Arburg Has Plan A: Solutions for the Meta Topics of Energy, Resources and Efficiency
At Fakuma in Friedrichshafen, Germany, from 17 to 21 October 2023, Arburg will showcase its exceptional ability to deliver solutions in plastics processing. “There is only a Plan A” will show how more sustainability, digitalisation and automation can be realised in the plastics world.
One highlight will be the premiere of the Allrounder 520 H, which is the second machine size with new hybrid machine technology to be presented by Arburg this year. In the “arburgSOLUTIONworld”, which is also new, visitors to the fair will find out how they can save energy and increase efficiency in their operations, as well as compensate for the shortage of skilled workers.
Nine exhibits on the company’s own stand in Hall A3 and another ten machines on partner stands will also be giving live demonstrations of exciting applications, processes and trends in injection moulding and 3D printing.
“With ‘There is only a Plan A’, we will be continuing our extremely successful communication line at Fakuma 2023 and combining it with our ‘100 years of the Hehl family company’ anniversary,” explains Juliane Hehl, Managing Partner Marketing & Business Development. “We will show our customers how they can benefit not only from our products, solutions and services but also from our decades of experience.”
“There is only a Plan A”
Arburg’s “Plan A” brings together everything the company offers regarding sustainability, digitalisation, automation and energy efficiency. At the same time, the machine manufacturer makes it clear that there can be no “Plan B”. Instead, Arburg tackles the issue strategically and operationally, showing solutions that enable resources to be conserved as effectively as possible, carbon footprints to be reduced, and recyclable plastics to be returned to the material cycle (circular economy) using sustainability, efficiency and cutting-edge technology. The 100-year history of the company will be presented in a special exhibition area, further proving that environmental protection and the responsible use of resources are firmly rooted in Arburg’s DNA.
Anniversary gift: New hybrid machine
After presenting the Allrounder 470 H milestone machine in spring 2023 on the celebrations of “100 years of the Hehl family company”, Arburg is now taking the next step towards a hybrid Hidrive series with new machine technology: Starting at Fakuma 2023, sizes 520 and 570 will be available. The machines combine an energy-efficient and precise electric clamping unit with a powerful and dynamic hydraulic injection unit, making them particularly good at saving energy and conserving resources, as well as being production-efficient, user-friendly and reliable.
The new hybrid Allrounders still boast significantly reduced acquisition and operating costs, plus a smaller carbon footprint, and are available in the Comfort, Premium, and Ultimate performance variants. Numerous options allow the machines to be adapted precisely to specific customer requirements.
The exhibit, an Allrounder 520 H Premium, will use a 1+1+1-cavity mould to produce an Allrounder machine base from ABS to a scale of 1:18. The “Mouldlife Sense” computer system from Arburg’s partner Hack enables the mould to be monitored over its entire life cycle. It can also communicate with the machine and mould via an OPC UA interface.
“arburgSOLUTIONworld
Arburg experts will advise on the meta topics of energy, efficiency, the shortage of skilled workers, and future orientation in its arburgSOLUTIONworld. Among the features of this new interactive exhibition space built around a four-metre-high LED column will be Arburg’s “Action Plan: Energy”, including energy advice, machine updates and consumption measurements to help customers save resources and energy, especially in these economically and politically tense times.
The revolutionary LED column is also a structural expression of the importance of this topic for Arburg.
The Arburg host computer system ALS, along with individual processes and customer-specific manufacturing solutions, will be used to demonstrate how high-quality standards can be maintained despite enormous price and cost pressures. Last but not least, trade fair visitors will learn how they can use digital services such as the arburgXworld customer portal and smart assistance functions from the Gestica control system to overcome the shortage of skilled workers and remain fit for the future.
Reliable processing of recyclates
An Allrounder Golden Electric 470 E with a Yaskawa six-axis robot will demonstrate how post-consumer recyclate (PCR) can be reliably processed. In a technically demanding process, toy dolphins will be made.
In turn, a vertical Allrounder 375 V machine will over-mould inserts with single-variety post-industrial recyclate (PIR) based on a glass-fibre-reinforced PA 66/6 to produce ready-to-use bicycle tools. Tool cases in the Arburg design will be produced using components made from Arburg partner Leonhard Kurz’s Recopound® material, which is obtained from post-industrial recyclate (PIR) based on PET films. In addition, an ISCC mass-balanced material from Covestro will be used. The coveted giveaway will be produced on a turnkey system based around a hybrid Allrounder 920 H with a clamping force of 5,000 kN.
Prime examples of digitalisation and automation
Arburg’s stand will feature a wide range of automation solutions – from simple part removal with various linear Multilift robotic systems to complex handling with Yaskawa and Kuka six-axis robots.
The application example of a tyre lever will show how digitalisation and automation go hand in hand to produce plastic parts efficiently and with 100 per cent traceability.
A turnkey system with a vertical Allrounder 375 V and a six-axis robot mounted in a space-saving hanging position will produce this ready-to-use bicycle tool. The Arburg Turnkey Control Module (ATCM) Scada system and ‘Invisible Tracing’ from partner Detagto allow each product to be clearly traced and identified.
Efficient injection moulding processes
Energy-efficient two-component injection moulding will be demonstrated by an Allrounder More 1600, equipped with two electric injection units, which will produce a container made of thermoplastic (PBT) and liquid silicone (LSR). The LSR dosing unit from Reinhardt Technik is integrated into the Gestica control system via OPC UA and the Euromap interface 82.3.
As an energy-efficient, resource-saving application and alternative to thermoforming, an all-electric Allrounder 720 A Ultimate packaging machine will produce IML round cups with a wall thickness of only 0.37 millimetres. This is done by injection compression moulding, reducing energy requirement and mould wear.
An IML process designed specifically for medical technology will be presented using labelled centrifuge tubes as an example. In addition to Arburg, partners Kebo, MCC Verstraete, Beck Automation and Intravis are involved in this innovative joint project involving an electric Allrounder 520 A with an 8-cavity mould.
Industrial additive manufacturing
A high-temperature Freeformer 750-3X, Arburg’s largest yet compact 3D printer, will produce air diffusers from Ultem, original aerospace-approved plastic granules. An innovatiQ LiQ printer for processing liquid silicone will also be presented from the ARBURGadditive division.
Ten additional exhibits on partner stands
Ten additional injection moulding exhibits on partner stands will demonstrate the wide range of applications for Arburg machine technology. These will include:
- An Allrounder 1300 T rotary table machine that produces vegetable slicers by over-moulding metal blades with ABS (Maschinenfabrik Lauffer, Hall A3, Stand 3008),
- An Allrounder 470 H hybrid machine that uses an 8-cavity mould with a special laser surface to produce closure caps from recycled PP (Barnes Group, Hall A1, Stand 1208) and
- An electric Allrounder 370 A processes solid silicone into cable ties (ACH, Halle A4, Stand 4307).
Read more news from ARBURG here.
