ENGEL at Interplas 2014

The ENGEL watermelt water injection technology saves raw materials, weight, and cycle time during the production of clutch pedals.

Detail: The ENGEL watermelt water injection technology saves raw materials, weight, and cycle time in the production of clutch pedals.

Large tools on small machines: The barrier-free tool room of the arm-less ENGEL victory injection molding machines makes it possible.

The ENGEL easix can be fully integrated into the CC300 control system of the injection molding machine. This significantly simplifies the programming and operation of the multi-axis robot.

With the large multitouch display, gesture control, and the central control knob, e-move sets a new trend with the CC300 control.

With fully integrated and automated system solutions from a single source, ENGEL enhances product quality, manufacturing efficiency, and simultaneously the competitiveness of its customers. How this can look in practice is demonstrated by the injection molding machine manufacturer and system supplier at Interplas 2014 from September 30 to October 2 in Birmingham using two innovative applications. Other highlights at the trade fair stand include the multi-axis industrial robot ENGEL easix, the new control CC300, and the service and support program ENGEL plus.

More productivity per square meter of production area

The substitution of materials is progressing ever faster in the automotive industry. Increasingly, functional components are also being made from plastics. The advantages lie in the lower weight of the parts, a more efficient manufacturing process, and often greater sustainability. An example of this is presented by ENGEL during the three days of the fair with the production of clutch pedals on a rail-less ENGEL victory 1800/220 injection molding machine with integrated ENGEL viper 12 linear robot. By precisely forming a hollow structure using the water injection technology ENGEL watermelt, raw material is saved, the parts become lighter, and cycle times are reduced. Additionally, injecting water into the cavity, partially filled with plastic melt, allows for a uniform wall thickness distribution without shrinkage contraction, despite the complex part geometry. The surface of the clutch pedal is accurately reproduced.

Together with its system partner PMEfluidtec (Ettenheim, Germany), ENGEL offers customized turnkey solutions worldwide for water injection technology. Other partners for the manufacturing cell shown at Interplas include Moldetipo (Leiria, Portugal) and Akro Plastic (Niederzissen, Germany).

Also contributing significantly to the high efficiency of the manufacturing cell is the rail-less technology, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Due to the size and complex geometry of the clutch pedal, the tool is relatively large, requiring only a small closing force in comparison. The barrier-free closing unit of ENGEL victory machines allows the machine size to be selected based on the closing force needed for the injection process, not the tool size. "Especially in the production of technical parts, we can often opt for a smaller machine, which significantly increases overall efficiency," emphasizes Graeme Herlihy, Managing Director of ENGEL UK in Warwick. "A smaller machine is less expensive to purchase, requires less energy, and primarily takes up less space. This increases productivity per square meter of production area, which has become an important key figure in our customers' operations."

Maximum safety with highest economic efficiency

How the highest efficiency can be combined with maximum process safety is demonstrated by ENGEL with an application from medical technology. An all-electric ENGEL e motion 110 T injection molding machine produces polystyrene needle holders for safety syringes in a 16-cavity precision mold from Fostag (Stein am Rhein, Switzerland). With the help of high-speed automation, implemented by ENGEL together with its partner Hekuma (Eching, Germany), the finished parts are removed from the mold in less than 0.5 seconds and sorted into cavities. This allows defective cavities to be shut down individually without disturbing the balanced overall system.

To translate the specific requirements of the medical technology industry—such as maximum product safety, absolute purity and precision, and seamless documentation—into economical injection molding processes, ENGEL has a dedicated business division exclusively for this sector. Thanks to its own cleanroom and a range of resulting machine concepts, the machine manufacturer has years of medical experience and high cleanroom competence.

Managing complex processes

Process integration and automation are key to high efficiency in injection molding production. At the same time, they make manufacturing processes increasingly complex. Therefore, making the operation of highly integrated and automated manufacturing processes easier, more comfortable, and safer was the goal of ENGEL in developing the new control generation CC300, which will be presented in the UK for the first time at Interplas.

Among the new features are, among others, the particularly large 21-inch multitouch display with a new clear structure, task-specific views that prevent operational errors at full functionality, and the central control button e-move, which allows the user to feel the machine despite multitouch functionality. By turning, e-move enables speed-sensitive and millimeter-precise control of all machine and robot movements.

"The CC300 sets a new trend," emphasizes Herlihy. "We have transferred control technologies that have become established in everyday life, such as intuitive gesture control from smartphones, to meet the requirements of injection molding processes. This makes it very easy for machine operators to familiarize themselves with the new control system. Additionally, we have retained proven basic principles from the previous version."

The complete integration of ENGEL viper linear and ENGEL easix multi-axis robots has been further consistently implemented in the new control generation. This means the entire production cell can be centrally operated and monitored from the control panel of the injection molding machine. The display of the robot sides has been adapted to the new CC300 design. This ensures a consistent operating philosophy and uniform presentation. The full robot integration particularly simplifies the use of multi-axis robots. Many tasks that previously required a programmer can now be performed by the machine operator, increasing the availability of the production cell. Another advantage of control integration is that both the injection molding machine and the robot access the same data basis and coordinate their movements for higher overall efficiency.

The plus for the machine

Under the name ENGEL plus, the Customer Service Division of ENGEL presents itself at the trade fair. Service and training are integral parts of ENGEL's system philosophy. They continually open up new optimization potentials for existing machines, robots, and system solutions throughout their lifecycle. ENGEL plus includes on-site support with spare parts logistics, remote services and a 24/7 hotline, maintenance and repair contracts at fixed prices, retrofit solutions and optimization tools, technical consulting, and professional training and e-learning offerings.

On-site in Warwick, ENGEL also offers seminars and forum events for its customers. Additionally, the company's technical center is available for sampling and customer trials. ENGEL is the largest supplier of injection molding machines in Great Britain and a leader in the field of demanding injection molding applications with its system solution expertise.