Strongsville, Ohio – Sumitomo-Demag has introduced the industry’s only OEM-designed, advanced control system that helps molders optimize the uptime and performance of their Van Dorn HT, HP and Classic machines.

The VDU — Van Dorn Universal control — provides exceptional ease-of-use with familiar screen formats from the Pathfinder® series, plus the advanced capabilities of Demag’s stateof-the-art controls and advanced software.

The VDU – Van Dorn Universal control – provides exceptional ease-of-use with familiar screen formats from the Pathfinder® series, plus the advanced capabilities of Demag’s stateof-the-art controls and advanced software.

The ultra-fast, PC-based control, which scans 30 million I/O points per second, has a wide range of features that include:

• Full closed-loop process control
• Full profiling and graphing functions
• Multiple USB ports for setup file storage
• 15” XGA high-resolution color touch-screen
• Auto-tune barrel temperature control with graphics
• Compatibility with plant monitoring systems
• Web-based remote Ethernet access
• Production data system
• Data logging with Excel export
• 2-stage low-pressure close with try-again
• 2-year parts warranty
• 1-year labor warranty

Kevin Lawhead, Maintenance Manager of Pier-Mac Plastics, Portland, Indiana, was one of the first customers to use the control system. “The new VDU control has made our press more accurate and consistent,” said Lawhead. “It has also made troubleshooting much easier and less time-consuming.”

“Sometimes it can be tough to find parts for old control systems which can mean costly downtime,” said John Martich III, Vice President Aftersales, Demag Plastics Group. “Retrofit controls from other suppliers can be problematic for various reasons. In general, they don’t fit the machine exactly, aren’t designed to take full advantage of the machine’s capabilities and can require molding personnel to learn completely different data configurations and sets of screens.”

“The VDU solves all these problems.” Martich said. “Customers also have the assurance that Demag Aftersales will be there to install the control, provide training and support them through the entire upgrade process.”

About Sumitomo-Demag
Sumitomo (SHI) Plastics Machinery and Demag Plastics Group are global manufacturers of injection molding machines with manufacturing plants in Japan, China, India (joint venture), Germany (two) and the United States. The company has the world’s widest platform of all-electric machines which 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. Ultra-high-speed hybrid machines are offered for packaging and other thin-wall applications, plus high-flexibility, configurable hydraulic and toggle machines are offered up to 2200 US tons.