Smart Molding International 4-2021

machinery 19 www.smart-molding.com tion moulding machines and systems solutions even more closely to spe - cific applications, thereby maximising overall efficiency. The ENGEL e-speed injection moulding machines with hy - brid injection unit and electric clamp - ing unit combine very short cycle times with maximum precision and very high injection speeds of up to 1,200 mm per second; they operate with extreme en - ergy efficiency. An innovative energy recovery system absorbs braking en - ergy from the platen movements and returns the stored energy to the mo - tor – for example, to accelerate the mould mounting platens again. The toggle lever is encapsulated to ensure particularly low oil consump - tion and maximum cleanliness. In this way, the machines of the e-speed se - ries meet the strict requirements of the food industry as standard. Intelligent labelling technology The labels of MCC Verstraete, which were used for the production of the margarine tubs at Fakuma, were in - teractive. These labels are based on technology by Digimarc and, much like a QR code, Digimarc codes can be scanned with any smartphone camera. The main advantage of these is that they extend invisibly over the entire label surface. The camera can scan any point. Moreover, the codes do not in - terfere with the packaging design. From production through retail and recycling, the interactive labels offer added value. Consumers can discover the details of the ingredients and man - ufacture for both the product and the packaging while shopping. And when the packaging has reached the end of its useful life, the label provides infor - mation on the recycling process. Where the containers and labels are made of the same mate - rial, interactive IML packaging becomes fully recyclable. From margarine tubs to tapered closures The margarine tubs produced at the Fakuma event were made of poly - propylene, as were the labels. At the end of its service life, the monomaterial packaging can be shredded as is the case for production waste from the manu - facturing process; the raw material thereby obtained is used in the pro - cessing of new products. At its stand, ENGEL was demonstrating these pos - sibilities by processing waste label offcuts in the form of regrind. An ENGEL victory 460/80 was used to produce Pöppelmann tapered closures from an 8-cavity mould. Like ENGEL, Germany-based Pöppelmann is pio - neering the establishment of a circu - lar economy for the plastics industry. Protective elements in Pöppelmann’s KAPSTO product range are used in the logistical and construction fields, among others. The plastic in these products is 100% recycled material. Recycling, thin-wall technology, en - ergy efficiency and transparency of information are critical to the success of any circular economy – and ENGEL’s stand at the trade fair was underlining this point. ENGEL www.engelglobal.com The food containers have a wall thickness of 0.4 mm including the label. At the trade fair, an e-speed 420/90 injection moulding machine with integrated IML was used to produce ready-to-use margarine tubs by means of a fully automated injection compression process At the ENGEL stand, Pöppelmann tapered closures were produced from waste label offcuts. GPN 600 closures from KAPSTO’s standard range provide protection in various logistical applications (All pictures: ENGEL)