Gold fever at the
Arburg Technology Days 2016
- Industry event: Around 7,100international guests at the Technology Days and VIP event
- New: Allrounder Golden Electric series and an additional assembly hall with a turnkey exhibition
- "Industrie 4.0 powered by Arburg": applications, presentations and a factory tour based on the latest topic
Lossburg. A total of about 7,100 guests from 55 nationsattended the evening event on 15 March and the Arburg Technology Days 2016 from 16 to 19 March. At the company headquarters in Lossburg, they were offered an overview of new products, industry trends, complex turnkey solutions and technical innovations. The highlight was the world première of the new electric Golden Electric series. Focusing on production efficiency and Industry 4.0, Arburg offered a worldwide-unique overview of injection moulding technology, additive manufacturing and the topic of Industry 4.0 in plastics processing, with around 50 exhibits, the Efficiency Arena and the special service area. Specialist presentations and factory tours rounded off the event.
More than 41 percent of visitors came from outside Germany this year. The largest overseas contingents, with over 190 and 120 participants, came from the USA and China. The largest numbers of European guests were brought along by the subsidiaries Switzerland (around 230), France (around 220), Poland (around 150) and Italy (around 120).
"Our Technology Days attracts visitors from the international plastics community. Since 1999, we have welcomed over 73,800 visitors to Lossburg," emphasised Michael Hehl, Managing Partner and Spokesperson for the Arburg Management Team. "This year, we presented the new electric Allrounder Golden Electric entry-level series as the highlight. The world premiere took place on the eve of the Technology Days as part of a spectacular evening event together with the inauguration of the new assembly hall."
"Golden highlight": new electric series
With the Golden Electric series, Arburg is continuing the success story of the hydraulic Golden Edition entry-level series. The new Allrounders are designed to meet customer demands for high-performance entry-level machines for the precise, energy-efficient production of sophisticated moulded parts. Thanks to the use of standardised components, the new machines feature high-quality proven Arburg technology "Made in Germany" at an attractive price/performance ratio. They are available in four sizes with clamping forces from 600 to 2,000 kN.
Freeformers process a variety of materials
Three Freeformers processed interesting materials using Arburg Plastic Freeforming, including a medical polylactide, a bio-degradable polyamide and an elastic, high-performance TPE combined with PP as a two-component application. The additive manufacturing machines now feature an optimised build chamber, a further enhanced discharge system and an optional material dryer.
"Industrie 4.0 – powered by Arburg“
In the Efficiency Arena, a fourth Freeformer was linked with an injection moulding cell via a seven-axis robotic system. "Industrie 4.0 – powered by Arburg“ was the theme here. The fully automated and IT networked production line demonstrated how it will be possible to develop new business models in future based on aspects of Industry 4.0. A second exhibit was also used to demonstrate the fully traceable production of batch-specific bulk goods, from finished high-volume product back to the granulate.
Lightweight construction: foamed high-gloss
car interior part
Naturally, many new and innovative applications were also presented. Arburg presented the new Profoam physical foaming technique, using a glove compartment door made from PC/ABS as an example of efficient lightweight construction. A variotherm mould temperature control enabled a high-gloss surface to be produced despite the use of a foaming technique. The part, which is specifically designed for foaming, weighs 200 grams, around 30 percent less than a comparable compact part.
Resorbable implant
A GMP-compliant Allrounder 370 A in stainless steel produced implants from a resorbable polylactide (PLA) under clean room conditions. A special 15-millimetre screw with widened flight lands was used to prepare the material in a gentle way with short dwell times. The screw is coated with chrome nitride (CrN) to prevent the formation of undesirable deposits. Two bone pins were produced in a cycle time of around 23 seconds.
Automation: from pickers to turnkey systems
Those wanting to find out about automation were able to view over 30 automated applications at the Technology Days 2016, which were presented in a special exhibition space in the newly opened assembly hall.
The "Robots in action" presentation, in which a picker, a linear robotic system and a six-axis robot were used to steer model dumper trucks and tractors around an obstacle course, attracted a great deal of interest and, in a playful approach, showed the advantages offered by the various robotic systems.
A hybrid Allrounder 570 H in the Packaging version demonstrated how four thin-wall items with a capacity of 125 millilitres could be produced in a cycle time of just 1.65 seconds. The mould and high-speed removal system for stacking the moulded parts was supplied by Brink.
Another complex turnkey system demonstrated Particle-foam Composite Injection Moulding: a drink holder with integrated mounting elements was produced from particle foam (EPP) and PP. The production cell was from Arburg, while the expertise in handling and processing particle foam was supplied by Ruch Novaplast and the mould technology by Krallmann.
Extensive program of side events
In the service area, visitors were able to find out about topics such as preventive maintenance, spare part management and the current training offerings.
Around 3,100 participants attended the informative specialist presentations in German and English. Speakers included Prof. Jürgen Fleischer from the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT), whose presentation entitled "Implementing Industry 4.0 – a challenge for companies" attracted a great deal of interest. Other topics included the new Golden Electric series, lightweight construction and the Freeformer for additive manufacturing.
Factory tours as well as a special “Industry 4.0 tour” provided plenty of opportunity to become familiar with machine production. This opportunity was taken by almost 1,900 German-speaking guestsr. Furthermore, the company was also presented to all international groups visiting the Technology Days with their Arburg subsidiaries and trading partners in their respective native languages.
Kai Sha, CEO of Lange Xin from China, summarised his first visit to the Arburg Technology Days as follows: "The excellent support from the Arburg team, the event itself and, in particular, the tour of production all showed me that this is a very, very good German company. I am certainly going to recommend Arburg and the Technology Days to others!"“
Photos
ARBURG_099196 Customer Center TDays2016.jpg
More than 6,500 plastics experts from around the world visited the Arburg Technology Days 2016 from 16 to 19 March. At the company headquarters in Lossburg, they were offered an extensive overview of new products, industry trends, turnkey solutions and technical innovations.
ARBURG_099200 Golden Electric TDays 2016.jpg
Arburg celebrated the world premiere of the entry-level Golden Electric series at the Technology Days 2016. The new electric injection moulding machines are available in four sizes with clamping forces from 600 to 2,000 kN.
ARBURG_099202 Freeformer TDays 2016.jpg
At the Arburg Technology Days 2016, a Freeformer demonstrated the additive manufacture of an individually adapted implant for cranial bones using a resorbable polylactide granulate.
ARBURG_099199 Efficiency Arena TDays 2016.jpg
Arburg presents the concept of the smart factory and Industry 4.0 at the Technology Days 2016 in the Efficiency Arena.
ARBURG_099203 Roboter in Aktion TTage 2016.jpg
The "Robots in action" presentation, in which a picker, a linear robotic system and a six-axis robot were used to steer model dumper trucks and tractors around an obstacle course, took a playful approach and showed the advantages offered by the various robotic systems.
ARBURG_099198 Presentations TDays 2016.jpg
A total of around 3,100 participants attended the specialist presentations in German and English, e.g. the contribution on Industry 4.0 from the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT).
Photos: ARBURG
About Arburg