PLAST 2023: Arburg to demo processing of solid silicon with new injection molding machine

According to Arburg, its expectations in Italy for the second half of the year are based on an increase in industrial production and rising investment. The company is responding to buyers' desire to save energy and the country's increased need for sustainability with its presence at PLAST 2023 in Milan.

From 5 to 8 September, Arburg will show the full range of technologies and also present an interesting cooperation with Sverital in the field of silicone processing. It is meeting changing needs in Italy with future-oriented exhibits and has traditionally valued Plast as the key local trade fair for the plastics industry.

"The market is moving towards electric machines and drives mainly for reasons of precision, energy efficiency and sustainability," said Raffaele Abbruzzetti, Managing Director of Arburg Italy. 

The company is launching a new generation of injection molding machines with the Allrounder 470 H, which not only combines an electric clamping unit and hydraulic injection unit, but significantly reduces acquisition and operating costs as well as the carbon footprint. The machine presented in Milan will have a special configuration and will produce silicone parts from solid silicone for the first time.

An ACH Turnmix feeder will be used as a peripheral device, while a linear robotic system Multilift Select 8 is depositing the parts on the conveyor belt.

Arburg will launch a new generation of machines with the Allrounder 470 H milestone machine.

Complex: Allrounder 570 A produces flip-top closures

A typical packaging application is shown with an electric Allrounder 570 A Comfort producing from PP from Exxon Mobil flip-top closures for bottles in the beauty care sector. Italian mold manufacturer Giurgola Stampi is responsible for the complex mold.

The Gestica control system has various assistance functions such as “aXw Control CycleAssist”,” aXw Control FillAssist”. The process can be conveniently managed via OPC UA interfaces to hot runners and the cooling system.

Energy efficient: Injection compression molding instead of thermoforming

The electric Allrounder 720 A Ultimate, an energy-efficient and sustainable alternative to thermoforming, will be celebrating its Italian premiere at the show. The machine, complete with size 1300 injection unit, will be using injection compression molding to produce environmentally friendly, thin-walled IML cups made from PP mono-material. A 4-cavity mold from Brink will be used to demonstrate the ICM process.

For process monitoring, the mold is fitted with four compression path sensors. The plastic is biomass-balanced and ISCC-certified. Integrated into the production cell is a side-entry robot from Brink that inserts the labels, removes the finished cups and stacks them on a conveyor belt.

Cost efficient: Allrounder More produces 2C-parts

An innovative high-end solution shows how the use of a second mold and thus an additional assembly line can be eliminated: In a cycle time of around ten seconds, an Allrounder More 1600 produces four ready-to-use Luer connectors, and does so in a very confined space.

The part weight of the PP component is 0.2 grams, while the soft TPE component weighs as little as 0.05 grams. The material was made from renewable or chemically recycled feedstock (ISCC Mass Balance). The 4+4-cavity mold features RotaricE2 technology from Braunform.