
Ferromatik
Ferromatik Milacron will present four system designs across its own stand and partner stands, featuring injection moulding machines in the modular F-Series along with two all-electric machines from the Elektron series.
Machines from Ferromatik Milacron will display at the Mold-Masters and DME stand, both of which are now part of the Milacron group.
The modular F-Series, ranging in size from 500 to 6,500 kN, can be configured as an all-electric, hydraulic, or hybrid machine, depending on the user’s manufacturing requirements.
At K 2013 visitors will see an all-electric F 200 with a clamping force of 2,000 kN equipped with a size 50 Advanced Performance (APe) electric injection unit. Using a 4-cavity mould and an IML system by H. Müller from Switzerland, this machine will demonstrate production of thin-walled rectangular lids with labeling. Every 3.1 seconds, four lids with labels weighing 8.2 g will be produced. The lids are taken out of the mould laterally, monitored by a vision system for quality, stacked and removed.
An F 350 hybrid with a clamping force of 3,500 kN will be on display using a size 70 Advanced Performance (APh) hydraulic injection unit. Driving a 64-cavity mould by Corvaglia (Switzerland), the machine will produce 33 mm beverage closures with a part weight of 2.6 g every 4.5 seconds. Quality is monitored by a vision system from IMD Vista (Switzerland) with good/bad part separation at the machine.
The third machine in the F-Series at the Ferromatik Milacron both is an all-electric 2,700 kN cube moulding machine, the F 270 CUBE. “Bringing the first all-electric cube moulding machine to the market demonstrates our leadership role in versatile stack-turning technologies, which we have been continually developing over the past 15 years, said Dr. Thorsten Thümen, Director of Research & Development. The machine has generous tie-bar spacing of 750 x 750 mm. It features an electric rotating mechanism within the machine and an 8+8 cavity cube mould with four sides, both made by German-based Foboha. This machine configuration makes use of an electric General Performance (GPe) size 50 main injection unit as well as an electric GPe 45 traversing injection unit, mounted over the clamping unit on the moving platen.
On each parting line of the cube mould, eight pairs of parts – the top and the bottom of a sophisticated two-component twist top – will be produced. Following a 90° rotation of the cube mould, the two parts are screwed together by automation on the operator and non-operator sides of the machine and removed via an Air-Move-System made by Trio-technik (Germany). The shot weight in each parting line is 77.6 g, or 9.7 g for each twist top. The cycle time is 9.5 seconds.
The fourth machine in the modular F-Series will be on display at the Mold-Masters booth (Hall 1, booth A39). Here a 1,600 kN F 160 can be seen, incorporating a hydraulic Advanced Performance (APh) size 45 injection unit in combination with a vertically mounted E-Multi injection unit built by Mold-Masters. Using a 16-cavity mould from F&S Tool (USA), this machine will demonstrate production of closures with two components using barrier injection. The primary injection unit produces the main component while the vertical injection unit produces the core material. The impermeable barrier core material prevents gasses from getting out, and odours from getting into the interior of the part. The 4.3 g closures are produced with a cycle time of 4.2 seconds. As with the F 350 described above, part quality is monitored with equipment from IMD Vista.
“Thanks to active collaboration with our partners, we are presenting four complete production cells around the modular F-Series. These different manufacturing systems demonstrate the range of our applications technology expertise at Ferromatik Milacron,” said Sven Engelmann, Head of Applications & Systems.
The Elektron series is marketed globally by Milacron. K 2013 will see the introduction of a new small machine with a clamping force of 300 kN bringing the total number of machines in this series to eleven, ranging from 300 to 5,500 kN. “The new machine hearkens back to decades of successful small machine offerings at our company and marks our return in this segment,” said Ralf Cezanne, Director of Sales & Marketing.
The Elektron 30 will feature an international size 55 injection unit and will produce applicators for 1 ml medical ampules on a four-cavity mould made by Braunform (Germany) with a cycle time of 9.1 s, and a part weight of 1.6 g.
A second Elektron machine at the DME booth (Hall 1, booth C10) will be moulding Frisbees. This 500 kN Elektron 50 will use an international size 300 injection unit and a mould by Dauntless Industries (USA) along with a quick change adapter from DME which allows processors to rapidly switch moulds.
Ferromatik Milacron is part of the Milacron group which has four centers around the world, including Germany, USA, India, and China, where injection moulding machines are manufactured. “With the Mold-Masters acquisition, Milacron and its 4,700 employees has a greater global reach than ever and customers will see the first synergies of the larger group at K 2013”, said Gerold Schley, Managing Director of Ferromatik Milacron und Vice President of Milacron China.