HEKUMA Automation LLC

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.

Late last month, Friedrichshafen, Germany, hosted Fakuma 2011, the largest European plastics show of the year, growing to be second in size and importance to the K show in Dusseldorf.

The recent NPE 2009 show in Chicago saw the debut of dozens of new and enhanced robots for injection molding. The vast majority of the new models were all-servo types, though some economized by mixing servo and pneumatic axes. These new robots emphasized higher speeds, heavier payload capacity, longer reach, and more intelligent controllers that make programming and troubleshooting easier than ever. Telescoping arms and dual arms were very common among the new entries, as well.

More details are now available on a new high-speed side-entry robot that trims mold-open time by 20% due to higher acceleration.

A newly upgraded side-entry robot for packaging is said to reduce mold-open times approximately 20%. The servo-driven Heku 3 robot from Hekuma GmbH in Germany (represented here by Autotec Inc., Sylvania, Ohio) boasts repeatable positioning accuracy of 0.0004 in. and transfer speeds of up to 23 ft/sec with end-ofarm-tooling weighing up to 330 lb. (419) 885-2529 • www.hekuma. comAutotec Inc. 7345 Sylvania Ave Sylvania, OH 43560 Phone (419) 885-2529 Fax (419) 882-3164