On March 13 Arburg opened the doors of the headquarter, in Lossburg, to the international press bringing forward Technology Days 2018, scheduled on March 14-17. Michael Hehl, Managing Director, Jürgen Boll, Managing Director Finance, Controlling, IT, Gerhard Böhm, Managing Director Sales, and Heinz Gaub, Managing Director Technology & Engineering, kicked off the annual event introducing enthusiastically exceptional results obtained in 2017, stating that the company reached a turnover of 680 milions of euro, corresponding to +7% than 2016, when it attained 636 million.

The press conference

In detail, as a confirmation of the interest shown from manufacturers, the electric machines provided a significant contribution to this success, as evidenced by the increase in incoming orders in this segment: in the case of electric Allrounders, the multinational company achieved an increase of 43% from 2016 to 2017. In the period before - from 2015 to 2016 - it was an increase of 14%.

Things are also developing very satisfactorily regarding the hybrid machines, which combine electric speed and precision with hydraulic power and dynamics. The increase from 2016 to 2017 was 13%. This value was previously at 3%.

The provenance of the orders came especially from Germany, that continues to observe a very positive trend, characterised by technologically sophisticated turnkey solutions.

There was an increase also in Europe as a whole. Italy, Switzerland and Turkey represent the main markets for Arburg, together with Eastern Europe and Russia that also contributed to the increase.

As regards America, the US remain the strongest market with sustained growth.

China is in the middle of an ambitious growth plan and many Chinese customers are buying, so that the demand for system performance continues to grow, and Taiwan is now a success.

In the factory

On March 14, journalists could admire 50 machines whereof 34 were part of the Allrounder line. Heinz Gaub, managing director technology & engineering, showed and described some of the most attractive machines, such as: Allrounder 820 H, in a new design and with Gestica control system, Allrounder 920 H, that has been launched with a “new look” on the occasion of the Technology Days and Allrounder 1120 H, that has been available to order since the Fakuma 2017.

With regard to the Gestica control system, this means that every machine type that is converted to the new design (currently the 920 H and 820 H) can be equipped with the new Gestica as an option.

The basic versions of these machines are equipped with the Selogica in a new design. This has been dubbed the Selogica ND. In contrast, the Allrounder 1120 H will be equipped with a Gestica control system as standard until further notice.

On March 9, 2018, the Allrounder 1120 H was awarded the iF Design Award. This is one of the most important design prizes in the world. The prize winners are selected by a 63-member, independent, international panel of judges.

Industry 4.0

In addition to the exhibits in the Efficiency Arena, a practical example of Industry 4.0 has been presented. It involves the production of a variety of elastic tension straps. In the Customer Center, a turnkey system built around a vertical Allrounder 375 V demonstrating how customer requirements could be integrated into the running injection moulding process online.

During the Technology Days 2018, visitors were able to select the variant of their choice on-screen. The production cell then produced the tension straps "on demand" in different versions and in high volumes, while maintaining economic efficiency. Thanks to an ingenious product and mould design, this is possible flexibly from shot-to-shot, without any conversion of the machine. In industrial practice, an application of this kind is ideal for cable assembly in the automotive industry, for example.

Arburg is once again playing a pioneering role in this regard and showed its six new digital assistance packages in the Efficiency Arena:

- “4.set-up” actively supports the machine operator in setting up and entering parameters

- "4.start-stop" facilitates production start-up, reduces the number of start-up parts and increases production capacity. This package is predestined for sophisticated applications, such as those involving multi-component or hot runner moulds

- "4.optimisation" is designed to enhance part quality and reduce unit costs. Features for individual process and efficiency optimisation include injection during mould closing, dosage across cycles and extended mould locking

- "4.production" offers experienced operators greater flexibility and freedom when programming functions. In particular, it facilitates work with special sequences and complex mould technology

- "4.monitoring" offers detailed process and quality monitoring and seamless process documentation. Process deviations are detected reliably and promptly

- "4.service" makes it possible to help customers quickly with direct access to the machine control system and via online support and thus to increase machine availability by means of rapid troubleshooting and fault remedy. The new Arburg Remote Service ARS is now a permanent fixture.

In 2019, Arburg will be celebrating 20 years of the Technology Days.

Visitor numbers have increased continuously: at the premiere in 1999, 1,500 customers and interested parties from 21 countries visited the event, whereas in 2017, there were more than 6,700 guests from 53 different countries.

The share of foreign visitors has steadily increased. Overall, until now, the multinational company has welcomed over 81,000 visitors to the Technology Days in Lossburg.