Japanese precision technology comes to K 2022
As Japanese injection moulding machinery manufacturer Sodick prepares to return to the halls of Messe Düsseldorf for K 2022, Rob Coker spoke with Sodick Europe General Sales Manager Manabu Takemura for a sneak preview of what to expect.
What is it about the K show that maintains its position as a world-leading exhibition?
The K show has an international reputation for attracting high-quality decision makers from across Europe and beyond. Our first K show, in 2019, was very successful for us, generating plenty of interest and new sales leads. We are looking forward to making K 2022 another great opportunity to demonstrate our technology to the market.
What can we expect to see on the Sodick booth?
Sodick Europe will be demonstrating the 30-tonne hydraulic hybrid GL30 injection moulding machine, equipped with Sodick’s unique V-LINE technology. This machine is ideally suited to the production of very small, complex, high-precision, high value-added products in, for example, the medical, electronic and precision instrumentation sectors. On the stand, the GL30 will be moulding 28-pin 0.35mm pitch micro connectors.
Benefits of the small footprint GL30 include enhanced stability, traceability and usability, as well as a host of advanced injection moulding functions, direct pressure mould clamping and Sodick’s new Total Servo Drive system to further improve operational accuracy and energy consumption.
What is unique about the GL30? What makes it stand out from competitive IMM manufacturers?
In common with all Sodick injection moulding machines, the GL30 comes with Sodick’s unique two-stage plunger injection system, the V-LINE System. The concept behind the V-LINE System is to separate the injection and plasticisation processes in one unit, resulting in extremely accurate, rapid, and repeatable resin injection; suppressing outgassing, reducing fibre fracture, and preventing backflow.
Sodick’s three critical principles for their moulding machines are: consistent plasticising heat profile, constant filling volume and constant holding pressure, working in perfect harmony to achieve ultra-precision injection moulding.
The excellent plasticisation and injection performance is the result of the extremely stable reliable plasticisation and injection unit due to Sodick’s V-LINE technology, which contributes to accurate and highly repeatable resin injection, and a hydraulic accumulator mechanism that enables high-speed injection with dynamic responsiveness at a high level.
The original mould open/close and clamping mechanism adopts both an electronic system mould open/close mechanism to achieve accurate position control, and a hydraulic mould clamping mechanism that reproduces an accurate mould clamping force, with a direct pressure mould clamping system utilising the merits of the electro-hydraulic hybrid system to the utmost.
Sodick’s Total Servo Drive provides even greater energy saving performance through the use of an electric servo motor for the hydraulic pump drive, and to the electric servo motor drive for the mould open/ close mechanism and ejection mechanism.
Which robotic/automation/process control software partners will be involved in the demonstration?
Sodick will also be demonstrating the high-speed, high-rigidity SHII-700H cartesian robot from Harmo Co., Ltd.
In addition, the GL30 will be utilising OPC UA communication tools to enable it to share data with other compatible machines, in accordance with the UMATI (Universal Machine Technology Interface) vision of increasing connectivity by the promotion and adoption of open, standardised interfaces.
The GL30 has been described as having additional ‘green’ efficiency benefits. Can you elaborate on that description? What makes it suitable for the modern plastics manufacturing environment?
Put simply, the GL30 provides customers with ‘green’ efficiency benefits primarily in terms of quick start to production, improved ratio of crushed and recycled material and mould damage prevention as well as increased plunger durability. These technical benefits are the result of the company’s long-held dedication to contributing to society’s sustainable development by providing outstanding products that support customers’ manufacturing operations.
Making ‘green’ objectives central to the company’s ethos, Sodick has developed the Sodick Group Corporate Ethics Charter and Corporate Code of Conduct, using these to drive business activities, while at the same time proactively addressing the sustainability aspects of contributing to evolving manufacturing, addressing environmental management, promoting diversification of human resources, and strengthening governance.
By pursuing technological innovation in injection moulding machines, Sodick has not only improved yields and reduced resource waste, but also achieved compactness, thinness, lighter weight, and higher quality in a variety of finished products. With the growing popularity of electric vehicles and 5G telecommunications, DX, Sodick’s technologies are making a significant contribution to green manufacturing.
Finally, what is it that you hope to come away from a successful K show with?
We believe that K 2022 will give us the opportunity to explain and demonstrate the latest Sodick technology to a large number of new and existing customers, reinforcing long-standing relationships and building new ones. Of course, we are also looking to make sales, not only at the show, but also in the following months and even years.
K 2022 is also a great opportunity, after the disruption we all suffered during Covid-19, for the whole industry to come together and to celebrate our success and belief in a bright future.