WITTMANN BATTENFELD at the Chinaplas 2013 in Guangzhou

At the Chinaplas in Guangzhou, the leading plastics trade fair in Asia, WITTMANN BATTENFELD will present latest injection molding technology, automation and peripheral equipment to trade visitors from 20 to 23 May 2013 in hall 4.1, booth C01.

The Asian market for injection molding technology and automation is continuing to grow rapidly and consequently becoming more and more significant for the Wittmann Group. The company is present in China with a local production plant for peripheral equipment and robots in Kunshan, in order to serve the Chinese market. Since its opening in 2005, the Kunshan facility has developed into a competence center for automation and peripheral equipment in the Asian market.

At this year’s Chinaplas, WITTMANN BATTENFELD will demonstrate its competence in the field of injection molding machinery with two machines from the PowerSeries. On display will be an all-electric machine from the EcoPower series and a MicroPower designed for high-precision injection molding of micro and nano parts. Both machine models are highly in demand among Asian manufacturers due to their precision combined with energy- and cost-efficiency.

On an EcoPower 110/350, the LIM process will be demonstrated by producing a single wire seal with a 128-cavity mold fitted with a demolding device from ELMET, Austria. The machine is equipped with a silicone processing package (special injection unit, vacuum module, etc.). In addition to precision and process reliability, the EcoPower stands out primarily by its high degree of energy efficiency, which is achieved by features such as utilization of the deceleration energy for the control system and for barrel heating.

With the second injection molding machine to be shown at the Chinaplas, a MicroPower 15/10, a 28-PIN sub plug with dimensions of 6.1 x 1.2 mm and a 3 mg part weight will be manufactured from POM. This micro plug will be formed in a 2-cavity mold from Zumtobel within a cycle time of 4 seconds. An integrated SCARA W8VS2 robot from WITTMANN will remove the parts and present them to a camera integrated in the machine’s control system for quality inspection. The parts will subsequently be deposited in a stacking module, separated according to cavities. In addition to the robot, a WITTMANN material dryer, a temperature controller and a material loader are also integrated in the machine and the UNILOG B6 control system to make up a complete manufacturing cell.

The MicroPower features the ultimate in precision and cost-efficiency. Of special interest in this machine model is primarily the innovative two-step screw-and-plunger injection unit with shot volumes ranging from 0.05 to 4 cm³. With this injection unit, thermally homogeneous melt is injected to achieve premium-quality parts, maximum production stability and short cycle times. The MicroPower enables cost savings of 30 to 50% compared to standard machines.

In addition to the robots and peripheral appliances integrated in the injection molding machines, WITTMANN BATTENFELD will present a wide range of robots and peripheral appliances at the Chinaplas as stand-alone solutions. The products on display will come from the production plant in Kunshan.

In the automation sector, robots from the W808, W818 and W828 series will be showcased. Of special interest is the W808 robot model, which was presented for the first time at the end of last year. The W808 constitutes a significant further development of its predecessor model, the W801. This appliance is specially laid out for applications on injection molding machines with clamping forces of up to about 150 t. The W808 can handle a maximum payload of 3 kg and is programmed for extremely short cycle times. The W818 robot model, which will also be on display, has a 6 kg load capacity, the W818TS version is equipped with a telescopic axis and a sub arm. All W818 and W828 appliance models come with powerful servo motors for all linear axes as standard. Optional rotary axes with servo drives provide additional scope for a great variety of new functionalities.

In the area of peripheral equipment, WITTMANN BATTENFELD will present a broad cross-section of its entire product portfolio at the Chinaplas, starting from DRYMAX ES and DRYMAX Aton material dryers and including temperature controllers from the series TEMPRO Direct C, TEMPRO Basic C and TEMPRO plus D, as well as MAS, Minor and Junior granulators, FEEDMAX B and FEEDMAX S3 material loaders and GRAVIMAX B14 and DOSIMAX dosing appliances.

A special highlight among the dryers is the DRYMAX Aton desiccant wheel dryer. In this model, the combination of a constant dew point with high energy-efficiency and minimal maintenance costs is of special interest. These advantages have come within reach by using an innovative desiccant wheel consisting of a large number of chambers which contain desiccant balls in loose bulk. This filling method promotes optimal energy utilization and enables low-cost servicing of the wheel.

Among the material loaders, FEEDMAX B material separators for central conveying systems deserve special attention. These appliances are extremely easy to operate, equipped with a pneumatic bell housing and consequently ideally suited for all types of application.

The outstanding, high-end series of appliances among temperature controllers is TEMPRO plus D. TEMPRO plus D temperature controllers come with a generously dimensioned 5.7” LCD color screen as standard. Various buttons on the display can be freely configured in order to retrieve the data required in each case exactly as desired. The appliances are also available with an optional heating capacity of 16 kW per temperature control circuit.

GRAVIMAX B14 is particularly worth mentioning among dosing equipment. The dosing valves of GRAVIMAX B14 are laid out with a highly intelligent mechanism, so that both virgin material and regrind with only limited pourability, which is also prone to bridging, can be metered continuously and consistently through the same valve.

Source: WITTMANN BATTENFELD