Cannon’s mixing heads at K 2025 explained by Sales & Marketing Manager Stefano Andreolli

At K 2025, the MacPlas editorial team met Stefano Andreolli, Sales & Marketing Manager at Cannon, who showcased its mixing heads for polyurethane processing. Among the centrepieces of the company’s trade-fair showcase, they focus on reliability, service life and production versatility.

AX22/6: redesigned to last millions of cycles
The first innovation concerns the AX22/6 multicomponent head for automotive cushions, completely redesigned with the aim of maximising the equipment's operational life. "It is a head capable of processing six components selectable via automatic injectors", explained Stefano Andreolli. "We redesigned it with the objective of making the head last several million shots without maintenance interventions, enabling continuous production without interruptions." The basic concept stems from the previous version of the AX22, to which substantial improvements have been made regarding seals and gaskets. "We reviewed the entire lubrication system for the seals and the sliding system of the head's moving parts, with some innovative solutions," Andreolli specified. Another significant innovation concerns a special treatment of the cassette where the six components converge, which eliminates cross-contamination problems between components without the need for periodic maintenance.

Four-colour head: automatic changeover without contamination
The other major innovation exhibited at K 2025 is the mixing head that manages four colours automatically for coloured parts of different natures, already in production. "The key feature of this head is that it can manage four colours with automatic changeover from one article to another during pouring," Andreolli pointed out. The technology is based on CC Quick Colour Change injectors, hydraulically operated. "There are two of them, each hosts two colours and therefore the change can occur between each of these four colours in total," the manager added. At the fair, Cannon is showcasing the application of the four-colour mixing head in the footwear sector, but it can be used in various production areas, as emphasised by Stefano Andreolli: "Beyond the application in shoes, this head can be useful in other applications as well, for example furnishing or components that necessarily use different colours."

These two innovations confirm Cannon's strategy of providing technologically advanced solutions to improve production efficiency and reduce machine downtime, essential aspects in an increasingly competitive market.