WITTMANN BATTENFELD with innovative, highly efficient injection molding technology at the Chinaplas in Shanghai

From 23 to 26 April 2014, WITTMANN BATTENFELD is presenting ultra-modern injection molding machinery and processes as well as innovative automation and peripheral equipment for the plastics industry to trade visitors in hall E3, booth K21 at the Chinaplas in Shanghai, the largest plastics trade fair in the Asian region.

With its continuing attractive growth rates and great potential, the Asian market for injection molding technology and automation is of special interest for the WITTMANN group. WITTMANN supplies the local Chinese demand for robots and peripheral equipment from its own production facility in Kunshan.

At this year’s Chinaplas, WITTMANN BATTENFELD is demonstrating its competence in the area of injection molding machinery with two all-electric machines from its successful PowerSeries, and one machine from its proven HM series with an energy-saving servo drive.

The functionality of the HM machine, an HM 110/350 ServoPower with 110 t clamping force, will be shown producing a medical technology component, actually an insulin pen made of PP manufactured in a 48-cavity mold supplied by Hasco, Austria.

On an EcoPower 240/1330, an interior component will be produced in structured foam technology in cooperation with Schaumform (Germany). In this application, the WITTMANN BATTENFELD processes CELLMOULD® and BFMOLD® are combined with the HiP (High Precision Opening) opening program to enable the production of light-weight structured foam parts with a high-quality surface. The temperature controller required for the variothermic process is operated directly via the machine’s control system.

CELLMOULD® is a process for making structured foam parts, with nitrogen being added directly in the barrel during the plasticizing process. The entire machine technology, including the plasticizing unit, injectors, gas regulator and gas generator, has been developed and manufactured by WITTMANN BATTENFELD. By using this technology, substantial material savings can be achieved with simultaneous high dimensional stability of the parts. In this way, it has also become possible to reduce part weights, clamping force and cycle times. The application of variothermic BFMOLD® technology in combination with the special high-precision opening program enables the production of attractively finished, light-weight, high-quality parts. A WITTMANN W822 robot is used on the machine.

The functionality of the MicroPower, specially designed for injection molding of small and micro parts, will be demonstrated by the production of a filter for medical technology. The filter is a micro filter made of POM with an 80µ grid and a part weight of 1.1 mg, which can be used in acoustical engineering as well as in micro pumps or inhalators. It is produced in a 2-cavity mold with 3-platen injection. The machine on display is a completely integrated clean-room production cell with a rotary disk, parts removal handling, integrated quality inspection by imaging and a clean-room module. The machine’s clean-room-compatible design and the clean-room module, which enables a class-6 clean air environment according to ISO 14644-1, make it ideal for medical applications. The parts are injection-molded, subjected to quality inspection and deposited in the clean-room environment.

WITTMANN automation and peripheral equipment
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 area of automation, robots for smaller injection molding machines will be on display, including the models W808 and W818, and a W818TS with a telescopic axis. Of course, the W828 robot model will also be on show, with its massive horizontal stroke profile positioned directly in the main carriage, which has a range of up to 1,300 mm. The W828S model from the same series, equipped with a second additional, servo-driven vertical axis for sprue picking, will be presented as well. W828 robot models are suitable for injection molding machines in the medium-sized clamping force range.

The most outstanding model among the dryers is the DRYMAX Aton F30 segmented wheel dryer. This dryer consists of numerous separate chambers loosely filled with desiccant balls. In conjunction with the innovative 3-save process, this not only ensures efficient use of energy, but also a continuous drying process with a constant dew point. Thanks to the dryer’s intelligent, automatic adaptation to any environmental conditions, a constant dew point of about -40° C can be reached even in adverse drying conditions. Moreover, the use of conventional desiccants instead of honeycomb wheels permits low-cost exchange of the desiccant without having to replace an expensive, complete wheel. WITTMANN segmented wheel dryers are available with capacities of 30 m³/h, 70 m³/h and 120 m³/h for medium throughputs of up to about 60 kg/h, depending on the plastic granulate to be dried.

In the area of temperature controllers, the low-cost models TEMPRO basic C90 and TEMPRO C140 will be shown, as well as the TEMPRO direct C120, which stands out by its extremely high cooling performance, a TEMPRO plus C temperature controller and a device from the powerful TEMPRO plus D series.

Furthermore, WITTMANN will present its range of granulators at the Chinaplas, among others the MAS grinders MAS1 and MAS2, and the screenless beside-the-press granulator models Minor 2, Junior 3 and Junior 2 Compact.

The group’s competence in the field of conveying systems will be demonstrated by a wide range of material loaders from the FEEDMAX B and FEEDMAX S3 series. Here, the FEEDMAX S3 Primus deserves special attention, as it combines sturdy design, maintenance-friendliness and process reliability with easy operation, and features a comprehensive self-explanatory display as well.

In the area of metering equipment, a volumetric DOSIMAX feeder and a gravimetric GRAVIMAX B 14 blender will be on display. The GRAVIMAX B 14 blender constitutes a further development of the successful predecessor model GMX 14V. Metering is effected with high-precision, wear-resistant valves made of stainless steel.

Source: WITTMANN BATTENFELD