped with a new ‘smart flex 2' locking unit, with a different toggle geometry designed to be coupled specifically with electric closing and to have characteristics optimised to its target market.

Showcasing X concept

As well as launching the new machine, Negri Bossi introduced its ‘concept X’ platform, which Ward said highlighted the company’s vision for the future.

“This concept will form the base of a new generation of machines,” Ward explained. “The new clamp units are designed to have all the positive characteristics of a traditional toggle whilst competing with two platen units in such aspects as footprint and cleanliness.

The two clamp units on show on the company’s stand at K have the physical characteristics of the superior tonnage existing production model, with the footprint of the existing inferior tonnage product.

“As such, a new 800 clamp unit has the physical characteristics of the existing 1100 with the footprint inferior of the 650 tonne. Equally, the 700 is smaller than current 500 with physical characteristics of current 800,” Ward added.

The toggle geometry of Concept X is designed in such a way as to reduce component force effect and so allow the better distribution of mass in the system to give exceptional rigidity and yet extremely generous physical specifications.

The locking unit is designed to be actuated both hydraulically and electrically so as to be available in hydraulic, hybrid and electrical formats. This, Ward said, enables “flexibility for the future.”

Next-generation controller

Finally, Negri Bossi has dedicated an area of its stand at K to a display of its past, present and future machine controllers.

Included in this is the first display of some of the company’s ideas for its ‘next-generation’ controller, known as ‘Motus’.

“With Motus we are developing intuitive navigation through smart phone type gestures, showing what we believe will be the face of controllers of the not so distant future. Motus features a patent pending virtual object for the movement of various axis based on orientation of the gesture as well as swipe, zoom and other forms of gesture for both navigation and input,” Ward explained.

Although the Motus controller is still under development, Ward said K was an ideal time to demonstrate the ideas of tomorrow.