Smart Molding International 2-2025

33 www.smart-molding.com molds and tooling As one of the smallest and most compact drives currently on the market, it allows particularly narrow nest spacings from 44 mm. The effective stroke is 4 mm, and the system achieves an accuracy of 0.09° per revolution, so reducing the error range to ± 0.05% or ± 0.002 mm. Compared to pneumatic systems, this enables significantly faster and more precisely controllable needle movement and positioning and minimizes shot-to- shot deviations. In addition, active needle control assists with uniform cavity filling, even if the cold runner is not perfectly balanced, andwith cascading the injection phase by delaying needle opening or extending injection. One of the general advantages of the servoelectric drive is real-time control of needle position, including permanent position monitoring. The anti-twist feature of the needles means that the geometries of the needle tips can be adapted to the contour of the cavity, so minimizing marks at the injection point. Needle opening can be adjusted to an accuracy of 0.002 mm. Needle opening and closing times are of the order of hundredths of a second, and the needle movements at different injection points can be perfectly balanced. Nearly ready for showtime At its current stage of development, the control software used for SMARTshot I enables precise measurement of cold runner signals and individual and dynamic adaptation of needle stroke to each cavity’s specific requirements. In tests with a 16-cavity mold, the cold runner could be fully automatically balanced within 20 shots to such an extent the components produced only exhibited minimal weight fluctuations of 1.5%. In addition, a reduction in process startup times of around 90% compared to manual adjustment by an operator would seem to be realistic. The forthcoming increase in CPU capacity will enable further improvements in this respect. As development manager Thorsten Häuser explained, “Our aim with SMARTshot I is to significantly automate setup of the LSR injectionmolding process andmake itmoreuser-friendly.We are also taking the first step toward introducing artificial intelligence, firstly into the mold and later into LSR processing as a whole. This will be a considerable benefit to users by saving personnel time and financial expenditure, not only on setup and startup of new production runs but also in terms of ongoing error prevention. In future, AI will also assist with further automating and boosting the efficiency of LSR injection molding processes and will ensure we’re always pushing the envelope despite any potential stumbling blocks.” About ELMET As an internationally active, high-end full system& service supplier specializing in the processing and dosing of liquid silicone, ELMET ranks as one of the absolute experts in this field. ELMET is a global player in the production of high- quality silicone and multi-component moldings. The company has been finding the best and most individual solutions for its customers for more than 25 years. ELMET was founded in 1996 by Kurt Manigatter, Christian Reslhuber, Karl Adlesgruber and Paul Fattinger. Within a short time, the innovative team turned the company into an internationally successful machine and moldmaker with a focus on the development and production of high-quality equipment for the fully automated production of silicone parts. Just a few months later, ELMET applied for its first significant patent. In 1998, the company already had 16 employees before moving to its new home in Oftering in 2000. With the market launch of the ELMET dosing system with patented control system, the final breakthrough to becoming a global player in LSR dosing technology was achieved in 2003. Today, ELMET has around 200 employees at locations in Austria, the USA, Taiwan and Japan. 95 percent of all our products are exported to customers on every continent. We are continuing to pursue this successful path. With further innovations, sustainable growth and new products. ELMET www.elmet.com All pictures: ELMET