32 TRADE SHOW REVIEW PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 12/21 www.petpla.net “We’re back! Finally an on-site trade fair again with innovations you can actually handle!” This is what everyone was saying at this year’s Fakuma 2021 in the exhibition halls in Friedrichshafen. After the compulsory one-year hiatus, the event was held live again from 12 to 16 October. 1,470 exhibitors from 39 countries showcased their innovations covering all aspects of injection moulding, extrusion technology, thermoforming and 3D printing on 85,000m2 of overall exhibition floor space. The fact that 40% of the exhibitors came from outside of Germany substantiates Fakuma’s great significance all over the world, especially in these exceptional times: “For the companies in our industry sector, Fakuma is one of the most important industrial trade fairs of all,” notes Annemarie Schur, Fakuma project manager at trade fair promoters P. E. Schall. “Fakuma was even more important this year. On the one hand because on-site trade fairs only became possible again in the fall of 2021, and on the other hand because the issues of environmental protection, circular economy and sustainability are an enormous task that we all have to tackle.” “Many tradition-rich global market leaders have made use of the crisis to advance their innovations. The trend towards digitalisation is accelerating. Cross-company concepts have been developed for the establishment of a circular economy for plastic products. Every crisis presents opportunities too, and many a clever mind is taking advantage of them,” confirms Sandra Füllsack as well, managing director of Motan Holding GmbH and spokesperson for the Fakuma exhibitor advisory committee. “As a business platform for innovations throughout the value-added chain, Fakuma 2021 was once again the ideal venue for presenting new products and technological solutions, as well as for discussing trendsetting issues.” Extremely practical and with high levels of professional competence, and at the same time in a friendly atmosphere – this is how exhibitors and expert visitors regard the unique and highly esteemed industry event. The next international trade fair for plastics processing, namely the 28th Fakuma, will take place from October 17-21, 2023. www.fakuma-messe.de/en/ Conical co-rotating PET extruder The conical co-rotating Mas extruder stands for a large feed opening, a high feed volume and thus for a high screw filling ratio. The Mas extruder processes A PET, G PET and GAG PET, both for repelletising and for direct extrusion to products. The large aperture in the conical extruder supports feeding of both PET grinding stock (e.g. from PET bottles and preform) and of ground cast or BOPET foils. There is no need to precrystallise or predry the PET. As the extruder’s intake volume is significantly greater than the discharge volume, a high screw filling level is achieved. This helps to achieve high output values at slow screw speeds and at a correspondingly low melt temperature. This results in good colour values and lowest possible IV loss, states the company. The low thermal load, accompanied by low specific energy consumption (≤ 0.22 kWh/kg) thus allows for highest quality extremely economically. The PET recycling process developed by Mas has been in possession of the FDA “No Objection Letter” since mid-2015 and also meets the Efsa criteria for processing washed PET bottle flakes into products with direct food contact. www.mas-austria.com/en Injection moulding technology and medical manufacturing solutions Husky Injection Molding Systems, Ltd., showcased its latest hot runner and controller technology innovations, as well as its medical manufacturing solutions. The live debut of the new UltraShot Injection System, designed to increase overall part design freedom based on function demonstrating production advantages and how to: Increase yield by reducing scrap rates; eliminate subsequent manufacturing steps; enable new part designs; introduce new resin usage. On display was also the latest addition to Husky’s hot runner portfolio, the Pronto Direct, which offers flexibility, value and performance for automotive, packaging and consumer electronics part moulding. Medical Manufacturing Solutions was presented by the company’s specialised moulding solution for pipette tip manufacturing, powered by Schottli mould solutions. This mould technology incorporates a compact cluster design and lateral symmetrical gating enabling high volumes and material savings while achieving the highest standards of quality, said Husky. An introduction to the company’s new integrated system approach for medical device manufacturing for a wide variety of medical applications, such as pipette tips, syringes, blood collection tubes was given. www.husky.co/en www.schoettli.com/en/ Fakuma 2021review part 2 Mr Stefan Lehner, General Sales Manager at Mas Plastic Processing Technology
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTY0MjI=