Smart Molding International 3-2022

27 machinery www.smart-molding.com Standard and micro liquid silicone processing Silicone processing is one of WITTMANN BATTENFELD’s core com- petencies and will be demonstrated at this year’s K trade fair on two ex- hibits. With a servo-hydraulic SmartPower 120/350 LIM, four different closing caps for beverage cans and bottles will be produced from liquid silicone in a single injection-molding process, using a 4-cav- ity mold from Nexus, Austria. The open design of the SmartPower’s injection unit enables easy integration of the LSR metering unit. Die Nexus X200metering unit comes with a new Servomix dosing system and is connected with the ma- chine’s B8 control system via Euromap 82.3 OPC-UA integration. In the mold, latest cold-runner technology with FLOWSET needle shut-off regulation is used. The parts are removed by a WITTMANNW918 robot and packaged by a flow wrapping machine. The second LSR application to be presented at the K is production of a membrane for a high-quality micro loudspeaker made of thermoplastics and liquid silicone, manufactured on a MicroPower15/10H/10H Combimould with a single-cavity mold supplied by Starlim Spritzguss GmbH, Austria. The choice of a single-cavity mold serves to demonstrate the high precision of the mold in combination with the machine, which is specially designed for the production of micro parts. It is often necessary to build costly multi- cavity molds already at the prototyping stage for the sole purpose of reaching the necessary minimum throughput of the machine. The MicroPower is equipped with a 2-step screw-and- plunger thermoplastic aggregate and a 2-step screw-and-plunger LSR aggre- gate. The LSR metering pump supplied by EMT Dosiertechnik, Germany, is a 1-liter cartridge system developed for extremely small metering volumes. Smooth, continuous emptying of the cartridges ensures highest precision together with consistent quality. An- other advantage is the blending sec- tion reduced to a minimum, with the special benefit of rapid cleaning and minimal material loss with every ma- terial changeover. Saving resources with light-weight technology In addition to its exhibits of ma- chinery and equipment, WITTMANN BATTENFELD will also present its latest developments in Airmould internal gas pressure technology. The items to be showcased are the new Airmould 4.0 pressure control module and the new manual operating unit for this technol- ogy. At an Airmould / Cellmould Center, expert engineers from the company will be on site to advise visitors con- cerning the use of Airmould technology and Cellmould structured foam tech- nology. Both of these technologies en- able significant reductions of material input in the production of plastic parts, with a simultaneous positive effect on part weights and production costs. IMD / IML technology for decorated and functionalized surfaces At its booth in hall 12, WITTMANN will present a manufacturing line to make decorated and functionalized surfaces. This is a joint project of the companies WITTMANN BATTENFELD, LEONHARD KURZ, a producer of functional films and film feeding equipment, and SYNTECH PLASTICS, a supplier of IMD technology. The equipment is laid out flexibly to ac- commodate IMD with a feeding unit, IMD with film pre-heating, IMD Vario with pre-heating and thermoforming, as well as insert molding. It includes a SmartPower 300 machine, a W846 robot with a fixed demolding axis and specially developed gripper technol- ogy, together with WITTMANN aux- iliary components, IMD components from KURZ, and hardening and clean- ing technology supplied by Baier. The SmartPower 300 is specially equipped with the EXPERT-Coining package, which permits parallel mold move- ments during the injection process. On this line a close-to-series produc- tion, fully functional conceptual com- ponent for an automotive headliner will be manufactured. WITTMANN Group www.wittmann-group.com/en_us MicroPower15 (all pictures: WITTMANN Group)