Kautex
During K 2013, Kautex Maschinenbau launched its new all-electric KBB series of extrusion blow moulding machines.
“Our new generation of machines achieves its high performance levels through less downtime,” said Dietmar Michels, Product Manager at Kautex Maschinenbau. “We significantly accelerated transport movements in the machine as well as the opening and closing movement of the mould, reducing the traversing time for 770 mm from the head to the calibration position to only 0.6 seconds.” The cooling phase has also been shortened. Compared to conventional production systems, the new machine series has reportedly been designed to bring a reduction of 25% in dry cycle times.
“By using lighter materials, we have significantly reduced the moving mass. In this way, we were able to increase not only the performance, but also to reduce the required drive power,” said Dietmar Michels. There is also a system for recovering energy where the excess braking energy is fed back into the machine or the processor’s network via an intermediate circuit.
A procedure for changing moulds, which is apparently exclusive to Kautex Maschinenbau, allows for further efficiency improvements in the production process. A change of mould can be performed by two operators in less than 15 minutes. An automatic lubrication system provides for an additional reduction of downtime by reducing maintenance. All necessary adjustments for optimising material and the machine settings can be performed during operation. Consequently, the machine does not need to be stopped to adjust the closing or calibration forces.
The four models of the KBB series offer feed strokes from 400 to 1,000 millimeters and closing forces from 10 to 40 tonnes, so that a wide spectrum of production possibilities is covered. As an option, the manufacturer has also developed a new type of remote monitoring via the internet, as well as a virtual training station.
