Ferromatik Milacron introduces the new siblings in the F-Series
On May 26, 2011 injection molding machine manufacturer Ferromatik Milacron will welcome visitors to the company’s Open House. The two most recent additions to the new modular F-Series will be presented at the event.
The first model in the series, the F 160, introduced at K 2010 in Dusseldorf, is now being joined by the F 80 and F 350. Along with the F-Series, the Ferromatik Milacron Open House will showcase five other machines featuring advanced technologies such as In-Mold-Labeling, In-Mold-Foiling, the Monosandwich process, and twin cube molds.
Auxiliary equipment manufacturers also will be exhibiting their own product portfolios. Presentations by industry experts and guided tours of the facility complete the program. At the end of the day, guests will be invited to enjoy the evening at the After Work Party.
“The Open House marks the start for sales of the new F-Series,” said Robert Trube, Director Sales & Marketing at Ferromatik Milacron. “Once all of the models have been introduced, the complete series will include ten sizes ranging from 500 to 6,500 kN,” he added. The F-Series will gradually replace the current lines of all-electric, hydraulic, and hybrid machines. The new machines are targeted at the packaging, consumer goods, and medical technology industries.
The F-Series platform is designed to allow for any number of module configurations so that every machine is, in effect, customized. “This means that the user can focus on whatever aspects are most important for their applications: performance, energy consumption, dynamics, or precision – as well as any combination of electric or hydraulic drives,” said Dr. Thorsten Thümen, Director Research & Development at Ferromatik Milacron. “The result is that each user can assemble the most economical machine for their needs,” he added.
At the Open House an F 80, currently the smallest model in the new F-Series with a clamping force of 800 kN, equipped with a General Performance (GP) size 40 injection unit will demonstrate the production of needle protectors on a 64-cavity mold by Schöttli with a cycle time of 5.8 seconds. This F 80 is configured as a hybrid machine with electric drives for clamping, ejection, and plasticizing.
The F 160, a 1,600 kN machine configured as an all-electric model, will be presented in a complete production cell. Using a GP size 50 injection unit, and a 4-cavity mold from Formteknik, the F 160 will produce containers using In-Mold-Labeling technology with polypropylene labels and a cycle time of 5.9 seconds. A robot from Wemo places the labels in the mold and removes the containers, while a second robot stacks the finished parts. The complete cell has already been sold and will be sent to Braplast in Sweden immediately after the Open House.
The largest model currently available in the F-Series will be demonstrated as a high-performance hybrid, with electric drives for clamping and plasticizing. The F 350, with a clamping force of 3,500 kN, has a High Performance (HP) size 80 injection unit and will show production of cartridges on an 8-cavity mold by Hofstetter. The cycle time is 10.9 seconds.
The high-performance hybrid Vitesse series is available in four sizes ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 kN. At the Open House the largest model, the Vitesse 500 will be outfitted with an international size 6,610 injection unit, the largest available for this model. The Vitesse will demonstrate production of folding boxes on a single-cavity mold from Incos with a cycle time of 15 seconds.
Machines from the K-TEC series will demonstrate two different multi-component technologies. A K-TEC 200 MSW with a clamping force of 2,000 kN and an international size 1,000 injection unit will feature a second vertical Monosandwich unit with an international size 265. This machine will produce flower pots on a single-cavity mold from Emsa with a cycle time of 35 seconds.
The Monosandwich process allows manufacturers to reduce materials costs by using recycled materials for the core and only using new material for the exterior of the part. For the Open House demonstration, a transparent material will be used for the skin so that the Monosandwich structure will remain visible. The finished flower pots will be removed by a Ferromatik Milacron FMR 8-5 High Speed Robot. Controls for the robot are fully integrated with the machine controls.
Another machine in the K-TEC series, a 2,500 kN K-TEC 250 DETW with a twin cube mold from Foboha with four sides on each cube and 48 cavities, will manufacture two-component closures in a cycle time of 11.5 seconds. In the first step the main injection unit – international size 1,650 – will produce the body of the closure. Simultaneously, a traversing size 265 injection unit mounted on the moving platen will produce the closure lid. Following a 90-degree counter-rotation of both cubes, the outsides of the mold face the operator side of the machine, are used for cooling.
At the same time, the material for the next parts is injected into the outer parting lines. In the third step, after the next 90-degree rotation, the parts on the facing sides of the two molds are joined using In-Mold-Assembly. After the fourth mold rotations, the parts are removed from the non-operator side of the machine. “For the right applications, one twin-cube machine can replace two machines, two molds, as well as downstream assembly equipment,” explained Simon Rieder, Project Manager for Stack-Turning Mold Technology at Ferromatik Milacron.
The all-electric Elektra 75 is a 750 kN machine. At the Open House, it will be presented with an international size 300 injection unit and a single-cavity mold by Polar-Form. This machine will produce magnetic clamps with a polycarbonate foil using an In-Mold-Foiling process and a cycle time of 20 seconds. The foils are punched out, printed from behind, and formed before being placed in the mold. This process prevents the ink from streaking.
The all-electric machine from Milacron – the Elektron, based on the Elektra platform – will be presented as a 1,100 kN machine with an international size 300 injection unit. The Elektra will be used to produce lockable storage boxes on a 1+1-cavity mold from SSI Schäfer with a 15 second cycle.