Smart Molding International 1-2023

26 smart_molding international 1/2023 machinery ENGEL supplied two 8,000-tonne injection molding machines to North America ENGEL has set a new record with two injection molding machines delivered to the USA. With a clamping force of 8,000 tons and two 85,000 cm³ injection units each, they are the largest machines ever built at the St. Valentin plant in Austria. The two ENGEL duo 130000/130000H/8200 combi US machines were placed at Infiltrator Water Technologies in Winchester, Kentucky. A ustrian injection molding machine manufacturer ENGEL has set a new record with two injection molding machines delivered to the USA. With a clamping force of 8,000 tons each, they are the largest machines ever built at the St. Valentin plant in Austria. The two ENGEL duo 130000/130000H/8200 combi US machines were placed at Infiltrator Water Technolo- gies (IWT) in Winchester, Kentucky. The subsidiary of Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) produces water man- agement products there. The two duo injection molding machines each have two 85,000 cm³ injection units which allow for injecting a total shot weight of 270 lbs (122 kg). The giant machines have a total length of 96 feet (29.3 meters) and a width of 37 feet (6.4 meters). This can be considered a relatively small footprint compared to the clamping force and shot size. This is where the two-platen design of ENGEL large-scale machines shows its strength. ENGEL is increasingly receiving requests for custom solutions in the extremely high clamping force range. Clamping forces of 10,000 tons and more are possible. Machines of this size can process individual shot weights of several 100 kilograms of material and achieve material throughputs of two tonnes per hour. Infiltrator Water Technologies’ molding campus in Winchester, KY., has seen more than $100 million in expansions in recent years (picture: Infiltrator)