33 TRADE SHOW REVIEW PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 12/21 www.petpla.net Koch-Technik draws positive conclusion of Fakuma 2021 Koch-Technik presented its complete portfolio of mixers, dryers, dosing units and central conveying systems at a larger stand than in 2018. The highlight of the stand were the new Eko-N dry-air driers as well as the control units of the generation MC7, which now also serve for the gravimetric mixers Graviko and the mobile dry-air driers KKT. „In the run-up to this year´s Fakuma we did not know how well the on-site trade fair would be frequented. Despite the lower number of visitors in comparison to the years before, it was a successful trade fair. Especially the personal dialogue with the professional visitors as well as the quality of the talks were positive. Furthermore, there are some signs, that especially in the automotive sector, there is only cautious optimism due to the difficulties in procurement. Particularly pleasing is that our totally new trade fair stand was perceived very positively after the involuntary break“, as CEO Carsten Koch sums up. www.koch-technik.com F.l.t.r. Werner Koch, CEO at Koch Technik, and Heike Fischer, PETplanet Insider Engel: Fakuma 2021 inspires injection moulding industry Fakuma 2021 was a great success for Engel. “The positive trade fair experience underlines the economic upward trend and is driving investment in new technologies,” as Dr Christoph Steger, CSO of the Engel Group, emphasises at the conclusion of the industry event in Friedrichshafen. “Our customers grasped the opportunity to finally exchange ideas in person again and experience innovations in real and live terms.” The industry’s first major live event after the automotive crisis and Corona pandemic took place at exactly the right time. “The automotive industry has come back with a bang, and the investment backlog has cleared,” says Steger. “Even if the Corona pandemic is still preventing some travel, Engel’s stand was well attended. We had some excellent talks, concluded numerous projects and got new ones underway.” Visitors came from all industries. Besides the automotive industry, the medical technologies, packaging and technical moulding sectors were strongly represented. Leveraging the full potential of the machines In particular, innovative solutions for more sustainability in injection moulding and further digitalisation of production processes were met with great interest. The two topics are closely linked. “Digitalisation is an important precursor to the circular economy”, said Steger. “Smart assistance systems and interconnected systems help us to leverage the full potential of injection moulding machines, for more efficient production while reducing the CO2 footprint.” Engel’s trade fair stand made this vividly clear. Compared to the last Fakuma, Engel’s stand has become larger. The additional space was used to present digital products and solutions. The machine exhibits also demonstrated the new opportunities for the circular economy. Engel presented a closed process chain for polypropylene involving the production of mono-material food packaging using IML thin-wall technology and the production of protective covers from label offcuts. At the same time, the Engel e-speed 420 injection moulding machine celebrated its world premiere. “Hybrid and all-electric injection moulding machines are seeing deployment in an increasing number of applications,” says Steger, emphasising another trend that was reflected at Engel’s stand. Demanding precision applications gave insights into the performance of the various hybrid and all-electric machine series by Engel during the five days of the trade fair. Machine exhibits are still in the virtual showroom at Engel’s virtual world. www.engelglobal.com/virtual-world New dosing and mixing units With the Minicolor SG V, Motan introduced a new variant of the volumetric dosing and mixing unit series. The unit covers important requirements for the dosing of additives and ensures mixing quality with a high dosing and repeat accuracy, said Motan. The dosing and mixing unit is mounted directly on the feed opening of the processing machine and is therefore space-saving. The user-friendly microprocessor control of the Minicolor SG V can either be used for injection moulding applications or extrusion operation. The modern 7” graphic display visualises the dosing rates and supports calibration. Dosing speed is calculated automatically according to the calibrated weight and recipe. Dosing granulate with patented slider technology The new gravimetric batch dosing and mixing unit for granules Gravicolor 110 is specially designed for injection moulding, blow moulding and extrusion processes. With the system, up to four different components can be mixed precisely and with the high recipe accuracy. All components are dosed with a specially designed vertical slider. In the event of a recipe or material change, the existing material hopper can continue to be used through the variable slider opening. The slide opening is flexibly adjusted by input on the control panel by a stepper motor. The integrated IntelliBlend analysis function makes it possible to precisely record and document the recipe, material and operating environment. www.motan-colortronic.com The Gravicolor 110 dosing and mixing unit with patented slider technology for injection and blow moulding as well as extrusion processes Minicolor SG V, a dosing and mixing unit for granulates
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