Smart Molding International 2-2023

19 www.smart-molding.com machinery certified by the WHO which was specially developed for this purpose. With this appliance, MESTO is one of the mere handful of manufacturers worldwide which cater to this segment. The aspect of sustainability is also given a high priority at MESTO. For instance, recycled material is used for producing non-pressurized parts. A photovoltaic system is currently being installed, and the waste heat from the injection molding machines is used for heating. Élise Sellmayr, Manager of Production Technology and Process Optimization at MESTO, points out that a significant amount of energy savings has also been achieved by replacing old injection molding machines with new ones. Élise Sellmayr explains: “The decision to replace the first old machine models was made in order to improve quality standards and reliability. After a substantial reduction of electricity consumption was measured with the new equipment, this aspect was another decisive motive for replacingmore oldmachines. In this way, electricity consumption has been reduced by 30% since 2017 by exchanging eight of a total of 16 existing machines for new ones fromWITTMANN BATTENFELD.” Currently, a total of 15 injection molding machines are operating at MESTO, ranging from 250 to 5,000 kN in clamping force, 11 of which have come from WITTMANN BATTENFELD. The machines delivered since 2017 are models from the servo-hydraulic SmartPower series with clamping forces from 600 to 3,500 kN, as well as one MacroPower with 5,000 kN clamping force. The machines from the SmartPower series stand out by their high level of stability, energy efficiency and compactness. Most of the machines come equipped with linear robots from WITTMANN. One SmartPower 350 is designed as an Insider cell, whichmeans that the W831 robot fromWITTMANN, a conveyor belt and the protective housing are all integrated in the production cell – a solution greatly appreciated at MESTO due to the amount of space saved by the system’s compactness, and one which will also be considered for the acquisition of future production cells. On the most recently delivered SmartPower 350, an automation system designed by WITTMANN BATTENFELD Germany based i n N u r emb e r g h a s b e e n implemented, which includes a separation and feeding device for insert parts and a stacking unit. An additional SmartPower 180 equipped with a robot and automation will be delivered in late summer this year. The object of this project is to feed various metal inserts to the machine for overmolding. In addition to the machines with automation, MESTO has also ordered a printing station for plastic parts from WITTMANN BATTENFELD Germany. Apart from their high energy efficiency, the injection molding ma ch i ne s a re app rec i a t ed at MESTO primarily for their compactness and reliability. The possibility to obtain machines, automation and auxiliaries all from a single source from WITTMANN is also becoming more and more important for MESTO. Johannes Stuber, Production Manager at MESTO, particularly appreciates the good cooperation right from the concept planning stage. Johannes Stuber comments: “Wh a t g i v e s W I T TMANN BATTENFELD a competitive edge is above all its excellent service. In combination with its energy- efficient, compact, complete solutions, this is a decisive factor for us in the joint implementation of any projects.” WITTMANN Group www.wittmann-group.com @ www.fakuma-messe.de Ä #fakuma2023 ü?äög - Spritzgießtechnik - Thermo- und Umformtechnik - Extrusionstechnik - Additiv-Manufacturing / 3D-Drucktechnik - Werkzeuge, Werkstoffe, Prozesstechnik und Dienstleistungen 28. Fakuma Internationale Fachmesse für Kunststoffverarbeitung D 17.–21. Okt. 2023 a Friedrichshafen Veranstalter : S P. E. SCHALL GmbH& Co. KG T +49(0)70259206-0 fakuma@schall-messen.de