Product safety has absolute priority

ENGEL easix multi-axis industrial robot

The new online process regulation iQ¬_weight_control

BOY 35 E (350 kN closing force)

Christoph Lhota, Head of Medical at the injection molding machine manufacturer ENGEL Austria: "To make production even more efficient, today's tool technology allows us to push the technical capabilities to previously unattainable magnitudes."

"Medical technology has been, is, and will continue to be one of the important sales sectors for Dr. BOY," explains Alfred Schiffer, managing partner of Dr. BOY GmbH & Co. KG.

Event Director Jeannette van Doorn from the organizer UBM Canon

The market for medical technology is demanding because its products determine patient well-being. Accordingly, finished products made of plastic such as Petri dishes, syringes, or pipette tips must meet the highest standards. The new solutions that injection molding machine manufacturers are drawing from their sleeves will be showcased at the MEDTEC Europe 2013 trade fair for medical technology from February 26 to 28 in Stuttgart.

For several years, the organizer UBM Canon has been recording encouraging growth rates in the plastics segment. Exhibitors even speak of a leading trade fair for plastic medical products. "MEDTEC Europe is undoubtedly an attractive platform for machine builders," states Jeannette van Doorn, the responsible event director from the trade fair organizer UBM Canon.

Affordable processing, high allergological tolerance, and new therapeutic possibilities characterize polymers used clinically. Christoph Lhota, head of medical at the injection molding machine manufacturer ENGEL AUSTRIA, also knows this and notes: "The share of polymer materials in the production of medical devices continues to grow, and this trend is clearly visible at MEDTEC Europe year after year." Moreover, plastic expert Christoph Lhota has observed that not only is the number of exhibitors from the plastics industry increasing, but also more visitors from this sector are coming to Stuttgart with specific inquiries.

While Engel Austria is exhibiting in Stuttgart for the umpteenth time, it is a MEDTEC premiere for Dr. Boy GmbH & Co. KG from Neustadt-Fernthal. The family-owned company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of injection molding machines in the clamping force range below 1,000 kN. BOY injection molding machines are particularly distinguished by their design and high precision. The freely overhanging clamping unit without any drive components offers excellent possibilities to separate a compact cleanroom from the drive side. "The drive concept of our machines generates little heat and, in combination with laminar flow hoods and stainless steel equipment, represents an optimally efficient cleanroom machine configuration," explains Alfred Schiffer, managing partner of Dr. Boy GmbH & Co. KG. Equally important for medical technology is the high reproducibility of the machine. Quality fluctuations or defective parts are unacceptable in the often fully automated manufacturing processes, says the managing director of the medium-sized company. Therefore, "as specialists for injection molding machines in the lower clamping force range up to 1,000 kN, we see our strengths especially in small, complex mold parts."

At MEDTEC Europe 2013, the Rhineland-Palatinate producer will present a BOY 35 E in cleanroom equipment with energy-efficient servo drive, which produces protective caps for insulin syringes on a 16-cavity mold. Thanks to the efficient and torsionally stiff clamping system and the high performance of the injection unit, this injection molding machine is particularly suitable for manufacturing precision parts within tight tolerances. BOY marketing director Thomas Breiden states: "It is not only the most compact machine in its class, but also offers unbeatable value for money. With the proven lowest machine hourly rates, the BOY 35 E holds an unmatched top position in this clamping force class.
Almost nothing is impossible thanks to innovative concepts."

Fundamentally, the highest product safety is paramount in the manufacturing of medical parts. At the same time, high economic efficiency is gaining importance as a decision criterion when investing in new equipment. These requirements set the framework for machine builders. As a system supplier, ENGEL considers not only the injection molding machine but the entire production cell. Because the devil is often in the detail. For example, conveyor belts often prove to be sources of contamination. Therefore, ENGEL has developed "own conveyor belts specifically for use in cleanrooms, which we offer not only as part of the package with injection molding machines but also individually," explains Christoph Lhota. Recent ENGEL developments aim to further increase the performance of fully electric injection molding machines. Short cycle times are becoming increasingly important amid rising cost and efficiency pressures.

Achim Rath, head of sales and marketing at BOY, also sees the trend in the increasingly shorter development, conception, and product life cycles in plastics processing. Besides high part quality, economical manufacturing is indispensable, says Rath. To ensure this, BOY considers all potential savings from the outset. Particularly, energy consumption of the machines is currently a very important topic. The industry is increasingly adapting to this. According to BOY, small production units are the most suitable way to meet these requirements. The modular design of injection molding machines allows them to be perfectly tailored to their tasks. Well prepared, BOY looks forward to MEDTEC Europe 2013: "We believe our product range is well positioned. In the field of medical precision and small parts as well as two-component parts, our efficient machines are the economically right production tools."

The highest precision frames the boundaries

Because medical device manufacturers are increasingly required to pay attention to unit costs, ENGEL medical manager Christoph Lhota sees process integration as a major opportunity. Following this trend, multi-component injection molding is currently gaining importance in medical technology, for example for hard/soft material combinations, says the expert. Among other things, masks for CPAP ventilation or components for insulin pens are already being produced in two-component injection molding on ENGEL machines. At MEDTEC 2013, ENGEL will demonstrate how process integration and automation can be used to maximize efficiency potentials. Using an all-electric ENGEL e-motion 80H/80W/180 T WP combi in cleanroom configuration, parts for auto-injectors are produced in two-component injection molding from ABS and TPE on a servo-electric 16+16-cavity mold from Hack Formenbau. Additionally, the new online process control iQ_weight_control will be used at MEDTEC to further increase precision and reproducibility.

For ENGEL, MEDTEC Europe 2013 is something very special because it starts a day earlier with an industry gathering. Christoph Lhota: "On the day before the fair, our new ENGEL Germany Technology Forum Stuttgart in Wurmberg will host ENGEL med.con 2013. Customers, partners, and interested parties are invited to discuss trends and current developments with us. Our new location, opening in January, will feature the largest technical center of an ENGEL branch."