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.

Cleaning flat dies; injecting hollow parts.

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

JSW Plastics Machinery, Lake Zurich, Ill., has added new medium-to-large sizes to its AD Advantage Series all-electric molding machines.

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.

Japan Steel Works (represented by JSW Plastics Machinery Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill.) has upgraded its all-electric presses for precision lenses, which were shown at the IPF show in Tokyo last fall.

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.

A line of horizontal electric toggle presses developed specifically for lens molding will be introduced at the November International Plastics Fair (IPF) exhibition in Tokyo by Japan Steel Works (JSW Plastic Machinery Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill.). The new J-AD LS series, will be offered initially in two sizes of about 39 and 59 tons.

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.

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.

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.

Examples of the growing trend toward all-electric blow molding machines for packaging will either be physically present or shown in videos and brochures at NPE.

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

The emphasis in blow molding equipment introductions at NPE 2003 is on higher output capability and greater versatility to take on emerging markets.

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.

Examples of the growing trend toward all-electric blow molding machines for packaging will either be physically present or shown in videos and brochures at NPE. Superior accuracy, repeatability, speed, quietness, cleanliness, and energy efficiency are all claimed for the five new all-electric models being presented by four firms at the show.

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.