May 17 2008
Arburg will impressively demonstrate the high performance of its injection moulding machines and its expertise in the field of plastic/metal combinations at the very first Proform trade fair, to be held in Dortmund from 10 to 13 June 2008. At Stand No. 4030 in Hall H4, a complex production cell built around an Allrounder 370 S will be presented, which not encapsulates metal components in plastic, but also fully assembles the finished part.
The Allrounder 370 S integrated in a production cell at the Proform.
Thanks to their modular design, the Allrounder machines can be equipped according to requirements and used in a flexible manner. Since the construction of the first Arburg injection moulding machine for the encapsulation of inserts in 1956, this segment has been a field of applications for the Allrounders.
Allrounders enable various concepts
In addition to insertion, the metal parts for encapsulation can also be fed to the Arburg machines in strips. There are several concepts for this purpose: In the reel-to-reel versions, the metal strips are fed into the injection moulding machine via a reel, the plastic component is injected, and the strip is then reeled up again. In the second version, the strip is provided in the same manner, but the metal components are cut inside the injection moulding machine and the individual finished parts are removed via a robotic system or transported away as bulk goods. In a further version, the metal parts can be cut from the strip via a stamping/bending unit prior to encapsulation and then fed to the injection moulding machine by means of a robotic system which subsequently removes the encapsulated stamped parts.
Depending on the specific application, horizontally or vertically operating Allrounders are used, which can be fed both manually or automatically, meaning that they can be integrated into complete production lines.
Arburg supplies a comprehensive range of vertical machines, which extends from Allrounders with swivelling clamping units and special vertical machines with constant-height clamp units through to the Allrounder V machines with free-space system or the Allrounder T rotary-table machines.
Fully automated encapsulation of inserts
At the Proform, Arburg will demonstrate the encapsulation of inserts on a horizontal Allrounder 370 S with a clamping force of 600 kN and a size 170 injection unit. This injection moulding machine is integrated in a complex production cell designed and realised by the Arburg Project Department. The Allrounder operates with the Arburg Multilift V robotic system, which enters vertically into the mould and is fully integrated into the Selogica machine control system. A toy buggy made from PP will be produced, the metal axles of which are encapsulated in plastic. In this application, the complex gripper of the robotic system performs insertion of the metal axles, removal of the sprue and of the individual components as well as their subsequent assembly into the finished toy car.
The production process in detail
The metal axles are provided in bulk then separated via a vibrating spiral conveyor. The gripper picks up two axles at a time and places these into the mould following removal of the finished moulded parts. Two wheels are injected onto each of the metal axles in a cycle time of 30 seconds during a single production step, while the chassis and roof are produced simultaneously. The gripper then removes the sprue and the four individual parts of the buggy. After the sprue has been discarded, the robotic system moves to the assembly table, where the toy car is assembled. The assembly procedure is optically monitored via a camera system before the finished buggy is made available via a chute.
Flexible products and comprehensive competence
With this complex system, Arburg will do more than simply present an impressive example of the encapsulation of inserts at the Proform. The company will also demonstrate the flexibility of its machines and robotic systems, as well as the competency of its project department, which designs, implements and commissions customer-specific systems. Moreover, the Arburg experts will be on hand to personally answer any questions the trade visitors may have.
Posted May 16th,2008