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All-electric injection moulding machines have many excellent qualities, including greater precision, higher power density and lower carbon emissions. Yet there’s a preconception that these systems are more expensive to repair. Ashlee Gough, Area Sales Manager at Sumitomo (SHI) Demag UK delves into and discredits the top five myths regularly encountered.

1. Capacity planning is a moving target

Struggling to stay on top of everything is one of the greatest challenges for production engineers. Yet, Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) is one of the simplest reliability measurements for polymer processors. It is also probably the most valuable KPI for equipment-reliant operations as it provides an accurate method for measuring machine availability, and helps with the planning of maintenance schedules, as well as capacity planning.

With fewer moving and wear parts, the time-lapse between one failure to the next is significantly less on all-electric moulding machines. Proving this, a study of the overall machine MTBF on a Sumitomo (SHI) Demag IntElect2 under warranty was on average 4.4 years – double that of an equivalent hydraulic machine. 

This MTBF metric is not just attributed to the machine design, but also how well an operative repeatedly handles or interacts with this valuable asset. A poorly executed repair job or implementing a quick fix and running the machine until it finally goes bump can just as easily result in a low MTBF result.

2.    Same or similar service time

Electric machines are less mechanically complex. With no flexing of hoses, no sensitive valves, perishable seals or hydraulic fluid, the risk of an emergency callout is significantly lower.  

Studies conducted by Sumitomo (SHI) Demag revealed that a 130 ton hydraulic machine operating 24/5 needed 39 hours of routine service work, compared to just six hours for an equivalent IntElect2 model.

Analysing and treating oil in order to maintain its optimum properties, as well as changing the oil filter, are essential routine maintenance task on hydraulic systems. The timing of these tasks  are critical and any delay or neglect can drastically increase the risk of machine failure.  Performing a filter change to the proper standards realistically takes a couple of hours. If an oil change or complete flush through is required, this not only results in unplanned downtime but also comes at a great expense.

Additionally, hydraulic hoses should be regularly inspected. It is recommended that they are replaced every ten years. Contamination and airlocks are always a danger when replacing hydraulic hoses. Because of this, it is recommended that this work should be undertaken by a professional.

Hydraulic machines with accumulator technology should ideally have the bladder replaced periodically. Inspecting the accumulator housing for cracks every ten years using x-ray is equally advisable. 

3.    Drives are expensive to repair

Typically, all-electric machines have the reputation of being expensive to repair when they go wrong. This view is often based on the cost of replacing an entire drive system.

Many moulding machine suppliers source their all-electric drives from external OEMs, which makes it more challenging to source component replacements, exchange or access service support. In the best-case scenario, moulders might be able to source and switch out a power or control module. Yet in most instances, sourcing a new complete drive is the reality, which of course, runs at a premium cost.

That’s one of the key reasons why Sumitomo (SHI) Demag has an R&D centre dedicated to drive development and designs and builds its own drive motors, designed purely for injection moulding machines, in-house. Being able to source individual replacement boards is a more sustainable solution for customers. Spares are also held for immediate shipment.

Drives that are designed to be modular are also much more cost efficient. Why replace three power modules, when you can replace just the one that’s failed? It can be the difference between several hundred pounds and a quick fix, rather than a complete drive replacement which could run into a few thousand.

4.     Infrastructure savings takes a long time

The savings when switching to all-electric are instant and can often be significant. Because each axis of an all-electric injection moulding machine is independently controlled, parallel functions are possible. This means that they can perform multiple tasks at once, for example ejection during mould opening or ejector retraction during mould closing. Resulting in faster cycle times which significantly increases productivity, output and component quality.

The increased efficiency delivered by direct drives means that they use considerably less energy than hydraulic machines – in the case of the IntElect between 40% and 85% less than conventional solutions. As electric drives generate less heat than their hydraulic

counterparts, they require less cooling than conventional machines of a similar size. Additionally, the recovery of kinetic energy while the clamping unit is braking generates energy which can be used for plastification.

This not only reduces the burden on existing infrastructures but also lessens the investment when building or relocating to new premises.

5.   Wear and tear is a guessing game

Reducing costs, risks and disruption are high on the priority list of many moulders aiming to achieve optimum processing efficiency, with machine reliability being the most influential factor.

Regardless of machine type, it is imperative to monitor and routinely service moving parts, e.g. toggle systems, seals or bearings, which are subjected to varying degrees of wear and tear.

It is often easy to identify wear on mechanical components via sensory diagnosis – surfaces may appear worn/scored, it may sound out of place or it may smell “hot”. However, electrical systems can often be overlooked as it can be very difficult to diagnose wear on electrical components such as electrical drives, motors, contactors, relays and PCBs. A moulder often won’t be aware of an issue until the machine stops. Thermal imaging offers a big advancement in this area.

Regular thermal imaging checks of electrical cabinets can give an early indication of impending component failure and are a quick and cost-effective way to spot potential issues early on. 

The use of thermographic equipment for condition monitoring is included in Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s annual activeCare check. Rather than a ‘best guess’ diagnosis, activeCare engineers can assess the collected data and determine when equipment or parts are likely to fail in service.

The biggest mistake moulders can make is discounting high-performance all-electric machines on price alone.  The price difference between hydraulic and all-electric injection moulding machines has dropped considerably over the past 15 years. When considering the potential energy savings, productivity improvements and prolonged reliability, further total cost of ownership savings can be realised. 

For all-electric machine service costs, the studies speak volumes with the facts outweighing the fiction.

Ashlee Gough from Sumitomo (SHI) Demag UK dispels 5 misconceptions about all-electric moulding machine costs.

Thermal imaging a direct drive can provide a good indicator of any inefficiencies, heat emissions and even wear and tear.

Stand 4900, Farnborough International Airshow, 22-26 July 2024

Factory automation specialist FANUC UK will showcase a suite of next-generation automation solutions at Farnborough International Airshow to enable higher rate aircraft and aerospace manufacturing. Spanning the entire supply chain – including solutions for the burgeoning eVTOL sector – visitors to stand 4900 can witness the future of aerospace manufacturing first-hand. FANUC’s automation demonstrations, in conjunction with their industry leading partners, will cover a variety of key applications essential for the aerospace sector such as dispensing, polishing, inspection, machining and drilling, helping manufacturers to meet increasing order levels by boosting productivity.

Futureproofing to increase output rates

The aerospace industry is booming. Commercial revenues are expected to grow 14% year-on-year over the next 10 years, while passenger traffic will grow by 3.6% annually up to 2044. Around 22,120 new aircraft will be delivered between 2024 and 2033 – this equates to nearly 200 a month, every month, for the next 10 years.

“While this is great news for the industry, it means that manufacturers will need to find ways to increase production rates,” says Oliver Selby, Head of Sales at FANUC UK. “Operations have to be more streamlined and cycle times must be cut, all while maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety.”

Flexible future of the factory floor

Flexibility in manufacturing will be another key element in the industry’s successful growth. To this end, the FANUC stand will feature the University of Nottingham’s world-class OMNIFACTORY project. A five-year, £3.8 million facility that employs advanced technology and methodology to make manufacturing more efficient and cost-effective, OMNIFACTORY is a bespoke test-bed floor which autonomously adapts to the next product’s environment and specifications. The demonstrations around the project’s AGV show a combination of digital technologies, robotics and artificial intelligence including robotic surface preparation and dispensing. The aim of this proof-of-concept project is to inspire a new generation of smart, highly efficient factories, embedded in local supply chains.

The power of partnerships

A variety of automated systems from some of FANUC’s key partners – each employing FANUC robots at the heart of their technology – will also be on display at the event. One such example is an advanced metrology solution from Hexagon. Showing how data can be used throughout the product lifecycle to accelerate aerospace innovation and efficient manufacturing, Hexagon’s Presto Robotic Metrology system dramatically cuts the time required to devise inspection routines, by reducing them to a single step. Built on leading scanning technology, this flexible, modular cell has been designed to effectively meet the evolving needs of modern manufacturing. 

Meanwhile,an aerospace drilling cell developed by Electroimpact and featuring a FANUC CRX-25iA cobot, will demonstrate accessible and cost-effective pre-validated drilling functionality for the aerospace sector, offering improved reliability, repeatability and traceability compared to manual practices.

The growth of eVTOL

Finally, with the eVTOL sector being a key focus at this year’s event, FANUC will also showcase its ROBODRILL vertical machining centre, featuring a Nikken 5AX-201 tilting rotary table. This combined machining and turning cell enables difficult to hold components to be rapidly mounted and changed, even where space is limited.

“With a compact footprint, this is a perfect, cost-effective solution for small castings, using aerospace grade alloys, for products like eVTOL motor housings,” Oliver explains.

To learn more about the future of aerospace manufacturing, visit FANUC on stand 4900 at the Farnborough International Airshow, 22-26 July 2024.

Factory automation specialist FANUC UK will showcase a suite of next-generation automation solutions at Farnborough Interantional Airshow to enable higher rate aircraft and aerospace manufacturing.

An aerospace drilling cell developed by Electroimpact and featuring a FANUC CRX-25iA cobot will demonstrate accessible and cost-effective pre-validated drilling functionality for the aerospace sector.

FANUC will also showcase its ROBODRILL vertical machining centre, featuring a Nikken 5AX-201 tilting rotary table.

Spurred on by being awarded the Silver Ecovardis Medal in 2023, high-end medical device manufacturer Europlaz continues to drive positive and sustainable production changes. The Essex-based company’s repeat order of three flexible, high-performance and energy-efficient all-electric IntElect2 machines from Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, each featuring different clamp forces, mirrors its Quality In; Quality Out business ethos.

Manufacturing and assembling millions of class I and class II medical device components annually, Europlaz Technical Director Ian Goodacre handed over the order in person at Interplas 2023. Unlike past machine orders, all three machines are for new production cells being introduced by Europlaz to increase capacity and manufacture new product streams.

This latest order, follows another significant rise in medical, diagnostic and life science project wins. The 100T IntElect2 is also equipped with a high temperature demoulding pick and place 3-axis system.

Ian describes the customisation options, compact machine footprint, intuitive processing software, interchangeable barrels, machine reliability, energy savings and service support as the unrivalled factors that align to their company’s sustainability credentials.

Equally important for the ISO 13485-accredited and FDA-registered medical moulder, the Sumitomo (SHI) Demag brand is well-respected and known in medical circles as being a reliable, high performance top-tier machinery supplier. “Many of our customers know the Sumitomo (SHI) Demag name well. Given the sustainability details we have to submit when preparing tenders, the reliability and energy efficiency statistics we can present certainly corroborates the advantages of actively selecting the IntElect series,” attests Ian.

Europlaz continues to move towards a fully electric suite of moulding machines and as a medical moulder there is no margin for processing errors. It means that the team’s focus is concentrated on moulding quality, processing consistency and consciously challenging sustainability.

Ian is also quick to rate the other unique precision moulding features included within their latest all-electric machines. Especially the activeFlowBalance and activeLock features that Europlaz specified to help maximise efficiency and output.

Both of these technology features help to optimise the melt cushion that’s so critical in tight tolerance medical device applications, reports Ian. He explains that activeFlowBalance helps to stabilise and evenly distribute the pressure of the expanding melt within multi-cavity mould tools with no additional pressure, while the activeLock feature digitally controls the closing position on the non-return valve.

Three machines, countless configurations

Europlaz took delivery of two IntElect2 75T machines, one a 110 injection unit with a 22mm assembly and the other a 65 injection unit with a 18mm and additional 14mm assembly, in December 2023. Combined with the IntElect2 100T machine with a 250 injection unit and another two further screw sizes – 40mm and 25mm – which arrived end of January 2024, Europlaz has all of the in-built flexibility to accommodate their expansive and ever-growing medical tooling estate.

Having the option to rapidly switch between five screw sizes (14, 18, 22, 25 and 40mm) ensures that the optimum screw size is selected to suit each application’s shot weight. Additionally, the IntElect2’s large platen design means that the team can fit tools with up to eight cavities that might previously have required a larger tonnage and more energy intensive machine.

UK regional sales manager and part of the Sumitomo (SHI) Demag One Global Medical team Ashlee Gough clarifies: “Both of the IntElect2 75T’s have 420mm x 420mm distance between tie bars and increased mould height. This allows Europlaz to fit mould heights ranging from the minimum up to a maximum 460mm, whilst the innovative toggle platform maintains the all-important fixed 300mm opening stroke.”

The IntElect2 75/420-110 has a shot capacity of up to 35.9g in PP. The IntElect2 75/420-65 has a micro-moulding shot range of less than 1g through to 14.5g in PP. Putting this into production context, Ian confirms that that 75T machines gives Europlaz the clamp flexibility to take on most medical moulding projects.

Adding the 100T configuration extends the tie bar distance to 470mm, enabling Europlaz to accommodate mould tools ranging from 180mm to 550mm in height. “Between these three machines we can essentially mould components of any shot weight, using any tool, from the widest variety of medical-grade polymers,” extols Ian.

Quality In; Quality Out

A special Titanium Nitrate (TiN) coated 25mm screw assembly for the 100T IntElect was also sourced to support the high-quality processing of a cyclic olefin polymer (COP). Ian explains: “As a material that is commonly used in medical applications, COP can be prone to cracking when using traditional barrel assemblies.”

The One Global Medical team in Germany recommended a Titanium Nitrate impregnated barrel. Ian describes the teams’ breadth of processing knowledge and technical astuteness as exceptional. “They really were not fazed at all by this unique request,” notes Ian. A revised quote for the TiN assembly was issued overnight.

Alongside favouring the energy performance of the IntElect2 series, the Europlaz team values the benefit of familiarity. “The Sumitomo (SHI) Demag systems and service support always feels like the complete package. From being able to call upon personalised troubleshooting and guidance, tap into global expertise and having access to the Training Academy, the team and technology genuinely feels like an end-to-end extension of ours,” exclaims Ian.

Machine reliability is the ultimate measure of efficiency. But for Europlaz, and indeed the medical device market, Ian regards quality as the true measure of value.  “Quality leads to greater customer satisfaction, higher operational efficiency and effectiveness, and even increases in productivity, innovation and workforce engagement. This is why we hold these QIQO IntElect2 investments and the Sumitomo (SHI) Demag team in such high esteem.”

TM Robotics and Shibaura Machine demonstrated high-speed robots for process and packing lines in Germany

Shibaura Machine and its distribution partner TM Robotics, exhibited a trio of high-speed, flexible and cost-effective SCARA robots for food processing and packaging applications at Fish International 2024. Germany’s only trade fair for fish and seafood was held at the Messe Bremen exhibition centre in Bremen, Germany, between February 25 to 27, 2024.

Shibaura Machine and TM Robotics promoted automation and packaging technologies at Fish International 2024. The companies’ robots featured as part of the ‘Robotik Pack-Line’, a fully operational demonstration of an automated packaging line, which appeared in a dedicated showroom on Stand 5B39 in Hall 5.

The Robotik Pack-Line was overseen by Rolf Peters Projektmanagement, a sales project management company located in Bad Zwischenahn, Germany. Rolf Peters Projektmanagement’s specialists represent TM Robotics and Shibaura Machine in the German markets, and were on hand to greet visitors to Stand 5B39.

“This year’s Fish International was a valuable opportunity for visitors to see up close how Germany’s fish and seafood industry can benefit from the quality, innovation and flexibility of industrial robots made in Japan,” said Rolf Peters, robotics specialist, Rolf Peters Project management. “Shibaura Machine offers cost-effective solutions, without compromising on quality or sophistication.” Topics of discussion at Fish International 2024 included Shibaura Machine’s versatile SCARA robots designed for fast-cycle automation, inspection and pick and place applications. They include the THE range, a flexible and cost-effective option for food processors and system integrators featuring the compact and lightweight THE400 and THE600, and the larger and more powerful THE800 and THE1000 models.

Shibaura Machine’s THP 550 SCARA robot featured in the Robotik Pack-Line demonstration, integrated seamlessly with automation technologies from SEALPAC, ECOMA Maschinenbau, PFM Verpackungsmaschinen and other leading manufacturers. The THP 550 offers speed, precision and versatility in high-speed picking applications, and has played a crucial role in streamlining food packaging applications and increasing throughput.

Visitors to Stand 5B39 also saw a hands-on demonstration of Shibaura Machine’s THL 500. The THL Series of lightweight and energy efficient plug-and-play SCARA robots are ideal for price-conscious end-users and systems integrators seeking to automate food processes. Lastly, Shibaura Machine’s TVL700 6-axis robot was also on display. The TVL700 delivers a high speed, accurate and energy saving performance at a low cost, with a reach of 700 mm and a payload of 4 kg.

“Shibaura Machine’s high-speed, easy-to-program SCARA robots are the best and most flexible in the small robot markets for high-speed packing and food processing lines,” added Peters. “The robots’ hygienic design makes them ideal for food processing including clean room applications, and meets the IP65 ingress protection rating.”

In addition, Stand 5B39 featured an interactive education module that demonstrated Shibaura Machine and TM Robotics’ partnership with IQ Bremen, an education centre located in Bremen, Germany. Each year, IQ Bremen helps more than 1,000 students gain qualifications in industrial robotics, including technical bachelor’s and master’s degrees, aided by the use of Shibaura Machine industrial robots.

“There is a strong demand in the fish processing and packaging sector for innovative robots that can adapt to different tasks and operate at high speeds,” said Nigel Smith, CEO at TM Robotics. “Visitors to Fish International 2024 had a chance to see how the flexibility and speed of Shibaura Machine’s SCARA robots can play a vital role in the future of Germany’s fish processing industries.”