From April 24 to 27, WITTMANN BATTENFELD will present latest injection molding technology for the plastics industry to trade visitors at the Chinaplas in Shanghai, the largest plastics fair in Asia.
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SmartPower 180 |
Asia is one of the most important markets for the WITTMANN group. In addition to its own sales organization in China, the Wittmann group has also been operating local production facilities for more than 10 years, primarily for the for the Asian market. At its plant in Kunshan it produces robots, temperature controllers, material loaders and granulators.
At this year‘s Chinaplas in Shanghai, WITTMANN BATTENFELD will present two machines from its PowerSeries. These are a servo-hydraulic machine from the SmartPower series and a MicroPower COMBIMOULD. Both machines are equipped with the new UNILOG B8 control system running under Windows® 10 IoT which, compared to its predecessor version, offers numerous additional functions and even greater convenience in operation.
On a 2-component machine from the MicroPower Series, specially designed for injection molding micro parts, a MicroPower 15/10H/10H, a sensor component for a medical measuring instrument will be produced with a 4-cavity mold supplied by Wittner, Austria. The razor-thin, spherical membrane injection-molded from TPE serves to measure a specific pressure inside the measuring device. The parts will be processed in a clean-room environment which is created by using a laminar flow box inside the machine. They will be removed by a W8VS4 SCARA robot from WITTMANN specially designed for this machine, inspected by a camera system integrated in the machine and then deposited on a conveyor belt.
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MicroPower COMBIMOULD |
The second machine on display will be a SmartPower. The machines from the SmartPower series are equipped with a highly efficient servo-hydraulic drive as standard and use the available deceleration energy via KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) for barrel heating. This ensures an optimal level of energy efficiency. On a SmartPower 180/750, a diffusion lens will be manufactured from PC with a single-cavity lens supplied by SAFEPLAST GmbH, Austria. The parts will be removed and deposited by a locally produced WITTMANN robot.
Furthermore, the WITTMANN group will demonstrate at the Chinaplas the integration of robots and peripherals into the UNILOG B8 control system with the help of an interactive display panel. This display panel will give visitors the opportunity to test directly on site the advantages of the WITTMANN solution to meet the challenges of Industry 4.0, known as WITTMANN 4.0.
WITTMANN automation and peripheral equipment
In addition to the robots and peripheral appliances integrated in the injection molding machines, WITTMANN BATTENFELD will present a wide range of robots and peripherals at the Chinaplas as stand-alone solutions. The products on display will come from the production plant in Kunshan.
In the area of automation, robots for smaller-sized injection molding machines will be showcased, such as the models W808, W818TS and a PRIMUS 16S. Short removal times are extremely relevant, in particular for applications in the clamping force range of up to 300 t. For these applications, the robots mentioned above qualify primarily by small moving loads and high dynamism. To achieve this, the robots are equipped with a ribbed aluminum profile and belt drive in the vertical axis. WITTMANN is presenting this technology as a “single-axis” on the W808 and PRIMUS 16, and in telescopic form on the W818TS robot.
Moreover, the W828 und W838T – also 100 % locally manufactured – will be on show. These models feature load capacities of 12 kg and 15 kg respectively. To a certain extent, the W838T stands out from the rest, since it is the first Asian appliance to take up the design language of the European WITTMANN pro series. In this way, the manufacturers have managed to increase the robot’s rigidity and offer their customers a compact, high-performance appliance for parts removal. This is also reflected in the pneumatic, pivoting C axis, which is built in as standard and has twice the torque of the W828 robot.
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Powerful G-Max 33 beside-the-press granulator |
In the area of temperature controllers, three models of the entry-level priced TEMPRO basic C series will be exhibited, namely a TEMPRO basic C90, a TEMPRO basic C140 and a TEMPRO basic C120M. The first two are indirectly cooled, single-circuit temperature controllers with top temperature limits of 90 and 140°C respectively, and a standard heating capacity of 9 kW. The TEMPRO basic C120M is an appliance with direct cooling and extremely compact dimensions. It features a heating performance of up to 18 kW. Also on display will be a single-circuit and a dual-circuit model of the powerful TEMPRO plus D series, that is a TEMPRO plus D180 and a TEMPRO plus D160. The TEMPRO plus D appliances can be operated easily and intuitively via a touch display. Numerous options make it possible to configure these appliances for virtually all existing applications in plastics processing.
The WITTMANN flow controller will also be present at the Chinaplas. The new FLOWCON plus will be shown, now also available as a stand-alone model, a compact, fully automatic medium distributor, which can be placed close to the mold and enables parallel distribution of the entire flow volume to the individual temperature control channels. In this way, the total pressure loss can be reduced, and it is possible to regulate and monitor the flow quantity or return flow temperature for every individual temperature control circuit. The new FLOWCON master box, which comes with the appliance, provides the stand-alone model with a graphic operating system. It also houses the power connection.
In addition, WITTMANN will showcase two ATON segmented wheel dryers at the Chinaplas. The segmented wheel of this dryer model consists of numerous chambers containing a loose fill of desiccant balls. In combination with the innovative 3-save process, this enables optimal energy utilization as well as a continuous drying process with a consistent low dew point. An ATON with an integrated dry air system will be shown, which is specially recommended for transparent or optical parts. After drying, the material does not come into contact again with the ambient air and moisture, which prevents inclusions in the end product.
WITTMANN’s range of granulators will be shown at the Chinaplas as well. The exhibits will include the MAS 2A grinder, the screenless beside-the-press granulator models Minor 2 and Junior 2 Compact, and two beside-the-press granulators from the G-Max series, a G-Max 12 and the powerful G-Max 33. The granulators from the G-Max series are designed for inline recycling of sprue from injection molding machines with clamping forces of up to 4,000 kN. They stand out by their high degree of efficiency and compact dimensions, and are equipped with a sound-insulated cutting chamber, to minimize the noise level.
In the area of materials handling, WITTMANN will demonstrate its expertise with the stand-alone loaders FEEDMAX S 3-net as well as central separators from the FEEDMAX B series. Both types of material loaders offer maintenance-friendliness, process reliability and easy operation.
The blenders presented by the company will be a GRAVIMAX G34 gravimetric blender with a throughput of up to 200 kg/h and a DOSIMAX volumetric blender. The GRAVIMAX comes with wear-resistant, high-precision stainless steel valves. Its metering accuracy is ensured by RTLS technology (real-time weighing). Two weighing cells are active throughout the entire metering cycle, which measure precisely down to the gram and thus ensure a consistently high parts quality for every shot.
About WITTMANN Group
The WITTMANN Group is a worldwide leader in the manufacturing of injection molding machines, robots and peripheral equipment for the plastics industry. Headquartered in Vienna/Austria, the WITTMANN Group consists of two main divisions, WITTMANN BATTENFELD and WITTMANN, which operate 8 production facilities in 5 countries, including more than 33 direct subsidiary offices located in all major plastics markets around the world.
WITTMANN BATTENFELD focuses on independent market growth in the manufacturing of state-of-the art injection molding machines and process technology, providing a modern and comprehensive range of machinery in a modular design that meets the actual and future requirements of the plastic injection molding market.
WITTMANN’s product range includes robots and automation systems, material handling systems, dryers, gravimetric and volumetric blenders, granulators, mold temperature controllers and chillers. With this comprehensive range of peripheral equipment, WITTMANN can provide plastics processors with solutions that cover all production requirements, ranging from autonomous work cells to integrated plant-wide systems.
The syndication of the WITTMANN Group has led to connectivity between all product lines, providing the advantage plastics processors have been looking for in terms of a seamless integration of injection molding machines, automation and auxiliary equipment – all occurring at a progressive rate.
In China, the WITTMANN group is present with its own production facility in Kunshan and its sales and service subsidiary, WITTMANN BATTENFELD (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., also based in Kunshan, as well as additional offices in Shenzen, Tianjin, Chengdu and Changchun.
