Exhibitions/Seminars
Arburg Technology Days 2017 welcomed over 6,700 guests across 53 countries
▲ More than 6,700 plastics experts from around the world visited the Arburg Technology Days 2017.
Over 6,700 guests from 53 different countries attended the Arburg Technology Days, held from March 15-18 at the company’s Lossburg, Germany headquarters.
43% of its visitors came from abroad, according to Arburg. The largest contingencies from overseas were North America with over 170 visitors and China with around 125. The largest numbers of European guests were brought along by the subsidiaries Switzerland (around 210), Czech Republic (around 180) and France (around 160).
"For our annual Technology Days, we do everything we can to ensure that our invited guests get a comprehensive insight into the Arburg product range, trends in plastics processing and innovative applications. The unique industry event involved a large number of employees and trainees. Our customers really appreciated the unique atmosphere, made great use if the opportunity to talk with our experts and, at the end of the day, took away some key ideas for their own production," said Michael Hehl, Managing Partner and Spokesperson for the Arburg Management Team.
There was a great deal of interest in the new hybrid Allrounder 1120 H, which extends Arburg's product and services into a clamping force range of up to 6,500kN. Visitors had the opportunity to take a closer look at the new large machine with its new design and visionary Gestica control system following its premiere at the K 2016.
This time, the exhibit produced ready-to-use folding step stools in an exclusive Arburg design. This involved producing eight individual parts using an eight ton family mold in a cycle time of around 60s and then assembling them ready to use in a combined set-up with a Multilift V 40, six-axis robot and assembly station.
At the Efficiency Arena, Arburg and a number of partners showed practical examples of the implementation of Industry 4.0. A pioneering example was the spatially distributed, digitally networked production of "smart" luggage tags in single-unit batches.
An Allrounder injection molding machine and two Freeformers for additive manufacturing were combined for this purpose. The Arburg host computer system (ALS) ensures end-to-end traceability for each individual part.
Two ALS add-on modules were also presented: "Energy Visualization" for order-based allocation of energy data and "Material Staging Interface" for batch changes.
Other topics covered in the Efficiency Arena were the traceability from finished part to the original granulate, online monitoring for quality assurance purposes, systematic energy consumption records and the integration of peripheral equipment in the Selogica machine control system.
▲ In all, there were eight Freeformers for additive manufacturing on show.
A total of eight exhibits relating to Arburg Plastic Freeforming (APF) were on view, five of them in the new Arburg Prototyping Center. The focus here was on the industrial additive manufacturing of functional parts, either individually or in small batches – including grippers made from polyamide (PA) and thermoplastics elastomer (TPE), mobile phone covers with optimized surfaces and parts made from a PC approved for use in the aerospace industry.
In addition, flame-proof electronic parts and implants from medical-grade PLA were also presented. Another Freeformer in the Customer Center produced mechanically optimized rope pulleys from organic PA. The two other exhibits were stationed in the Efficiency Arena as mentioned above.
In the medical technology area, Arburg showed five applications and different clean room concepts, including a GMP-compliant stainless steel electric Allrounder 370 A as a high-end injection molding solution which produced long-term polyether ether ketone (PEEK) implants in a clean room environment.
The performance capabilities of the Hidrive series for the packaging industry were demonstrated by an Allrounder 570 H in a Packaging version specially configured for thin-walled parts. The production cell produced four IML tubs from polypropylene (PP) in a cycle time of less than 2s.
Arburg presented Fiber Direct Compounding (FDC) and Profoam physical foaming technology based on the example of two automotive applications. As well as reducing weight, these processes can also be used specifically to improve mechanical part characteristics and minimize distortion, as was demonstrated with a glass fiber reinforced cable drive housing for power windows and a foamed base plate.
Liquid silicone rubber (LSR) wristwatches required complex manufacturing processes and set the standard for what can currently be achieved in the processing of liquid silicone. The associated turnkey system based on an electric two-component Allrounder 570 A that produced two-color LSR wrist bands fully automatically. Assembly as a ready-to-use wristwatch took place within the injection molding cycle.
A highlight in the area of powder injection molding was the world's first MIM frame for smartphones. A hydraulic Allrounder 470 C Golden Edition processed feedstock from BASF to produce a green compact in an Arburg design with a thickness of only 1mm and a length of 136mm.
Highlights in the special turkey area included the fully automated production of ready-to-use step stools and LSR/LSR wristwatches, the "playing field" for robots in action and the new Multilift V 40 with a load-bearing capacity of 40kg. A number of current customer projects were also presented - from the hydraulic Allrounder 520 S with Multilift Select to the hydraulic two-component Allrounder 920 S with six-axis robot and downstream station with Agilus robot.
In the service area, visitors were able to find out about topics such as Industry 4.0, preventive maintenance and the current training offerings.
▲ "Industry 4.0 in practice – Knowing what counts!" was the concept behind the Efficiency Arena 2017.
