A groundbreaking ENGEL process to be unveiled at Plastec West 2017

Developed conjointly with the company’s system partners, Hack and Hekuma, the new single-component technology allows for injection molding of up to 500 bristles.

February 7-9, 2017 in Anaheim, California, at the Plastec West 2017 trade fair (booth 3715) ENGEL North America will display a particularly innovative three-component processing technology. Developed conjointly with the company’s system partners, Hack and Hekuma, the new technology breaks the ground for precision injection molding of delicate items in a single and fully automated process. The injection molding machine on show will an all-electric ENGEL e-motion 170/110 T US in the cleanroom version. Show visitors will see the first-of-its-kind manufacture process applied to production of interdental brushes with up to five hundred bristles.  

Unified item design in a highly integrated process

A soon-to-be-marketed interdental brush baptized “scrub!” is developed by the German company pheneo (Bremen). The innovative process for the manufacture of these brushes was unveiled at K 2016 show in Düsseldorf at the booth of its developer, ENGEL. Traditionally, interdental brushes included no less than three separate components, manufactured separately, namely grip, wire mesh, and filaments. However, the brand new technology by ENGEL, Hekuma and Hack allows for molding brushes as single items consisting of a grip and a core with up to five hundred bristles.

An all-electric ENGEL e-motion 170/110 T US in the cleanroom version is fitted with several units from ENGEL iQ range (inject 4.0 program) in order to keep top process repeatability, avoid rejects completely and guarantee competitive unit costs.

For this purpose, the ENGEL e-motion 170/100 T machine is supplemented by an 8-cavity precision mold boasting high performance and utmost thoroughness in molding brush bristles. The mold supplier is the German manufacturer Hack Formenbau from Kirchheim unter Teck. Another significant role in the process is played by the compound itself, which ensures both grip and core stability and bristle softness.

The process is automated by Hekuma from Eching (Germany) who supplies a modular and highly integrated HEKUflex cell. The finished items are thus packed by 16 in retail bags automatically with a cycle time of only four seconds per bag right after injection molding. One in every 50 shots is directed for a 360° inspection to the camera unit: the part is held in front of it and rotated by the robot. Five images per product are recorded and analyzed.

Top-level process integration and the single-component design allow for an efficiency increase over the traditional production methods and products used.

Repeatability increase with ENGEL inject 4.0

Thanks to the advanced process integration and single-component part design, finished brushes are automatically packed by 16 in retail bags with a cycle time of only 4 s.

Eight cavities with up to five hundred bristles each have to be reliably filled with shots of under 2 g weight, which is highly demanding. High performance must be provided not only by the precision mold but also by the machine itself. Thanks to its all-electric drive, ENGEL e-motion injection molding machine provides the best precision for any movement. Then, ENGEL iQ products allow for compensating variations in material properties and ambient conditions.

iQ weight control performs pressure profile analysis at screw positions at each shot, adjusting injection profile and point of switchover to changing conditions. In parallel, iQ clamp control adjusts clamping force to the results of mold breathing analysis, and the latest addition to iQ product range, iQ flow control, adjusts the pump in the temperature control module to real-time requirements. Coupled with ENGEL e-flomo, the electronic water manifold system, iQ flow control maintains temperature distribution in the mold constant, while increasing power efficiency. The decentralized smart systems ensure the process consistency stays at the maximum level, rejects are prevented, and unit costs stay competitive.