(Plastec West, Anaheim, CA)...Sumitomo Plastics Machinery’s Plastec West exhibit demonstrated the exceptional precision that can be achieved in LSR and high-cavitation thin-wall applications using the company’s SE-DU Series of direct-drive all-electrics machines.
New to the marketplace is the company’s LSR system, as described in Demonstration #1.
Machine:
U.S.-built Sumitomo SE75DU direct-drive all-electric (83 US tons)
Product:
Two-duck-bill medical valve used in surgical scrub rooms
Part weight:
0.039 oz (1.1 g)
Material:
LIMSTM (Liquid Injection Molding System) KE1950-70 silicone, compliant with USP Class VI. Material provided by Shin-Etsu Silicones of America, Inc., Akron, OH
Mold:
Runnerless, 2-cavity valve-gated two-drop system with cold deck. Mold courtesy of Kingson Mold & Machine Inc., Brea, CA, www.kingsonmold.com; cold deck provided by Seiki Corporation.
The Meter-Mix Dispensing System and shut-off nozzle provided by Fluid Automation Inc., Wixom, MI, www.fluidautomation.com
Applications:
LSR applications requiring exceptional precision and repeatability.
“Sumitomo has been providing LSR and LIM machines for some time now, but we are particularly pleased to introduce our new LSR package for this growing market segment,” said Jim Mitchell, Vice President Sales.
“LSR’s extremely low viscosity makes precision shot control imperative, and Sumitomo’s direct-drive all electrics are uniquely well-suited for this type of application. Due to the extreme process linearity of the Sumitomo-designed direct-drive servomotors, we are able to consistently deliver very fine control and stability that hydraulics and belted electric motors simply cannot provide,” Mitchell said.
Using Sumitomo all-electrics for LSR applications also benefits molders with a very clean operating environment and significant reduction in energy use, no hydraulic fluids to purchase/clean up/dispose of, etc., minimizing manufacturing costs.
“Unlike some LSR systems that are fixed, our new system can be changed over to thermoplastic molding — an added benefit for custom molders. By switching out the screw and barrel assembly and making a few program changes, the system can be switched to run thermoplastics if needed, and then switched back
again,” Mitchell said.
A second machine featured in Sumitomo’s booth demonstrated fast-cycle, high-cavitation, thin-wall
molding.
Machine:
U.S.-built Sumitomo SE100DU direct-drive all-electric (110 US tons)
Product:
Thin-wall pipettes
Material:
Basell Polyolefins Pro-Fax PD702 Polypropylene Homopolymer
Part weight:
0.013 oz. (0.359g)
Cycle time:
10 seconds
Mold type:
64-cavity hot-runner (Mold courtesy of Cavaform International, www.cavaform.com)
Applications:
High-volume molding of thin- and semi-thin-wall high-precision parts
Highlights:
- Center Press Platen design and ultra-precise mold protection settings ensure superior mold protection
in this high-speed, high-cavitation application
- Servo control with specialized algorithm and software that achieves faster response and outstanding stability for parts with tight tolerances; plus machine equipped with optional SK-II control
About Sumitomo
Sumitomo (SHI) Plastics Machinery (America), LLC, is headquartered in Norcross, GA. The company
manufactures a wide range of high-precision all-electric injection molding machines for diverse applications,
plus a hybrid electric series for ultra high-speed packaging. The Sumitomo all-electric platform spans from
8 to 660 US tons, including micro to mid-sized, high-speed, high-duty, vertical, insert, multi-shot and disc
molding machine series. |
Demonstration #1
Demonstration #2