Digitalisation,
resource efficiency and green production are key concerns for the
plastics industry and ARBURG (www.arburg.com)
has been clearly focusing on those trends and responding to the needs
of the various industries relying on plastics – such as automotive.
As
Gerhard Böhm, Managing Director-Sales at ARBURG said in his speech
at K 2019: “In the automotive industry, we can sense the
forthcoming change. Investments at the present time - with the
exception of special projects - are restrained because there is no
clear and definitive vision of the technology of the future. Having
said that, it is already possible to state that plastic will continue
to play a significant role in automotive construction because it is
such a versatile material.”
Mr.
Böhm also stressed the significance of plastic as an important
material and valuable commodity for the future, and this leads to the
matrix of topics associated with circular economy and resource
efficiency. At K 2019, ARBURG presented two applications that
demonstrated how recyclate materials can be processed in a practical
context.
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| Mr. Gerhard Böhm, Managing Director-Sales, ARBURG |
“For
the injection moulding of cups made of PP on the packaging version of
our new hybrid ALLROUNDER 1020 H, clear evidence is emerging that the
addition of PP recyclate does not cause any fluctuations in quality,”
Mr. Böhm explained. While at the exhibition, the proportion of
recyclate was only about 30%, in the ARBURG Customer Centre, higher
proportions were successfully processed. The application proves that
if it is possible to collect plastics in segregated grades, it is
economically viable to introduce these back into the value-added
chain.
Improvements
in the processing of post-consumer recyclate (PCR) has also been
achieved. ARBURG demonstrated the manufacture of a safety door handle
on ALLROUNDER injection moulding machines. On an electric
two-component ALLROUNDER 630 A, the PCR is processed after physical
foaming with the ARBURG ProFoam process. After that, the two handles
are installed in the tool and, in a third stage to the process, are
then coated with TPE. This application proved that PCR made from
domestic waste plastics is ideally suited to the production of
high-quality, durable industrial components for functional uses,
which constitutes a very important step, according to Mr. Böhm.
Mr.
Böhm also explained that the innovative Film Insert Moulding (FIM)
process is a growing segment in the automotive, electronics and
medical technology sectors. For this application, the electric
ALLROUNDER 470 A running IMSE technology (Injection Moulded
Structured Electronics), has been able to coat the back of a 3D film
with integrated electronic functions and LEDs.
“In
the area of digitalisation, the new filling assistant for the GESTICA
control unit is a highly complex piece of kit that provides a 3D
graphic animation of the fill level of a component in relation to the
current position of the screw. This delivers decisive benefits in
terms of tooling time, safety, component quality and process
stability,” according to Mr. Böhm. The plasticising assistant
involves a memory chip integrated in the cylinder module. This makes
it possible to perform preventive maintenance on an as-needed basis,
and it improves troubleshooting for Service. “In the future, all
ALLROUNDER machines will be equipped with what we call Basis
Connectivity. With this so-called IIoT Gateway, our machines can be
networked to higher-level software tools and arburgXworld easily and
in a standardised manner,” Mr. Böhm added. Customers can
configure and order this compact machine online using an app on the
“arburgXworld” customer portal in a few simple steps - and can
enjoy fast delivery lead times and attractive prices.
For more forecasts and insights from industry experts, read the latest issue of International Plastics News for Asia at http://edms.industrysourcing.com/ezine/19/12/irna.html
