Molds Promise Process Optimization for Smaller Carbon Footprints

Coming off a record sales year and two years after it set out to make its own operations more sustainable, mold maker Haidlmair says its K 2022 focus will be on the sustainability of products its tools produce with five molds running at various partner companies.

The maker of tools for crates, logistics containers, pallets and more said it was able to achieve carbon neutrality in its operations in August 2021. With that milestone behind it, the company is hoping to lower the carbon footprint of the goods its molds produce by applying new technologies within those molds.

The first step in this process was the ability to determine the exact CO₂ footprint of its molds, tracking everything from the production of the tool steel to its own machining to upstream and downstream transport. With that data in hand, Haidlmair says its focus is on compact mold designs and optimized cycle times to help reduce the energy requirement per part. It has also focused on tool designs that support the use of recyclates.

At Haidlmair’s booth, a mold for a six-drink crate will be running. The company says this mold demonstrates optimized design for running recycled material, as well as the use of it FDU (Flat Die Unit) hot runner technology from the Haidlmair subsidiary of the same name. In addition, the mold features real-time production monitoring and documentation via Digital Moulds Mould-Monitoring software. Cycle times were shortened by applying what the company called hybrid manufactured components made via conventional and additive manufacturing means.

Two Haidlmair molds will be running at the booth of injection molding machine maker Engel. A mold for a dolly pallets made exclusively with recycled material is running in the Circular Economy Forum located in the outside area between Halls 11 and 16. The process runs polyolefin flakes processed directly without being pelletized. This mold also applies FDU and Mould Monitoring System technology.

A multiuse container mold will also be run by Engel, achieving a speedy 25-sec cycle time. That cycle time is possible thanks to communication between the mold and the Engel duo 8310/700 speed machine, with special care to avoid warpage which can result from such rapid temperature changes. To avoid part distortion, Haidlmair developed its own cooling station, on which the molded and still-warm parts are placed for additional cooling outside the mold until the potential for warpage is eliminated. The setup also features a thermal-imaging camera to track heat distribution across the molded part post molding.

At Wittmann Battenfeld’s booth, attendees can see a Haidlmair tool molding a reusable 3-component coffee-to-go cup. In addition to multi-material molding, Wittmann’s Cellmold foaming technology is also used to reduce the amount of material consumed. In the mold, hybrid elements designed to optimize cooling are built into the molding plate, applying conventional machining and 3D printing by using DMG Mori’s hybrid Lasertec technology.

Haidlmair’s fifth mold running at K will produce the Crinkle Box mini—a container mimicking a paper bag familiar to show goers. At K 2022, the mold will be exhibited at the booth of injection molding machine maker Milacron, utilizing the latest generation FDU SLS nozzle. Specifically the mold will run on Milacron’s new eQ model range, which will also utilize iMFLUX low-pressure molding.