At this year’s Fakuma trade show, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag will present the El-Exis SP 200, an exhibit with extremely short cycle times for injection moulding plus automation: the high-speed machine produces four 125 ml polypropylene gourmet containers and also completes their removal by a special handling robot in less than two seconds. Together with its partners Brink B.V., Harskamp/Netherlands, for the automation and the mould, and Borealis, Vienna/Austria, for the polypropylene (PP), the manufacturer of injection moulding machinery again demonstrates its potential as an excellent system partner for producers of plastics packaging products and its expertise in the optimisation of high-speed production lines.
Brink supplied the 4-cavity hot-runner mould as well as the complete automation equipment for fast container removal. Four containers, each with a weight of only 3.4 g , a diameter of 83 mm, a wall-thickness of 0.32 mm and a flow path/wall-thickness ratio of 213 are removed from the side by a robot that moves into the mould parting line. They are placed behind the machine, stacked and conveyed along the machine’s lateral axis. The automation plus all required modules are integrated into the compact protective housing with a footprint of no more than one square meter without a conveyor-belt.
The exhibited El-Exis SP 200-675 with a 25D 40 mm screw plus shear and mixing section is equipped with an important production efficiency module for cycle time optimisation. Thanks to an easy slide control system, “activeAdjust” allows machine operators to select the most suitable control characteristic. Individual machine movements as well as acceleration and deceleration ramps can be optimised to suit the requirements of the product currently processed. This includes metering, the dynamics of the switchover from injection to holding pressure, mould opening and ejector movements. This optimisation is key to boosting the production capacity and cutting the cycle times of high-speed applications such as the exhibited production of gourmet containers by between 3% and 5% compared with those achieved with standard settings.
The El-Exis SP is also equipped with “activeQ/Q+” mould protection for sensitive monitoring of the clamping unit’s travel forces both during mould opening and closing. If required, the module will actively stop the movements in order to protect the mould from potential damage. The machine is also equipped with the “activeCool&Clean” cooling and filtering system as standard, which ensures the best oil quality and a high oil service life of up to 40,000 h for the El-Exis SP and all other hydraulic injection moulding machines from Sumitomo (SHI) Demag: in the laminar and pulsation-free oil flow of a separate low-pressure circuit, this extra-large ultrafine filter separates any contaminants and optimises the heat transfer in the cooling system. This approach extends the filter’s service life and the machine’s oil change intervals. Clean oil with a low particle contamination reduces the risk of wear in all hydraulic components and minimizes maintenance downtimes. The optimised heat transfer process increases the cooling system’s supply temperatures, which allows a free, year-round heat exchange without additional cost for cooling equipment with a cooling circuit.
This exhibit is another example of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s leading position as a reliable and energy-efficient high-speed machine manufacturer for injection moulded packaging containers and thin-wall packaging products.
Alongside the El-Exis SP 200, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag will present a world premiere: a production unit for complex decorated lightweight parts with a Systec Servo 210 at its centre. The third exhibit is an all-electric IntElect 100 equipped with “activeFlowBalance” for balancing the filling of its four cavities, stabilising the process and boosting the quality of the moulded parts. Partner companies Sepro (Hall A1, Stand 1203) and ONI (Hall A5, Stand 5103) will show two additional IntElect 50 machines in live operation. Sepro will demonstrate the highly complex production of a plug connector made from PBT-GF30 in a delicate mould with sophisticated separations, which was manufactured by Stamm AG, Hallau/Switzerland.
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Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery GmbH
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag has shaped the development of the plastics industry from its very beginning. As a specialist for injection moulding machines for plastics processing, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag and its Japanese parent company are leading the industry.
The global development and production network of Sumitomo Heavy Industries and Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is comprised of four facilities in Japan, Germany and China with more than 3,000 employees. The product portfolio includes all-electric, hydraulic and hybrid injection moulding machines with clamping forces of between 180 and 20.000 kN. With more than 115,000 installed machines, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is present in important global markets.
At Sumitomo’s headquarters in Chiba, Japan, the company manufactures machines with clamping forces in the small to medium range. Nearly 95 % of all delivered machines are equipped with an all-electric drive concept. More than 5,000 machines sold per year make Sumitomo Heavy Industries and its plastics machinery division one of the largest manufacturers of injection moulding machines in the world.
Demag’s German facilities in Schwaig and Wiehe produce the Systec Servo range with hybrid drive as well as the El-Exis SP and Systec SP range of high-speed, high-performance machines. The all-electric IntElect range for international customers is also being produced in Germany.
As early as 1998, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag set up its first production site in Ningbo/China. In 2015, the Chinese subsidiary Demag Plastics Machinery (Ningbo) Co., Ltd. installed a new facility with a 13,000 m² floor space. It is earmarked for the production of the Systec C range with clamping forces of between 500 and 10,000 kN for the Asian market.
In addition to injection moulding machines, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag offers customised and standardised systems for the part handling automation, technical and process solutions for special applications, tailored services and service concepts as well as a range of financial options to support investment in injection moulding machines.
