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Can liquid silicone rubber (LSR ) be overmolded onto polypropylene?

Among the many attractions in injection molding exhibits at NPE2012 were more intelligent robots with higher speeds and payload capacities

More speed, more power, more precision, and more automated functions accomplished in and out of the mold. That’s exactly what injection machinery suppliers were offering at NPE2012.

“We like challenges. We like to do things that other people are scared to do.”

Hot buttons at the show will be multi-component molding, in-mold labeling/decorating (IML/IMD), in-mold assembly, medical molding, liquid silicone rubber (LSR), micro-molding, and high-speed packaging.

Fairly consistent focus of annual conference was how to get better control of the molding process.

Here it is in one sentence: Unit costs can be reduced through customer-specific automation.

Six-axis, jointed-arm robots are gaining popularity in molding for their extreme flexibility and ability to perform a number of operations within a single press cycle.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: At October’s Fakuma 2011 show in Germany, BASF and Arburg teamed up in a demonstration of energy-efficient injection molding.

A large German manufacturer of hoses, cable ducts, and other extruded automotive components recently expanded its activities into the white-goods appliance sector.

Advance word on several new press models were provided by two exhibitors at next month’s Fakuma show in Germany.

The new electric Integralpicker V from Arburg, Inc., Newington, Conn., is said to be a low-cost but very fast and repeatable sprue picker.

A high-gloss surface equivalent to automotive Class-A solid molding can now be achieved with the weight savings and other benefits of microcellular foam molding, thanks to a new licensing agreement between Trexel Inc., Waltham, Mass., and Ono Sangyo Co.

It started in a garage and evolved into a multi-plant, $100 million operation that holds particular expertise in multi-shot molding.

There were new presses of all stripes aplenty at K 2010, but the “wow” factor was supplied by automated work cells and integrated manu-facturing systems performing multiple operations before, during, and after molding.

The world’s largest plastics show, coming up next month in Dusseldorf, Germany, provides ample evidence of the growing sway of electric drive technology in injection molding.

A U.S. custom injection molder that’s hiring?

Show goers will see an electric injection machine in nearly every press maker’s booth this year, and electric/hydraulic hybrids in several.

It’s an unusual business model: “We take existing products or manufacturing processes and try to make them better.

Beltless direct-drive electric machines and upgraded electric/hydraulic hybrids were introduced at the 20th Fakuma trade exhibition in Friedrichshafen, Germany, last month.

New injection machinery at the show ranged from all-electric units for high-speed packaging or bioplastic processing to hybrid presses ready for the cleanroom. Other units highlighted multi-component molding with LSR and thermoplastics or super-compact presses for small parts. Several new machines targeted specific applications such as caps and closures, PET preforms, LSR, or integrated long-glass compounding.

If a better machine can help your company beat challenging economic conditions, you’ll probably find it at NPE. And finding it will be easier, thanks to our editors’ efforts to sift out of some 2000 exhibits the most significant news in injection and blow molding, extrusion, compounding, and thermoforming.

Injection MoldingHybrid Press Has Electric ClampNew injection presses that combine servo-electric and hydraulic movements to achieve high performance with energy efficiency will be discussed by Arburg Inc., Newington, Conn.

Two larger vertical rotary-table machines have been added to the Golden Edition hydraulic series from Arburg Inc., Newington, Conn.

The Series III MuCell microcellular molding system from Trexel Inc., Woburn, Mass., has been teamed with “Variotherm” mold heating/cooling technology to produce smoother part surfaces.

A new process that can produce long, thin-walled profiles and strips with functional or decorative geometries integrated in the part in a single step was developed by IB Steiner engineering consultants and Hybrid Composite Products GmbH, both in Spielberg, Austria.

At its annual Technology Days conference and exhibition in Lossburg, Germany, Arburg GmbH + Co.

Arburg, Inc., Newington, Conn., has opened its third U.S.

If you were looking for a new machine to mold micro- or mega-sized parts, multiple materials, long fibers, high-speed/high-cavitation packaging, exotic multi-material combinations with compounding on the machine, or just a cost-effective press for general-purpose use—K 2007 had it all.

The newest Technology Center for Arburg, Inc., Newington, Conn., is located in Elgin, Ill.

Liquid silicone rubber is breaking out of its niche into a broader array of applications, helped by new developments in materials, machinery, and processing. Larger parts, micro-parts, foams, and multi-color or multi-material combinations are key areas of innovation.

At the big “K” Show next month, top billing goes to new all-electric machines aimed at every segment of the market, from general-purpose to high-end.

A new small vertical press for insert molding and a new BMC stuffer were rolled out by Arburg GmbH + Co.

If you were buying an injection molding machine 20 years ago, you had to decide between a toggle or fully hydraulic clamp and that was pretty much it.

The drive to eliminate secondary operations is pushing multi-shot injection molding a step farther—toward assembling separate components in the tool via snap-fits, welding, and co-molding of incompatible materials.

Three new horizontal presses and a vertical model that are the largest in their respective lines were introduced at the recent Fakuma show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, by Arburg (U.S. office in Newington, Conn.). As reported in October, the company previewed its largest press ever, the 550-ton Allrounder 920 S with hydraulic clamp, 920 x 920 mm tiebar spacing (100 mm larger than the 820 S), 900 mm opening stroke, and a max. daylight of 1950 mm (top photo). Arburg also rolled out the sixth and largest model in its Golden Edition series that commemorates its 50th anniversary of manufacturing presses.

Arburg, Inc., Newington, Conn., broke ground last month for a West Coast Technology Center in Irvine, Calif.

A new 550-ton model becomes the largest size in the Allrounder S series of horizontal fully hydraulic machines offered by Arburg Inc., Newington, Conn.

Advances in electric drive technology were evident in nearly every injection machine builder’s booth in Chicago.

Updated horizontal and vertical presses and robots were some of the attractions at the annual conference and technical exhibition of Arburg GmbH in Lossburg, Germany.

Energy-saving all-electric machines will continue to be a big draw at NPE, where new designs or upgraded models will be found in virtually every press maker’s booth.

A new series of horizontal hydraulic presses with improved controls and valving technology comes from Arburg Inc., Newington, Conn.

Advancements in hydraulic presses and servo robots were unveiled by Arburg GmbH at its annual Technology Days conference and technical exhibition in March at its headquarters in Lossburg, Germany.

Multi-shot and coinjection molding techniques are staking out new territory. Mach ines are getting larger and are combining more materials or colors in more sophisticated and imaginative ways.

Molders were treated to a trove of injection machinery introductions geared toward applications from micro-molding to packaging to large parts.

The diversity of electric machines will be on display at this year’s show, with several new all-electric versions in direct-drive and belt-driven versions.

A move to larger machine sizes and the introduction of an electric/ hydraulic hybrid series were announced recently by injection machine builder Arburg, Inc.

If the big show in Chicago was any indicator, linear servo drives and jointed-arm designs may be the next trends in robots for injection molding.Injection molders visiting NPE 2000 last June may have glimpsed the future of injection molding automation.

The abundance of injection molding news at this year’s show is staggering.

Stress-free production of large car windows, in-mold painting, and an injection unit that applies pack and hold while accumulating the next shot were a few of the cutting-edge technologies on display.

The October show in Dusseldorf saw an onslaught of new all-electric and hybrid-electric presses, with modular designs, new clamping styles, and new sizes available from an ever-growing range of suppliers.

All-electric machines will be one of the biggest themes in injection molding machinery at this year’s K show, where at least nine firms will bring out their first models.

The abundance of injection molding news at this year’s show is staggering. There are more and bigger all-electric machines than ever, including first-time introductions by several suppliers. Electric technology is also taking new forms, such as beltless drives and “direct-pressure” clamping without a toggle. Energy-saving electro-hydraulic hybrids are also evolving.

Interplas 99 in Birmingham held news in injection molding, extrusion, blow molding, RIM, and recycling.