TAGS: Machinery CHINAPLAS
ENGEL will be participating in Chinaplas 2021 from 13 to 16 April in Shenzhen, China with its own exhibit at Event Industry 4.0 – Factory of the Future in Hall 11.
The human-machine interface plays an important role in the factory of the future. As production processes become increasingly complex due to process integration and automation, management and control of them must become all the simpler and more intuitive. This is where smart assistance systems boost process capability and quality without requiring operators to acquire additional special skills.
During the four days of the show, fluctuating process conditions can be simulated on the CC300 control unit of the e-motion 80 TL machine in order to track automatic readjustment by the smart assistance systems on the machine display. For example, iQ weight control keeps the injected melt volume consistent throughout the entire injection molding process, while iQ clamp control determines the optimum clamping force based on mold breathing.
Smart Assistance Systems from ENGEL's iQ Series
While smart assistance systems from ENGEL's iQ series help plastics processors to leverage the full potential of the injection molding machine, even if qualified personnel are not present at all times, digital service products are all about ensuring high productivity in order to remain able to deliver even in the event of a crisis.
ENGEL is continually developing its smart assistance system portfolio. The latest products to be presented in Shenzhen include iQ process observer and iQ melt control.
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Covid-19 has accelerated digitalization in the plastics industry," says Gero Willmeroth, president east Asia and Oceania at ENGEL. "
Our customers are increasingly investing in digital solutions. Smart service and intelligent assistance have become even more prominent in the last twelve months." These trends are reflected in the ENGEL exhibit. The all-electric and tie-bar-less ENGEL e-motion 80 TL injection molding machine is equipped with many digital products from ENGEL's inject 4.0 program.
Where smart assistance systems have so far been able to optimize individual steps in the injection molding process, the new iQ process observer continually analyzes several hundred process parameters across all four phases of the injection molding process – plasticizing, injection, cooling and part removal – in order to automatically detect drifts. In the form of plain text messages, the system points out unfavorable process settings and conditions as well as the possible causes of them. "
This helps the user to optimize stability over the entire process and to correct errors quickly," says Willmeroth.
Conserving Both the Material and Mechanical Components
The goal of iQ melt control is to conserve both the material to be processed and the mechanical components of the plasticizing unit. In practice, plasticizing often occurs faster than the cycle requires, which can have an impact on product quality, but also on the service life of the screw. iQ melt control therefore determines the optimum plasticizing time. Instead of plasticizing at the maximum possible speed, the system makes full use of the part’s in-mold cooling time for plasticizing, ensuring very good melt homogeneity.
Unifying Simulation and The Real World
Another new feature is sim link, a joint development by ENGEL and Autodesk, the provider of the Moldflow simulation software.
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To date, many findings from the simulation of injection molding processes on the machine remain unused, and this is precisely what is now changing," says Willmeroth, explaining the motivation.
With the support of the software, both the parameters optimized by Moldflow can now be converted into a process settings data set and used directly on the injection molding machine, and conversely, process parameters and measurement results from the injection molding machine can also be imported into Autodesk's simulation program.
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We are opening the door to a new approach to optimizing ongoing production processes," says Willmeroth. "
Simulation speeds up the task of creating process settings, mold setup processes and process optimization, in turn significantly boosting productivity. This is increasingly making simulation an affordable competitive edge even for smaller injection molding operations."
Ensuring productivity with Real-time Data Transfer
To boost the availability of injection molding machines and manufacturing cells, smart service relies on online support, and condition-based, preventive maintenance. Covid-19 has shifted e-connect.24 even further into the focus of plastics processors.
The online support and remote maintenance tool empower ENGEL service staff to connect to the injection molding machine from a remote location so that they can respond without delay in all support cases. The screen pages of the machine control unit are transmitted via a secure internet connection. Since the data are accessed in real time, the current state of the machine is displayed.
As a result, the machine operators on the ground and external support staff can see the same production data, and they can offer advice and guidance to one another. The manufacturing cell can be controlled remotely, if necessary. Another benefit is that the user is notified by e-mail in the event of a malfunction. Thanks to this range of options, e-connect.24 ensures very high levels of machine availability, even if travel is not possible or production is temporarily unmanned.
ENGEL does not use external manpower in service but relies exclusively on its own highly qualified service technicians. "
We have extensive resources here in China and support our customers in the local language," Willmeroth emphasizes.
Source: ENGEL