Adding wings to injection moulding machines

Established in Taiwan in 1988, Alfa Auto Machinery is a high-tech enterprise specialising in the production of robots and peripheral automation devices for injection moulding machines. It turns out over 9,000 robots annually. In 2001, Alfa established Dongguan Alfa Automation Machinery in Guangdong China; and established its second factory, Alfa (Suzhou) Automation Technology, in Suzhou China. In the past 10 years, Dongguan Alfa has expanded in terms of size and capacity that it now produces three series such as servo type, horizontal travel pneumatic type and rotary arm type in dozens of specifications for used in various types of injection moulding machines ranging from 15 to 4,000 tonnes. It is now one of the few manufacturers in China that design and produce large servo machines. The robots are used in such industries as household appliance, PC and peripheral devices, optoelectronics, cosmetic, automobile, timepiece, precision gear industry, PET bottle blanks, CD, household daily articles, communication electronics, mobile phones, medical supplies, food packaging, and so on. Mr. Huang Junqin, GM of Dongguan Alfa Automation Machinery Limited Mr. Huang Junqin, General Manager of Dongguan Alfa Automation Machinery Limited, joined the company since its inception and for over 20 years, he witnessed the development of Alfa into a high-tech enterprise with over 1,000 staff from a small company with 5 staff. The International Plastics News - Middle East (IRNE) talked to Mr. Huang on how Dongguan Alfa responds to the developments in the China plastics industry. IRNE: Alfa specialises in robotics. What are the applications for your products? Huang: Firstly, let me give you a basic idea of what a robot is. It is an automatic machine that simulates human hands in operation. It handles objects with programmed processes, or uses tools to complete some specific operations. Robots can take the place of people in performing boring, repetitious tasks while ensuring the consistency of product quality and taking over some functions in an unsafe working environment. Hence, robots are widely used in sectors such as machine manufacturing, metallurgy, electronics and atomic energy. Alfa specialises in the production of robots for injection moulding machines, which are used to replace hands to take out the parts after injection. Our products are considered "professional, devoted and focused". When the machines are equipped with robots, the production efficiency can significantly increase and the quality of output is improved. IRNE: What other main products does Alfa offer? Huang: Our main products include vertical transporter, conveyor belt, Phoenix series, PV series, Atlas series, Bomarc series, Cobra series, Redstone series and Explorer series. I would like to mention more of the Explorer series, which is specially designed for take-out of 350cc-1500cc PET perform, applicable to all types of PET injection mould machine ranging from 200 to 600 tonnes with 16-48 cavities mould. Installed on a fixed platen, they place PET perform outside the rear safety door. On EOAT, there is a cooling system, and the products are air cooled after taking out. The cooling time in the mould can be significantly shortened, and so the throughput is increased. The Cobra series are applicable to all types of horizontal injection moulding machines ranging from 300 to 4000 tonnes for take-out of products and sprues. It has single stage and telescopic type, while a sub-arm can be added for 3-plates mould to grip products and sprue at the same time. The vertical stroke ranges from 1,200 to 3,000 mm, driven by cylinders. For standard model, the traverse axle driven by inverter motor, AC servo motor is optional. Vertical and cross-wise driven by pneumatic cylinder, cost-effective. According to actual requirements, users can choose AZoom Lebron XI 11