Highest efficiency in the cleanroom

Fast cycle times and low energy and material consumption: At K, the PX 200-1400 produces caps for insulin pens with the highest efficiency and cost-effectiveness. (Photo: KraussMaffei)

Designed for the highest precision in cleanroom environments: The fully electric PX 200-1400 in Medical version. (Photo: KraussMaffei)

– Increased injection speed and drive power lead to shorter cycle times
– PX configuration with highest energy efficiency and innovative tool temperature control
– Consistently high component quality and secure documentation of material properties thanks to APCplus

Purity and quality are the key words when it comes to manufacturing sensitive products in medical technology. However, efficiency and cost-effectiveness are increasingly important as well. Using the example of a fully electric PX 200-1400 in cleanroom design, KraussMaffei demonstrates at K 2022 in Düsseldorf how both can be achieved: Caps for insulin pens are produced with the highest precision under cleanroom conditions, in short cycle times, and with minimal use of resources such as energy and material.

“Our customers in medical technology face tough competition and the challenge of increasing productivity while minimizing the cost per produced part,” says Xiaojun Cui, Executive Vice President of New Machines Business at KraussMaffei. The fully electric PX series in medical design is ideal because it combines precision and performance with maximum efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The modular concept with integrated hydraulic unit allows customized solutions depending on customer requirements.

Medical version in cleanroom

The PX 200-1400 with a clamping force of 2,000 kN on the KraussMaffei exhibition stand features a machine coating in high-gloss finish. This ensures maximum purity and easy surface cleaning. The automatic central lubrication of the toggle joints using certified oils and lubricants is carried out in a closed circuit. This minimizes maintenance effort while maintaining a clean production environment. At the same time, it enables cleanroom-compatible and GMP-compliant manufacturing.

Short cycle times and lower part costs

The fully electric PX with performance equipment ensures short cycle times. It brings high speed to the process thanks to a plastification drive with increased power. This results in faster plastification and thus high throughput. The high-performance screw with a specially designed geometry for high-throughput applications also allows high melt quality with short cycle times. Additionally, the increased injection speed ensures quick and precise filling of the 96 cavities.

An electric ejector drive with significantly increased power allows clean demolding at maximum speed. This ensures that all cavities produce consistently identical shots. At the KraussMaffei exhibition stand, 96 caps for insulin pens made of polypropylene are produced per shot in a cycle time of 6 seconds with a shot weight of 105g.

For further optimization of manufacturing costs, the machine function APCplus is used. This intelligent feature compensates for external influences on the quality of the molded parts during the injection molding process within clear tolerance limits. The result is consistently high component quality, as APCplus takes over the manual readjustment of parameters through a predefined process window. This minimizes scrap. It also optimizes material consumption and reduces costs per part. Additionally, the APCplus function provides seamless documentation of material quality, enabling early detection of larger fluctuations.

Best energy efficiency

In times of rising energy prices, energy-efficient manufacturing is becoming increasingly important. KraussMaffei’s fully electric PX 200-1400 is designed with energy savings in mind. In addition to the hydraulic unit in servo design and the recuperation system for returning braking energy, the PX features proven Eco-Pac insulation bands on the injection unit. They stabilize the temperature profile and increase process stability. The warm-up time is reduced by up to 30 percent.

Even more energy can be saved with the tool cooling Orca, fully integrated into the machine control MC6 by partner Jurke Engineering. Unlike conventional water batteries, the system measures flow rate and volume via ultrasound from outside without contact with the medium. The Orca distributor block has no cross-sectional constrictions, resulting in less pressure loss. Energy efficiency improves, cycle times decrease, and the number of parts produced per hour increases.

Other partners involved in the exhibition include Männer (tooling), Max Petek (laminar flow box), ExxonMobil (material HD-PE), Gammaflux (hot runner controller), and Getecha (milling).

PX 200 part of the Circular Economy cycle live at K The PX 200 is part of a complete Circular Economy cycle at the KraussMaffei exhibition stand. The manufactured insulin pen caps are shredded and used as the basis for an upcycling process with a ZE 28 BluePower twin-screw extruder. Here, various additives such as adhesion promoters and liquid colorants are added, mixed, and homogenized. The resulting recompound is fed to the next injection molding machine, the new powerMolding 1300-11900 with a clamping force of 13,000 kN. Here, an automotive front-end carrier is produced entirely from recycled material. The entire material cycle is accompanied by numerous new digital solutions that enable maximum savings in energy consumption and CO2 footprint.