Injection Molding Machinery

Engel North America (York, PA), the U.S. division of the Austrian parent, has extended its duo pico series of compact, twin-platen, injection molding machines, adding 400- and 440-ton models. At their global premier during NPE2009, Engel's duo pico line ranged from 500 to 770 tons. In a release, Engel said the duo pico machines have been engineered and built from the ground up to satisfy specific customer requests, including high-speed operation, smaller tonnages, smaller footprints, and lighter weights.

A mixing nozzle that replaces the existing machine nozzle now offers even better melt homogenization during the injection phase to make color streaks and flow lines disappear.

From Sulzer Chemtech (Winterthur, Switzerland), the ready-to-install KSM Mixer incorporates heater bands and can now be obtained in customized designs within two weeks upon submission of a simple questionnaire. A 10% introductory discount applies until the end of July.

New HM-85HL and HM-120HL horizontal liquid silicone rubber (LSR) injection presses from South Korea’s Heung Hwa Injection Machinery (Gyeonggi, Korea) adopt “cold runner systems” from Japan’s Seiki Corp. (Yamagata).

Previously, Korean machine builder Dongshin Hydraulics Co. (Busan) offered an injection press that was essentially modified for molding PET preforms but its latest offering is designed specifically for the task.

All-electric machines can fall short when it comes to high injection rates at high pressure. Apparently that’s not the case with the latest offering from Nissei Plastic Industrial Co. (Nagano, Japan).

Ever needed a compact core solution to free challenging undercuts from a tool that won't cost the earth? Progressive Components (Wauconda, IL; www.procomps.com) may have more answers now with the latest additions to its FlexiCore range of undercut release solutions. The 12-by-14-mm and 12-by-16-mm cores spring away from the molded detail as the tool's ejector plates move forward.

LK Machinery Inc. (Hong Kong) has docked servo technology with a hydraulic pump to realize energy savings of 20-50% or more in its latest Servo Effort line of direct-clamped injection molding machines. Furthermore, the closed-loop-controlled servomotor with resolution of 1/1024 rpm provides stable pressure and flow rate to maintain high machine performance. LK has quantified real energy savings when molding an LED printed circuit board frame from polycarbonate weighing 179.3g.

Weckenmann Anlagentechnik has developed its first plastics granulator with hydraulic opening of the housing, which the company says aids in fast cleaning and maintenance. The hydraulics open the granulator within 40-60 seconds at two levels without the need of additional tools.

Arburg (Lossburg, Germany) is continuing to enhance and expand its electric Alldrive machine series with the debut of two new additions. The Allrounder 270 A is the smallest size in Arburg’s range of electric machines. This model has a tiebar clearance of 270 by 270 mm, a clamping force of 350 kN, and an injection unit with a maximum shot weight of 21g of PS.

NBE (Holland, MI) has put on the market a storage bin and solid core screw conveyor that delivers material at a controlled rate to processing equipment. The V-shaped hopper bottom with a material head breaker directs the material into the inclined discharge conveyor for smooth operation at accelerated conveying rates.