WM Wrapping Machinery has installed the largest thermoforming machine in France.
WM Wrapping
In February, the Swiss company installed an FC 1000E Speedmaster Plus thermoforming machine in the clean room of Catolux-Tiers - part of the Top Clean Packaging group.
It is the first of model of its kind in France and is the largest vacuum and pressure forming form-cut-stack machine, with steel rule cut, in production. It can run forming moulds with a maximum size of up to 1,060 x 750mm and its forming press has a clamping force of 600kN and with platen strokes of 160 mm.
A servo-driven plug movement is fitted to the upper platen and it is equipped with a digital control to monitor the clamping force. The Product is cut from the sheet on a second in-line press, which has a clamping force of 1,050kN, this too is equipped with a digital control to monitor the clamping force.
Both platens are equipped with "X-Y" adjustment and heated plates for the cutting knives. The stacking operation uses a 3-axis robot, which in addition to allowing A-B-C stacking, enables the machine to handle products with complex shapes, such as those produced by WM Wrapping's French customer, which operates in the medical packaging and electronics fields. The formings are deposited on an adjustable inclined conveyor belt and the operator can choose whether to receive them stacked or one by one, when required by the very tight quality control procedure for medical packaging, which requires individual inspection. The machine has a heating oven with upper and lower heaters and is equipped with a sensor to read the sheet temperature. The machine is controlled through a B & R computer with a touch screen monitor, which uses absolute encoders, temperature, pressure and water-flow sensors, to adjust and maintain all the parameters to keep the thermoforming process constant. In addition, there is a facility to help the machine operator to choose the best production cycle.
The machine can thermoform PS, ABS, APET, CPET, PETG, PP, PC with sheet thickness up to 2.0 mm.
The French company has confirmed its confidence in the WM’s thermoforming equipment thanks to WM’s machine guarantee: high productivity, consistent product quality, fast mould change, precise cutting, ease of use and energy savings.