KISW commissions KraussMaffei injection moulding machine

AS part of the annual InnovationsForum, the Kunststoff-Institut Südwest (KISW) successfully commissioned a new, fully electric KraussMaffei AX-series injection moulding machine in April 2014. The institute from Villingen and the Munich-based injection moulding machine manufacturer are collaborating on projects to further improve the quality of plastics products and to further increase the cost-efficiency of the production processes.

The plastics institute was founded in the summer of 2011 by the Kunststoff-Institut Lüdenscheid [Lüdenscheid Plastics Institute], the IHK Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg [Schwarzwald-Baar-Heuberg Chamber of Industry and Commerce] and 18 companies from around the region, with the aim of fostering research, technology transfer and employee training in plastics technology and mold design and production.

The services offered by KISW focus particularly on the needs of plastics-processing companies in south-west Germany. Its work concentrates primarily on hybrid, precision and medical technology. For these demanding applications in particular, KraussMaffei is in a position to share the considerable expertise that it has acquired in machine, process and automation technology from the myriad of successful projects it has undertaken.

This year's InnovationsForum saw KraussMaffei present institute director Siegfried Kaiser with a fully electric AX 100-380 injection molding machine with an LRX 50 linear robot.  The AX machine concept comprises a large module for a wide variety of applications. For clamping forces of between 50 and 350 tonnes, many different plasticisation, automation and option ranges are available so that customers can find exactly the right production solution for a wide range of applications. Highly dynamic, precise servomotors are able to move to set travel positions for the clamping unit or the ejector quickly and with absolute precision and reproducibility.

The AX demonstrates extreme precision in reaching the exact transfer positions for the linear robot and transfers the parts reliably to the gripper, with an unerring accuracy of 0.001 mm. The smooth-running mechanics with zero play, in combination with the precision linear guides of the moving platen, are behind the machine's outstanding energy efficiency and dynamics. The MC6 machine control system's stand-out feature is the latest version of the ProcessDesigner tool, which provides an overview of all the processes that are running and allows process sequences to be modified by simply dragging and dropping or using intuitive swiping motions. The linear robot is integrated in the control system and is linked up in just a few, simple steps with the help of the WizardX programming assistant. For the first time, the injection molding machine can be operated via the portable robot operating panel thanks to the MC6 control system. By means of the integrated control system, which uses VARAN-bus technology, the injection process and automation are able to form a single unit, giving access to process data in real time.