Smart Molding International 2-2020

medical application 21 www.smart-molding.com T he quality of pipette tips largely depends on the precision of the injection process. At the same time, the long cores in the mould re - quire absolutely precise movements of the mould mounting platens during opening and closing. All-electric injec - tion moulding machines are therefore the preferred solution in this application segment, where cost-effectiveness is a decisive factor in choosing amachine. In the formof the e-mac, ENGEL has an all- electric injection moulding machine in its portfolio that combines high output and energy efficiency with an extreme - ly compact machine design, ensuring the lowest possible unit costs even in a clean-room environment. ENGEL has now reduced the footprint of the e-mac machines even further. Thanks to an optimised toggle lever geometry, the e-mac 265/180 presented for mar - ket launch is 450 mm shorter than the previous 180-ton version, without re - ducing the opening stroke. Among the all-electric machines on themarket, the e-mac machines of the new gener-ation are the most compact worldwide in their respective performance segment across the entire series. All movements of the ENGEL e-mac – including the nozzle movement and ejection – are performed by servo-elec - tric drives. This means that themachine achieves very high overall efficiency. If required, a servo-hydraulic unit can be integrated into themachine framewith- out requiring additional space. The ENGEL e-mac injection unit was developed from scratch with a focus on even better dynamics. It is available in three performance classes. As a result, the machine can be precisely adapted to requirements in order to achieve the highest overall efficiency for the widest variety of applications. Fully automated on the smallest footprint The e-mac 180 is demonstrating the performance of the next generation machine with the production of pipette tips made of polypropylene in a 64-cav - ity precision mould by Tanner (Feuer - thalen, Switzerland). The cycle time is six seconds, which is exactly the range in which the e-mac machines fully play to their strengths. For precision applica - tions with cycle times of more than four seconds, the e-mac is often the most economical solution in the field of all- electric injection moulding machines. Apart from medical technology, the machine is deployed in the fields of packaging, teletronics and technical moulding. The automation makes an addi - tional contribution to the very small footprint of the production cell on show. An ENGEL viper 20 lin - ear robot removes the 64 pipette tips from the mould and transfers them to the integrated compact cell for cavity-sorted depositing. ENGEL's new automation cell can be custom designed. It houses all auto - mation components and downstream process units, such as quality control, a tray server or box changer, and is significantly narrower than conven - tional safety guarding. Its standardised build-up allows for speedy mould set- up of the production unit in case of a product change. ENGEL www.engelglobal.com In October 2020, ENGEL is presenting the next generation of its all-electric e-mac injection moulding machine series in a challenging application for the manufacture of pipette tips. Offering maximum flexibility for individual customer requirements, the e-mac is now even more compact. Compact, flexible, cost-effective The now even more compact, all-electric ENGEL e-mac machines are exclusively equipped with particularly powerful servo-motors for optimum overall efficiency. For the market launch of the next generation machine, an e-mac 265/180 is producing pipette tips. Pictures: ENGEL