Huge Energy Savings With An All-Electric Injection-Molding Cell Producing Twice The Work With Half The Machines And Less Manpower-With RFID Tagging Of Consumer Parts
HUGE ENERGY SAVINGS with an all-electric injection-molding cell producing twice the work with half the machines and less manpower-with RFID tagging of consumer parts.
May 2006 - A Cincinnati Milacron all-electric Powerline NT550 injection machine shows how to save machines, energy and labor at NPE with an unmanned molding cell producing an assembled flowerpot - complete with RFID label. The same product had previously required two molding machines and downstream labor. The Powerline NT also introduces a new high-capacity, direct-drive, reciprocating-screw injection unit with single roller-screw actuator that reduces noise and inertia.
"This cell highlights a range of all-electric molding advantages - process consolidation, floor-space reduction and a conservative 70+% energy savings over the two hydraulic machines previously used for this application," said Powerline Product Manager Andy Stirn. "We started by marrying two molds in one machine with a sequential valve-gate hot runner from D-M-E. The demonstration highlights how our new Mosaic control's standard injection setup permits sequential injection. The robot saves labor with part removal and press-side assembly, which had previously been done downstream, while the RFID labeling demonstrates how easy it is to add traceability to parts such as baby seats, medical devices, automotive parts and others that need an on-board manufacturing history."
The Powerline NT550 is the mid-size machine in a range of seven rated 220-1125 tons. It comes standard with Milacron's new Mosaic control. "The control's 10-segment injection profiles, in combination with sequential valve gates, allow parts in the NPE demonstration to be filled and packed sequentially," Stirn explained. "This lessens the tonnage requirement to that of a single cavity. Each injection segment can be configured by the operator to be a fill stage or a pack-and-hold stage."
The NPE machine introduces a new high-capacity 54 oz injection unit equipped with nozzle shut-off valve and 80mm, 24:1 BARR feedscrew from ServTek. A single roller-screw actuator reduces mechanical complexity and components, while eliminating the need to perfectly synchronize two actuators. The roller screw is capable of five times the speed of a ballscrew. The all-direct drive injection unit is available with A, B, C screws, and can deliver up to 20,600 psi (at 41 in3/sec.). The low-inertia direct drive eliminates all belt issues, providing faster response and more precise control, with cleaner operation, lower noise and less maintenance compared to other designs.
The Powerline's direct-connected, rack-and-pinion clamp drive powers a toggle clamp that has been mechanically balanced and refined over five generations of design. The direct-connected system eliminates inertia and maintenance issues related to belts and pulleys, along with premature motor bearing failure caused by shaft side loading. The clamp and drive are exceptionally quiet and responsive, with a maximum stroke length of 34.64" (880mm) - repeatable to ±0.002" (0.05mm). Euromap dry cycle time is a crisp <3.0 sec. The clamp builds full tonnage in 0.4 sec. but allows injection to begin before full tonnage is reached to cut cycle times and improve throughput. "The rack-and-pinion clamp drive gives the Powerline NT a speed advantage over competitive electric and even allows it to compete with many accumulator-driven machines," Stirn added.
All Powerline NT models have independent drives for each machine axis, making it easy to reduce cycle times with overlapped functions. Cycle times are also improved by allowing pre-decompression, relaxing the toggle during part cooling to eliminate the wait on tonnage release before opening the clamp.
Tie bar spacing on the Powerline NT 550 is 36.2" x 36.2" (920mm x 920mm) with a base design that permits tri-directional part removal. The base also houses an integrated 8.5 GPM hydraulic pump to power core or valve-gate actions. The machine at NPE features extended daylight of 79.72" (2024mm). Standard daylight is 67.72" (1720mm), with max/min mold height of 33.07"/9.84" (840/250mm).
The Powerline's advanced Moldguard and Ejectguard provide the most sensitive full stroke mold protection in the industry, according to Milacron. "Powerline machines have historically been popular with captive molders running complex, expensive molds," said Bob Strickley, Milacron's Director of Marketing. "Moldguard and Ejectguard are technology innovations that result in significantly less repair and maintenance for molds over the life of a project or product. It's like free mold insurance built into the machine."
The Powerline comes standard with Milacron's new Mosaic control. The new control's operator panel is all-sealed, with an embedded operating system that requires no hard-disc drive or back-up power source. It has extensive capabilities for connectivity and security, with Ethernet LAN and Powerlink, dual USB ports, optional ID card reader, and web-based or network access to process data and machine status. The 15-inch touchscreen display includes standard multilingual and inch/metric support, setup wizards and a single-page overview of all critical set points.
For more information, see Milacron's home page at plastics.milacron.com for a full range of plastics processing solutions.
Sales inquiries from the NAFTA region should be directed to:
Mr. Robert J. Strickley
Director of Marketing
Milacron Inc.
4165 Halfacre Rd.
Batavia, OH 45103
Tel: 513.536.2576
Fax 513.536.2441
bob_strickley@milacron.com
In Brasil, direct inquiries to:
Mr. Hercules Piazzo
Milacron Equipamentos Plasticos Ltda.
Avenida Moemo
87 - 6th Floor
Moemo - 04077-020
São Paulo - SP - Brasil
Tel.: (+5511) 5051-1838 - Ext. 107
Fax.: (+5511) 5055-1905
Hercules_Piazzo@Milacron.com
In the Caribbean, Central and South America, direct inquiries to:
Michael Ferlic
Milacron Marketing Company
306 Poinciana Island Drive
Sunny Isles FL 33160 USA
Tel/Fax: 305-945-6707
michael_ferlic@milacron.com
For information on injection molding technology from other Milacron regions, contact:
For Germany, Europe & ROW
Ferromatik Milacron Maschinebau GmbH
Julia Andris
Riegeler Strabe 4
79364 Malterdingen
Germany
Phone +49 (0)7644 78-302
Fax +49 (0)7644 78-469
E-Mail marketing@ferromatik.com
For India
Ferromatik Milacron India Limited
Umesh Pareek
92, Phase-1,G.I.D.C. Vatva,
Vatva, Ahmedabad - 382 445
India
Phone +91-79-2583-0063
Fax +91-79-2583-0125
E-Mail umesh-pareek@fmi-ahd.com
For China
David Song
Milacron Marketing
(Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
No. 900 Jin Hai Road
Pu Dong, Shanghai
201206 P.R. China
Tel: +86-21-583-41588
Fax: +86-21-589-98011
David_Song@milacron.com.cn
Contact
Bob Strickley
Milacron Inc.
4165 Halfacre Rd.
Batavia, OH 45103
Tel: 513.536.2576
Fax: 513.536.2441
bob_strickley@milacron.com
Ray Kemble
Kemble & Rude Communications, Inc.
4242 Airport Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45103
Tel: 513.871.4042
Fax: 513.871.4895
rkemble@kemblerude.com
