Latest Feature

May 2012

Latest Industry News
"Intelligent" solutions for the industry

A number of challenges in the industry could be solved with the aid of automation and robotisation. This will be underscored in this year's PlastMilan exhibition in May, with exhibitors showcasing a good deal of Italian technology collaborations that explore into manufacturing complex processes and managing them in the most cost and energyefficient way.

New solutions to be introduced
Plastic Metal will introduce its Mulitpower hybrid machine said to optimise energy efficiency and savings. Available in clamping forces of 50-800 tonnes, the series combines electrical and hydraulic technology, which when applied to machines with substantial closing force provide moulding precision and repeatability, says the firm. Its electrically operated functions include clamp closing/opening and screw rotation; while its hydraulically operated functions include injection movements, carriage back/forward and ejection. The high-speed Multipower is suited for thinwall moulding in the packaging sector and normal moulding applications. Compared to similarsized hydraulic machines, the firm says its Multipower machine can realise energy savings from 35% to 40%. The company says it first developed a hybrid machine in 2003 and has been working since then to improve its technology.

Plastic Metal will have four Multipower machines on display: a 50-tonne machine equipped with a four-cavity mould, including a robot and packing machine, producing cutlery; a 120-tonne machine to be shown producing cups while a 220-tonne machine with a 32- cavity mould will be moulding caps and a fourth 500-tonne, two-cavity machine will be moulding a food container. All the machines will be equipped with conveyor belts and accessories provided by Flli Virginio of the NPM Group.

Sacmi will display its newly developed Injection Preform System (IPS) for moulding PET preforms. Currently, the machine is available in a 48-cavity version with a clamping force of 220 tonnes, while a 300-tonne, 72-cavity model is under development. During the ejection phase, a robot, fully integrated on the machine will pick up the preforms with a three-station gripper and allow post-cooling prior to unloading, thus helping prevent damage that can occur when preforms are handled before they're fully cooled.

Another key feature is the new linear motor that drives the gripper, allowing the recovery of braking energy during the deceleration phase. The toggle system and mobile platen that make up the mould clamping unit are hydraulically controlled and have been designed using FEM structural analysis to optimise mechanical inertia. The injection unit consists of a cylinder with a pelletising screw, guided by an electric motor and a shooting pot, controlled by a servo-valve.Another key characteristic is flexibility as the overall time needed for mechanical changeover of the mould, including automatic plate offloading, is less than an hour.

The model will be fully operational throughout the fair and will be equipped with a Sacmi-made mould. Sacmi will showcase the IPS, along with the CCM, its compression machine for cap making.

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