Machines, Industry 4.0, innovative processes and an important anniversary

"This year's Plast in Milan is a very special trade fair for us. We have now been represented by our own subsidiary in the Italian market for 25 years. The trade fair launch of the hybrid Allrounder 820 H in a new design and with the visionary Gestica control system shows that we continue to set trends in the market and that we will be a reliable and innovative partner for our customers in Italy for the decades to come", emphasises Björn Noren (in the picture below), managing director of Arburg Italy. "We look forward to being there for our customers, providing them with comprehensive support and continuing to grow with them. At present, this particularly applies to digital transformation and the topic of Industry 4.0, which has gained a lot of momentum thanks to state subsidy programmes in Italy. In addition to the practical example of elastic tension straps, we also have many features to offer in terms of information technology-linked plastic parts production and the individualisation of high-volume parts. In addition, of course, we are showing innovative solutions for industrial additive manufacturing with the Freeformer and numerous functional components".

At the Plast 2018 a hybrid Allrounder 820 H with a clamping force of 4,000 kN, will be celebrating its trade fair premiere in a "new look". The exhibit is the highlight on the exhibition stand and uses PP to produce a 300-gram bucket with a capacity of nine litres in just 11 seconds. Handling is by means of a Multilift V40 linear robotic system with a load capacity of 40 kilos.

Practical example of Industry 4.0: elastic tension straps "on demand"

As a practical example of Industry 4.0, a turnkey system built around a vertical Allrounder 375 V injection moulding machine will show how customers' requirements can be incorporated online into the ongoing injection moulding process. Elastic tension straps will be produced in different variants "on demand" and yet cost effectively in a flexible process from shot to shot without any need to change the machine set-up, thanks to a clever product and mould design. In industrial practice, such an application would be ideal for cable assembly in the automotive industry, for example.

In the application demonstrated at the trade fair, visitors can choose between straps of different lengths, colours and end piece combinations and can enter the variant of their choice directly at the terminal. The requirements are transmitted to the central Selogica control system via the OPC UA communication protocol. The strap is cut to the selected length from the roll and handling is by means of a six-axis robot, which is compactly arranged within the machine installation area. The mould has two cavities each for hook and eyelet. The strap ends are placed in the cavities and overmoulded according to the order. This allows hook/hook, hook/eyelet or eyelet/eyelet combinations to be produced in a cycle time of about 40 seconds. The finished elastic tension strap is finally removed by the robot and removed from the system.

Networked and flexibly automated production

Visitors to the Arburg stand can also get an idea of all aspects of digital transformation: they will see solutions for the smart factory, combinable Industry 4.0 components or for the individualisation of high volume parts in batches of a single unit thanks to the combination of injection moulding and additive manufacturing. At the Plast 2018, all exhibits on the Arburg trade fair stand and on the Sverital partner stand are networked via the Arburg host computer system (ALS). As an important component of Industry 4.0, the ALS, enables the comprehensive traceability of orders and batches. Machines can be networked in a simple, standardised manner by means of interfaces based on the OPC UA communication protocol. The Arburg experts provide detailed information on the connection of this MES system to ERP systems.

Cost-effective automated moulded part production

With two other injection moulding exhibits, Arburg will be demonstrating the cost-effective automated production of plastic parts at the Plast 2018. An Allrounder 470 E Golden Electric that produces four 5.75 g switch housings from PA6 (GF 30) for the automotive industry in a cycle time of around 20 seconds, demonstrates that the electric entry-level series is ideally suited to technical injection moulding. A servo-electrical Integralpicker is used for sprue removal.

A specially equipped hydraulic Allrounder 370 S is configured for the processing of liquid silicone (LSR). The LSR machine uses a 4-cavity mould to produce a four-gram valve diaphragm (hardness 60 Shore A) in a cycle time of 30 seconds.

Industrial additive manufacturing

A Freeformer and numerous functional components will be used at the Plast 2018 to demonstrate that Arburg Plastic Freeforming (APF) is not only suitable for prototyping but also for the industrial additive manufacturing of functional components in particular. Visitors can handle parts at an interactive station and convince themselves of their functionality and quality. The exhibit uses the components PP and elastic high-performance TPE to produce retaining clips in a hard/soft combination.

The Freeformer is an open system that allows users to qualify their own original materials in the APF process and optimise the freely programmable process parameters specifically to their particular application. One huge advantage in this context is that original materials certified e.g. for medical technology or aerospace applications can be used. In addition to amorphous standard granulates such as ABS, PA and PC, the ever-expanding range of materials qualified by Arburg includes, for example, elastic TPE, semi-crystalline PP, medical grade PLLA and PC approved for the aerospace industry.

25 years of Arburg in Italy