WITTMANN BATTENFELD with sophisticated injection molding technology at the Fakuma 2017

The highlight: EcoPower Xpress 400, an all-electric high-speed injection molding machine

The new EcoPower Xpress – shown for the first time as a prototype at the K 2016 – was developed to series production level in the course of this fiscal year and will be available on the market in the clamping force sizes of 400 and 500 t from the autumn of this year.

The new EcoPower Xpress is a high-speed, all-electric machine model primarily geared to the requirements of the packaging and thin wall industry. The highly dynamic drive axes for injection as well as closing and opening of the EcoPower Xpress are designed for fast movements and ultimate control accuracy. Moreover, extremely high energy efficiency is achieved by using servo drives.

At the Fakuma, WITTMANN BATTENFELD will demonstrate the functionality of this machine model on an EcoPower Xpress 400/3300+ manufacturing HDPE closing caps within a cycle time of 2.7 seconds in a 96-cavity mold supplied by the French company Plastisud. The caps will be cooled with the cap cooler from Eisbär, Austria and then deposited in boxes.

The main theme: smart multi-component technology for complex applications

The main focus of WITTMANN BATTENFELD’s exhibition program this year lies on COMBIMOULD machines from the PowerSeries. The actual exhibits will include two machines from the servo-hydraulic SmartPower series and one machine designed for injection molding of micro parts from the all-electric MicroPower series with compactly integrated multi-component technology.

On a SmartPower 120/525H/130L, a 2-component application will be presented, in which one component is a thermoplastic material, the other liquid silicone. The parts will be manufactured with a 4+4-cavity mold supplied by the Italian company Silital (Oldrati group), produced by Linea Stampi Srl. The parts will be removed and deposited on a conveyor belt by a W831 robot from WITTMANN equipped with the new R9 control system.

A 3-component application will be shown on a SmartPower 60/210H/210S/210V. With a 6-cavity mold from Geobra Brandstätter, PPT, POM and PA will be processed into a Playmobil chimpanzee. The open design of the SmartPower with its generous dimensions and excellent accessibility is particularly well suited for multi-component applications, with simultaneous optimal energy efficiency.

The third COMBIMOULD application will be the production of a 2-component plug inside the recording head of a vinyl record player. The parts made of PC and electro conductive PC will be produced with a single-cavity mold from Ortofon, Denmark on a MicroPower 15/10H/10H equipped with two parallel injection units and a rotary disk. Parts removal and depositing will be handled by a WITTMANN W8VS4 Scara robot specially designed for this machine. Moreover, a built-in camera system inside the machine will provide fully automatic quality inspection of the parts. 

Latest high-tech machinery with full integration of robots and peripherals via WITTMANN 4.0 combined with the AIRMOULD^® internal gas pressure process from WITTMANN BATTENFELD demonstrated on an EcoPower 160 with insider cell

On all exhibits shown at the Fakuma, the integration of the machines and peripherals into a network under WITTMANN 4.0 will be implemented and demonstrated. For the first time, the integration of WITTMANN ATON material dryers into the UNILOG B8 machine control system has also become possible in addition to the integration of robots, TEMPRO temperature controllers, GRAVIMAX gravimetric metering devices and FLOWCON flow controllers.

In particular, integration into the UNILOG B8 machine control system via WITTMANN 4.0 will be demonstrated on an all-electric machine from the EcoPower series with an insider cell. On this machine, an EcoPower 160/750 with 1,600 kN clamping force, a coat hanger will be manufactured with a single-cavity mold from Haidlmair, Austria, using the WITTMANN BATTENFELD AIRMOULD^® internal gas pressure process. The AIRMOULD^® interface is also integrated in the UNILOG B8 control system. The combined compressor and nitrogen generator unit used has been developed and manufactured by WITTMANN BATTENFELD. The parts will be removed and deposited on the conveyor belt integrated in the production cell by a W818 robot from WITTMANN with the new R9 robot control system.

An “AIRMOULD^®-Center” next to the machine will offer visitors an opportunity to examine the WITTMANN BATTENFELD AIRMOULD^® process in detail.

To give visitors an even better understanding of WITTMANN 4.0, the Industry 4.0 solution provided by the WITTMANN Group, an interactive display board will show a clear, easy-to-understand presentation of the integration of WITTMANN peripherals into the UNILOG B8 machine control system.

Our services: MES and CMS – smart and efficient

WITTMANN BATTENFELD’s exhibition program at the Fakuma 2017 will be rounded off with a presentation of our services. This will include the presentation of the MES system from our new MES partner, MPDV Mikrolab GmbH, for integrating injection molding machines into a corporate network and thus into the world of Industry 4.0. A special highlight is the WIBA-MPDV SmartMonitoring module, which can be integrated on every B8 monitor screen. In this way, the status of all machines in the network can be viewed from every injection molding machine. For the first time, the integration of an injection molding machine via the Euromap 77/83 protocol based on OPC/US will be shown, which will become available in the near future. Euromap plans to release the new EM 77/83 version in February 2018.

Visitors will also have an opportunity to gather information about the functionality of CMS, our modern machine condition monitoring system, and our WebService 24/7 system, the company’s online service available round the clock on 7 days a week. The CMS system measures important machine condition data with sensors, analyses the readings in the machine’s control system and transfers the data to the corporate MES system to enable optimal planning of maintenance schedules.

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