Changing the rules of cap & closure molding

With cycle times of under five seconds and injection rates of over 300mm per second, fully electric injection molding machines are steadily conquering the market for high-performance and high-speed applications. ENGEL North America is set to demonstrate the drastic cuts to unit costs achievable in cap and closure production at the Caps & Closures Conference & Exhibition, which takes place September 12th to 14th in Atlanta.

For a long time, high-performance and high-speed applications depended on accumulator-assisted hydraulic machines – high-performance machines with extremely energy-intensive drive technology which, from today's standpoint, paid little heed to the future. Some years ago, ENGEL took up the challenge of delivering a fully electric machine for the high-performance injection molding market by developing the ENGEL e-motion range. Since then, continual enhancements to performance have expanded the application range for fully electric injection molding machines considerably.

With screw diameters of up to 105mm and injection rates of as much as 450mm per second, ENGEL offers the biggest range of electric injection units on the market. The maximum injection speed can now be attained with screw diameters of up to 55mm. With a diameter of up to 80mm, the injection speed is 300mm per second, and even with the largest screw diameter of up to 105mm, rates of 200mm per second are achieved. These figures assume full pressure, another area in which ENGEL solutions stand out from the conservative designs of many competitor machines (and especially those made by Japanese companies).

ENGEL will discuss the ENGEL e-cap machine capabilities during a presentation at the Caps & Closures conference in Atlanta, GA. The ENGEL e-cap is the only fully electric solution for closure cap production on the market. The machine takes its high-performance genes from the proven e-motion series, which has been in the service of fully electric efficiency for many years – with a robust 5-point toggle lever clamping unit to ensure fast, dynamic and high-precision movements, high plasticizing capacity and intelligent ENGEL CC 200 high-performance control. The ENGEL e-cap machine has been designed by ENGEL engineers to meet the special requirements of closure cap production with regard to short cycle times, maximum flexibility and low energy consumption. Compared to conventional hydraulic machines on the market, the ENGEL e-cap also consumes 40% less energy. The machine is positively geared to peak performance and maximum output, although it is extremely economical in terms of energy and cooling water usage. This peak performance is made possible thanks to fully electric drive technology combined with a series of sophisticated features, such as the latest powerful, premium quality injection unit, increased ejector force and a reinforced clamping drive. Thanks to the optimum process stability of the entire system, it achieves a maximum of good parts.

Learn more about the potential for raising performance and achieving savings with ENGEL e-cap technology in Atlanta. Come visit ENGEL at booth number 1 at the Caps & Closures conference 2011. Joachim Kragl, Advanced Molding Systems & Processing, ENGEL Machinery Inc., York, PA, will talk about “Changing the rules of caps & closures molding”  Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 1:35 pm.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Atlanta, GA.