ENGEL presents the evolution from inject 4.0 to inject AI at K 2025: World premiere of the first autonomous injection moulding cell

Artificial intelligence becomes lived reality: new AI-based solutions save more material, eliminate scrap and reduce setup times to just minutes.

Ten years after introducing inject 4.0, ENGEL presents the next stage of evolution at K 2025: inject AI. This new framework combines decades of injection moulding expertise with state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and offers concrete solutions to skilled labour shortages, material savings and quality assurance. The highlight: for the first time worldwide, ENGEL is showcasing a fully self-regulating injection moulding cell on an industrial scale.

With nearly 20,000 machines equipped with intelligent assistance systems and around 15,000 machines networked with ENGEL, inject 4.0 has proven to be a successful model. inject 4.0 already provides active support in all areas – from design and sampling to production and maintenance – and automatically optimises processes. inject AI now marks the next evolutionary step through the increased use of artificial intelligence. "Artificial intelligence has long been a lived reality at ENGEL," says Gerhard Dimmler, CTO of ENGEL Austria GmbH.

iQ process observer with AI functions: The system automatically analyses over 1,000 parameters in real time, detects deviations and provides concrete recommendations for action. It reduces misadjustments, supports optimisation, and brings decades of ENGEL expertise directly to customers’ machines.

The ENGEL Virtual Assistant (EVA) will be presented to the public for the first time at K 2025: This AI-based 24-hour assistant answers technical questions from the entire ENGEL documentation in seconds and automatically generates checklists and instructions tailored to each individual production cell – in any language. In other words, users can chat directly with the documentation for their own machine.

part finder: AI-based spare parts identification enables easy searching by photo. Customers can photograph machine components and immediately identify and request the correct spare part.

“We are showcasing the world’s first industrial solution for an autonomous, self-regulating injection moulding cell at K 2025. The machine autonomously produces high-quality parts with AI support,” says Stefan Engleder, CEO of the ENGEL Group.

This revolutionary system allows users to enter quality targets directly, instead of adjusting abstract machine parameters. The operator simply specifies the desired product characteristics – the machine automatically controls all process settings. Thanks to AI-supported initialisation, it will soon be possible to deduce quality features directly. Manual trials to optimise quality will thus become a thing of the past.

The AI-supported, self-regulating injection moulding machine enables material savings of up to 5 percent by precisely optimising towards the lower tolerance limits. For a production volume of one million parts per year, this often translates into several thousand euros in savings. At the same time, it brings manufacturers a significant step closer to zero-defect production, as no scrap is generated through trial series or optimisation loops.

Additional benefits include drastically reduced setup times – from hours to just minutes. The extended digital assistance system iQ weight control plus, for example, can reduce scrap by up to 50% and now offers a new operating mode in addition to the classic setting of the injection process: only two values need to be entered. The system then automatically compensates for material fluctuations during each individual shot and enables stable production even with 100% recycled material.

inject AI directly addresses the global shortage of skilled workers. AI-supported systems create transparency, provide actionable recommendations, and already play a key role in increasing productivity. The system translates complex process data into clear, immediately actionable instructions – eliminating the need for staff to spend hours analysing curves.

inject AI is a comprehensive framework that ENGEL is continuously expanding. With many years of experience in AI development, ENGEL positions itself as the "best of two worlds": in-depth injection moulding expertise combined with state-of-the-art AI technology.

At K 2025, visitors can experience inject AI solutions live and learn more about practical implementation in the Expert Corners. ENGEL demonstrates how artificial intelligence is revolutionising injection moulding production – helping customers achieve maximum productivity, consistent quality, and lower costs.

Visit us at K 2025 in Düsseldorf, Hall 15, Stand B42 & C58