High-performance system for large parts production

Utz, a Swiss-based plastic products manufacturer, has recently commissioned KraussMaffei’s MX 4000 injection moulding machine, the largest of its kind in Switzerland. The machine was installed in Utz’s production facility in Bremgarten, Switzerland, and is expected to increase the company’s production capacity significantly.

KraussMaffei is a global leader in injection moulding technology, with a reputation for producing high-quality and innovative machines. The company’s MX series of injection moulding machines are known for their precision, speed, and reliability, making them an ideal solution for companies that must produce large parts with high quality and productivity.

In particular, its MX 4000 is a high- performance injection moulding machine that handles large parts and high production volumes. It is equipped with the latest technology and features a clamping force of 4,000 tonnes, making it one of the largest injection moulding machines in the world. The machine is also highly precise, ensuring that each part produced meets the highest quality standards.

Utz is a leading manufacturer of plastic products. With the commissioning of the MX 4000 injection moulding machine, the company is poised to increase its production capacity and expand its product portfolio significantly. The new model features a sophisticated two- story automation system that implements the subsequent process steps such as the application of RFIDs, IML barcodes and logos plus post- processing and quality assurance within the cycle time. The two KraussMaffei LRX robots right at the machine have twelve- meter-long Z-axes and thus a particularly large working radius. The machine’s high performance and precision will allow Utz to produce larger parts and higher volumes of products while maintaining the same high-quality standards that customers have come to expect from the company.

The machine’s journey

The enormous MX 4000 was transported on 22 trucks from Munich to Bremgarten. One truck carried the machine bed, each platen had its own truck, and one truck was used for every two tie bars and many other components. This configuration allowed the machine to cross the many bridges that spanned the bodies of water in the area.

After a twelve-week setup period, the machine was put into operation shortly before Christmas, per  the  customer’s request. The new machine replaced an older one with a clamping force of 27,000 kN that offered limited technical options, had only a simple linear robot, and was not up-to-date in terms of energy balance.

Martin Schönberger, project manager at Krauss Maffei, worked diligently to ensure everything went smoothly. While these large machines are pre- assembled in Munich, they are ultimately only assembled and commissioned on- site. The schedule can be thrown off if even a small part is missing. Fortunately, everything went according to plan, and the project was completed on time.

Andreas Schlegel, the Head of Operations at Georg Utz AG (and a member of its Management Board), says, “At the end of the process, everybody was relieved that we’d done everything correctly in the planning stage because many interfaces have to be coordinated with each other. Including automation, the entire system is now significantly larger than before.”

Previously, Utz had only been equipped for clamping forces up to 32,000 kN. However, since some applications were already pushing the limits of their previous machine, the company decided to expand its capabilities. The logistics specialist also hopes to gain the ability to use additional multi-cavity and stack moulds in the large product area.

Utz produces packaging and logistics solutions, such as pallets, boxes, and PALOXEs, designed with intelligence for various industries. The complexity of these solutions increases with the level of traceability and automation required. In the past, a barcode on one side of a container was sufficient, but now multiple barcodes, including RFIDs or IML barcodes, are often necessary, along with the customer logo. Utz and KraussMaffei equipped the MX 4000 with a sophisticated automation system that can execute all process steps within the cycle time to avoid production delays.

Utz has a team of  five  automation experts located on- s i te to handle everything following the production cell. The LRX TwinZ machines with two robots situated at the machine are provided by KraussMaffei and have a wide working radius due to a twelve-metre-long Z-axis. Utz’s team has developed a standard layout for each tonnage, which covers essential components, making moving projects and tools to other locations easy. With the percentage of recycled material currently at 35 percent, Utz operates its own recycling sites for this purpose, for example a mill in Switzerland with a throughput of 1.2 tonnes per hour. Plans call for the percentage of recycled material to increase to 80 percent as part of the Utz

Group’s global climate strategy. This is where one function of KraussMaffei machines plays a special role: APCplus. Based on the melt viscosity, APCplus controls the changeover point and the holding pressure level and thus ensures parts with extremely consistent weight. This balances out batch fluctuations that result from different raw materials and percentages of recycled material.

Collaboration to respond to megatrends

But that’s not the only thing KraussMaffei and Utz are doing together. The latter is currently collaborating with the Institute for Materials Technology and Plastics Processing (IWK) at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences to develop a predictive quality solution using KraussMaffei’s DataXplorer. This digital product can save up to 500 signals per second from the machine and other sensors and display them as curves. The ultimate goal is to determine how many signals are required to predict good components accurately.

Additionally,  the  Orca temperature control system, which measures the flow rate using sound waves, is being used to monitor and regulate all 120 cooling circuits of the MX 4000, resulting in significant energy  savings  and stable process control. When KraussMaffei’s Orca was introduced at Utz a few years ago, both parties realised they could rely on each other. Their proactive approach to collaborating helped to set up the temperature control solution, which led to enduring mutual admiration and respect.

These factors are important in new investments and will likely lead to renewed conversations about future additions to Utz’s machine park. The company focuses on process optimisations and investments in replacements to deal with general challenges such as rising energy costs and high volatility in material prices. Additionally, the company is focused on the megatrend of the circular economy.

With an export share of around 40 percent, Utz Switzerland delivers its products primarily to Italy, Austria, Eastern Europe, the Scandinavian countries, and Oceania. The next goal is to increase Group sales from 350 million francs to 400 million, and Utz and KraussMaffei will continue to work together as a dream team to achieve this.

 - This article also appears in the International Plastics News for Asia - April issue. Click here to read the full issue.