Updated Machine Control Launches at K 2022

Injection molding machine supplier Dr. Boy GmbH & Co. KG has released more details on its latest machine control initially previewed in the September issue of Plastics Technology. The Alpha 6 control is the successor to Boy’s current Procan ALPHA 4 control system. The new control features a wider 16: 9 screen format and a TFT-color display running in full-HD with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels. It utilizes Multitouch PCT (projected capacitive) technology, and Boy says its icons have been redesigned to be “comfortable for the eyes.”

Thanks to the wider screen format, the ALPHA 6 offers its users more space for widgets that can be individually configured with prefabricated modules. By clicking on an object from this library set, Boy says values can be freely defined and edited at any time, and the actual values determined by the control system can be displayed.

Boy notes that the ALPHA 6 also offers molders access to a wide variety of add-ons, including BOY-WLAN-Stick, BOY Molding Assist and the BOY-Status-App. When the BOY-WLAN-Stick is plugged into the machine control, it connects the injection molding machine to the Internet via an existing customer-WLAN or a hotspot. This enables secure, remote-controlled monitoring of process sequences, as well as immediate assistance via remote maintenance. At the show, the company will also show the possibility of voice control. After its premier at K 2022, Boy says the Alpha 6 control system will gradually replace the current Procan Alpha 4.