Smart Molding International 3-2022

32 molding technologies smart_molding international 3/2022 T ogether with its project partners, Upper Austrian company Elmet has developed an innovative pro- duction cell. The systemmanufactures four different covers for beverage and food cans, which have been dubbed as "SMARTcaps". SMARTcap is a collabor- ative project by Elmet, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, Shin-Etsu, and Mettler Toledo. In the form of Elmet's SMARTshot E and SMARTmix TOP 7000 Pro systems, two of the company's technological flagships are used in the production cell. The system will be presented for the first time at K 2022 at the exhibition booth of Elmet's partner Sumitomo. The leading business plat- form for the plastics and rubber in- dustry takes place in Düsseldorf from October 19 to 26, 2022. In the 26 years since it was founded, Elmet has become a global player in the development and production of high-quality equipment for manufac- turing silicone parts. Partners from all over the world utilize the know-how from Upper Austria for developing in- novative systems. Most recently, Elmet has collaborated with three project partners to develop a production cell that manufactures four different lids for beverage and food cans. The accu- racy of the injection process is ensured and documented by a weighing cell. A laser marks the finished SMARTcaps to ensure optimal traceability. Leading Elmet technology twice over Lids for food&beveragecansareman- ufactured by an Elmet injection mold, featuring an all-electric SMARTshot E valve-gate cold-runner system. Its technological high-end counterpart in material provision is the Elmet SMARTmix Top 7000 Pro dosing sys- tem, responsible for precise and reli- able dosing of material to the Elmet injection mold. A Sumitomo linear handling device removes the parts from the mold and transfers them to the weighing cell made by Mettler Toledo. Every single part is weighed there. The result is stored in a data- base and also displayed graphically to demonstrate the process accuracy of the system. After the weighing pro- cess, the silicone parts are marked by laser to ensure highest possible traceability. After lasering, the parts are placed on a conveyor belt. SMARTcap: Clear the stage for an innovative production cell for food & beverage can lids At K 2022 in Düsseldorf, Elmet is presenting a production cell that combines many of the company's technological flagships All pictures: Elmet