PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2016

CAPPING / CLOSURES 46 PET planet insider Vol. 17 No. 06/16 www.petpla.net CAPPING / CLOSURES 46 E n g i n e e r i n g 4 . 0 For machinery and equipment manufacturers the score is 4:0. The 4th industrial revolution is on the world’s digital agenda. Laying the foundations of plastics production in the future. Aiming for one goal: to network and interlink production processes. With some 3,200 exhibitors in 19 exhibition halls on more than 171,000 sqm of exhibition space, the world’s premier trade fair for the plastics and rubber industry will once again be presenting the entire range of products and services that the industry has to offer. Everything that will move the world in the future. Plan your visit now. Y o u r K e y t o t h e F u t u r e k-online.com Messe Düsseldorf GmbH P.O. Box 101006 40001 Düsseldorf _ Germany Tel. +49(0)211/4560-01 Fax +49(0)211/4560-668 www.messe-duesseldorf.de Feltes: That is true. We are setting today a benchmark on larger all-electric injection mould- ing machines. Technically we could also offer up to 650t for fast-cycling packaging applications, except that the components then become so expensive that it would become uneconomical. Therefore we are using a hybride concept for such applications on the same machine basis as the all-electric ones. PETplanet: Well alright, if you have the all- electric technology at your company, you can just upscale the system relatively easily, can’t you? Feltes: We also thought this seven or eight years ago, but the durability of the machine comes into play here. All components must be matched to the greater power requirements. And it is an exponen- tial increase, especially the generation of heat in the whole power train. For example, the ejectors could run hot during continuous operation on fast cycling caps – this requires special attention to the cooling and configuration of the choosen motors, spindles and drives. PETplanet: Why should I buy an Engel machine rather than a competitor’s? Feltes: As already mentioned, it is the parts and application expertise first of all. Together with our tool making partners, we analyse very accurately the needs and requirements of customers. We have to think in a parts-orientated way and only second- arily in terms of the machine. As the machines are fully flexible and configurable, the actual part and mould defines the machine and system solution. PETplanet: And from a technological point of view? Feltes: It’s the level of detail you are prepared to put into your development work. For the toogle levers and in the entire machine, we have closed- loop lubrication systems. This always guarantees a permanent and optimal lubrication situation of bearings, spindles and joints and it is a guarantee for constant low energy usage at lowest possible friction and wear. Or, specifically at the spindles, the ball bearings have an outstanding efficiency factor of >90%, which eliminates friction and reduces the energy needed on each motion significantly. Over- all, a state-of-the-art all-electric moulding machine from Engel can reduce energy consumption for cap production by at least 20-30%, compared to hybride ones. PETplanet: And what new things will we see at your e-cap and K-show? Feltes: At K show, we will further complete our system solutions with industry 4.0 technologies. inject 4.0 – this is Engel’s answer to the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Engel already has solutions within the range today to support pro- cessors to enable their processes to tackle the new challenges. For example, the iQ software products continually analyse critical process parameters in order to identify and immediately compensate for deviations even before rejects are produced. While