The economic requirements, the environmental regulations, the low labour costs of emergent nations worsen the competition and push converters to manufacture cheaper, better and faster.
Processing costs can be enhanced by a better productivity, a decrease of reject rates, and a reduction of labor and energy costs thanks to optimized processes, automation, and function integration.
In this way, K2010 displayed a broad range of solutions centred on a better process stabilization, fast cycle times, lower energy consumption, shorter changeovers and downtimes, automation and in-line integration, sophisticated work cells, and new cost-effective techniques.
Laconically, K2010 can be characterized by a few words: save time, money, energy, raw materials thanks to higher performances, shorter cycle times, lower energy consumption, better productivity, higher quality level, maximum precision, extended software support, modular design, integration, innovative techniques.
This paper illustrates the above points by a few arbitrary examples based on injection molding such as:
- The choice of injection machine types: Hydraulic, All-Electric or Hybrid
- New developments for Micro-injection
- Spread of energy recovery systems
- Use of quick change systems specially for short runs
- Double tempering circuits for short cycles and enhanced quality
- Automation and complete production cells ensuring part and insert handling, labelling, transfer, removal, packaging, assembly, finishing treatments as diversified as insertion and encapsulation of subparts or magnetization of magnetic discs.
- Innovative processes and techniques for huge profits
- Expansion of user-friendly software integrating all the peripheral equipment and providing control and support in every situation, from mold installation and automatic initial calculation of parameters up to the finished process.
These examples centred on injection molding express the K2010 general philosophy also applied to the other processing methods such as extrusion, blow molding, thermoforming, prototyping, rapid manufacturing, and peripheral techniques such as feeding, compounding, pelletizing, cooling, drying and so on.