| |
By Bill Bregar
SENIOR STAFF REPORTER
Published: August 28, 2013 3:33 pm ET
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery GmbH will present two new technologies for injection molding at K 2013 — activeColourChange, a pigment dosing system for very fast color changes, and the SL plastification system, which works without a compression zone.
With activeColourChange, the liquid pigment is dosed, in a closed system, directly into the melt-filled metering zone of the plastification unit. The upstream zones — the feed zone and compression zone, remain completely free of pigment.. That means a shorter length of the screw must be rinsed during a color change. The metering zone of the screw is equipped with a special mixing section.
The new dosing and color-change system is designed for up to five colors. Switching on and off of the dosing is integrated into the injection molding machine’s NC5 plus controller.
The SL plastification system allows a low-feed screw without a compression zone. Material feed gets controlled using an upstream dosing screw. One benefit over conventional systems: the controlled operation results in a very homogenous melt, with no variations in viscosity.
Combined with a switch-controlled non-return valve, this plastification without compression is especially effective during the molding of technical, precision parts, and parts that demand a high level of purity, such as optical components.
At K, Sumitomo Demag will present the SL on an SE 180 EV press with 180 metric tons of clamping force.
Also at the show in Germany, Sumitomo Demag will show its 280-tonne Systec SP — a new packaging machine based on the Systec platform — running polypropylene buckets with in-mold labeling. The “SP” stands for speed performance, as the press has a hybrid drive system.
Another press, a 210-tonne System, will produce a touch display using PET-based coating foils with thin metallic conduction structures are inserted into the mold, then spray-coated with polymethyl methacrylate in an IML process. The entire process happens in a clean room.
Sumitomo Demag is based in Schwaig, Germany. Its U.S. operation is based in Norcross, Ga.
Tel. 678-892-7900, email info@sumitomo-shi-demag.us. | |
