Injection Molding: New Line of Servohydraulic Toggles, Designed in U.S., Built in China
Calypso Machinery enlisted a Chinese manufacturing partner to build machines for North America.
Calypso Machinery is a brand-new firm in Scottsdale, Ariz. (calypsomachinery.com), that is launching a line of servohydraulic toggle presses in sizes from 100 to 1210 tons. President of the firm is Todd Kuhn, with over 30 years’ experience in injection molding, tooling, and medical-device manufacturing, including 20 years at the Tech Group/West Pharmaceutical, where he was director of engineering and tooling. He and his partner enlisted a Chinese manufacturing partner in Arlex Plastics Machinery Co., sub. of Ningbo Yalishi Plastic Machinery Co., which has been building injection machines since 2005. Calypso contracted Arlex to build a version of its AX line of machines to Calypso’s specs, specifically for the North American and Mexican markets. They incorporate Eckerle pumps, Rexroth and Vickers valves, Omron switches, and KEBA controls, to name a few. They also come standard with bimetallic screw and barrel, SPI mold-mounting standards, U.S. threads, and SPI and Euromap interfaces for robotics. Two air blasts and two core pulls on each platen are standard, as is a 2-yr warranty.
“These are not cheap Chinese machines,” Kuhn asserts. “They are very repeatable and more rigid than the competition. Our 155-ton press weighs 1000 lb more than a competing 160-tonner.”
They are very attractively priced, however. The 155-ton AX model costs $49,900 and the AX 535 costs $149,900. These are standard machines with few options. Custom modifications, such as a removable tiebar or a nonstandard-size injection unit, can be ordered. Kuhn adds that with K.D. Capital Equipment of Scottsdale as a sister company, “We welcome trade-ins.”
Calypso has spare parts in stock in Scottsdale and plans to stock machines up to 535 tons. It has at least one press (currently 155 tons) available for demonstrations and training. Service and support are available across the U.S. and Mexico, according to Kuhn. He says Calypso has sold several AX machines and six more are on order. Standard lead times are 10-12 weeks, he notes.
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