ENGEL has unveiled the next-generation of the all-electric e-cap injection moulding machine series for beverage caps.

ENGEL
ENGEL presents next-generation e-cap
With extremely short cycle times of less than two seconds, the new e-cap ensures very high precisionand repeatability.
The production of 29/25 lightweight caps on a new e-cap 380 machine clarifies how continuously increasing requirements can be combined with the shortest cycle times, high precision and low energy consumption. To date, the e-cap is the most energy efficient cap machine on the market and, the only high-performance machine tailored to the requirements of the caps and closures industry providing all-electric operation even with a clamping force range as high as 4,200 kN.
The e-cap has quickly established itself since its market launch. Product Manager Friedrich Mairhofer said: “Since 2010, the requirements for beverage caps have changed substantially. This is why the continuous further development of e-cap is being integrated into a next-generation machine … For still water, caps with a weight of significantly less than one gram are produced today. As a result, the cooling and cycle times have continued to drop. Where the cycle times ten years ago were still 2.5 seconds, today's cap machines need to be able to produce at two-second intervals and faster.”
When developing the new generation of machines, the main focus was therefore both on performance and on stability. The new e-cap achieves even faster mould opening and closing movements and is designed with an even more stable machine bed for more frequent load cycles.
The reinforced frame and mould mounting platens on the new e-cap ensure excellent stability of the machine‘s movements, even with extremely short cycles and very small shot volumes. The result is outstanding reproduction of surface detail and a maximum number of good parts.