- New: Euromap size 5 micro-injection unit
- Micro components: system solution built around electric Allrounder 270 A
- Automation: coordinated robotic system reliably removes sprue from micro components
Arburg will present a special micro production cell at SamuExpo 2024. The centrepiece will be an electric Allrounder 270 A equipped with the new Euromap size 5 micro-injection unit. Together with a linear Multilift H 3+1 robotic system, this forms a flexible system solution for the reproducible production of micro components.
Micro counter wheels weighing only 0.004 grams will be produced during SamuExpo 2024. A clean air module with ionisation provides a constant, controlled production environment, effectively preventing adhesion of the micro components in the operating area.
New Euromap size 5 micro-injection unit
The new micro-injection unit has been specially developed by Arburg to achieve precise regulation of short strokes and high filling dynamics. Like the still available flexible micro injection module, it combines either an 18 or 15 mm screw for melting the material with an 8 mm injection screw. This ensures trouble-free processing of normal granulate sizes and therefore all standard materials.
The servo-electrically driven plasticising section, which is installed at 45 degrees to the horizontal injection unit, ensures optimal preparation of the standard granulates. In terms of flight depths, the short 15 or 18 millimetre plasticising screw is similar in design to a conventional three-zone screw. The molten material is then conveyed to the injection unit.
The injection screw used is purely a conveyor screw. It has a diameter of eight millimetres, is fitted with a non-return valve and operates according to the screw-piston principle. This permits extremely small shot weights to be achieved with great precision and with the necessary short strokes. Moreover, the coordinated interaction between the plasticising section and injection screw ensures excellent, gentle processing of the plastic. The melt is continuously fed forwards from the material feed to the tip of the injection screw. This ensures full compliance with the first-in, first-out principle. A homogeneously prepared, newly dosed melt is always available for every shot.
Demanding requirements
The demands placed on micro injection moulding are high. Precision manufacture of items with shot weights of just a few milligrams, which corresponds to the weight of a single grain of granulate. Moreover, the prepared melt must be perfectly homogeneous, both thermally and mechanically. It must be possible to precisely regulate the cylinder temperature and the plasticising process must be easily reproducible. However, it is also important that the entire range of “normal” plastics can be used.
Practical example – micro counter wheel
At the booth nr 18 – Hall 1, the visitors could see a practical demonstration of how four micro counter wheels can be produced in a cycle time of 12 seconds. The shot weight amounts to 0.23 grams. A single micro component weighs just 0.004 grams, so that nine wheels weigh as much as a single grain of the PBT material. The sprue is removed from the moulded parts in the three-platen mould.
The main arm of the compact Multilift H 3+1 removes the delicate precision small parts and gently sets them down separately according to cavity, while the auxiliary arm removes the sprue. The loading capacities are 3 kg for the main arm and 1 kg for the auxiliary arm. The main arm operates servo electrically, while the rotary axis, which can be pivoted by 90°, is driven pneumatically. This enables simple pick-and-place operations to be performed. The auxiliary arm also operates servo-electrically, for example in order to remove the sprues in the practical example on show.
Visit Arburg at SamuExpo booth ARBURG nr. 18 – Hall 1.
German machine manufacturer Arburg is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of injection moulding machines with clamping forces between 125 and 5,000 kN. This is complemented by robotic systems, customer- and sector-specific turnkey solutions and further peripherals. An innovative additive manufacturing system was added to the plastic processing range in 2013.
The company places the topic of production efficiency at the centre of all its activities, taking into account the entire value-added chain. The objective is to enable the Arburg customers to manufacture their plastic products, whether one-off parts or high-volume production, in optimal quality and at minimum unit costs – e.g. for the automotive and packaging industries, communication and entertainment electronics, medical technology, or the white goods sector.
An international sales and service network guarantees first-class, local customer support. Arburg is represented by its own organisations at 32 locations in 24 countries and by trading partners in more than 50 countries. The machines are produced exclusively at the parent factory in Lossburg, Germany. From a total of around 2,400 employees, around 2,000 work in Germany. About 400 further employees work in Arburg’s organisations around the world. In 2012, Arburg became one of the first companies to gain triple certification: to ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 14001 (Environment) and ISO 50001 (Energy).
Further information about Arburg can be found at www.arburg.com.
