Friday, April 17, 2009

Injection moulding for energy savers: KraussMaffei’s all-electric AX series



Munich, April 16, 2009 – With up to 60% greater energy efficiency and a 25% smaller footprint for a fully automated, completely enclosed production cell, KraussMaffei’s new AX injection moulding machine series will help to slash manufacturing costs in standard applications. The all-electric injection moulding machines from 50 to 350 tonnes combine proven toggle mechanics with extreme operator friendliness. KraussMaffei’s competitive pricing policy and short set-up
times for AX machines will deliver further reductions in total cost of ownership.
The AX rounds out KraussMaffei’s product portfolio, adding a lower-priced electric machine series for standard applications to the company’s portfolio of highly customizable solutions. The new series seamlessly continues the company’s reputation for engineering excellence. The AX features a centrally-lubricated, low-maintenance, five-point toggle for the clamp and a moving platen on precision roller bearing guides with friction up to 80% lower than a sliding-support design. The high-precision platen guides guarantee very high platen parallelism, helping to prolong mould service life. The water-cooled converters are regenerative-capable, harvesting braking energy and controlling the servomotors with high efficiency. A number of energy-saving
engineering measures have made the AX series over 50% - and in many cases up to 60% - more energy efficient than a comparable modern hydraulic machine.
This is a major success in the drive towards energy efficiency BluePower from KraussMaffei
The super-slim machine can be supplied as a complete production cell, with an integrated KraussMaffei linear robot and safety housing, that shrinks space requirements by around 25%. The operator-friendly KraussMaffei MC5 Touch control system coordinates all machine functions and the integrated robot via a KraussMaffei’s all-electric injection moulding machine series AX as a complete production cell, with an integrated KraussMaffei linear robot   real-time Varan bus. This simplifies operation and full fault diagnosis for all machine functions, boosting safety and reliability for operators and machine. By fitting uniform connectors, KraussMaffei opens up to AX customers the whole spectrum of its premium plasticizing units, tried-and-tested in the company’s CX and EX machines. These screws have extended service lives, due to outstanding resistance to abrasion and corrosion, and deliver very high plasticizing performance and a homogenous melt. Screw performance teamed with KraussMaffei’s electric drive technology enables the AX to deliver precisely repeatable shot weights.
Easy access to all machine modules and the swing-out injection unit make for shorter set-up times. This improves the productivity of the AX machines, especially for processing small batches. With the launch of the AX machines in Q3 2008, KraussMaffei initially offered three clamp sizes – 80, 100 and 180 tonnes – covering a wide range of applications. Within a short time, the company will be offering a finely scaled range of machines spanning 50 to 350 tonnes.

KraussMaffei company profile


In terms of sales, KraussMaffei is world market leader in machines and systems for plastics and rubber processing. With its three divisions – Injection Moulding Technology, Extrusion Technology and Reaction Process Machinery – KraussMaffei is a premium partner for the plastics and rubber processing industries worldwide.
In the 2007/2008 business year (year ending September 30), the KraussMaffei Group posted sales of more than 1 billion euros. The group markets its products under the KraussMaffei, KraussMaffei Berstorff and Netstal brands. The KraussMaffei brand covers the whole spectrum of injection and reaction moulding technology, while the KraussMaffei Berstorff brand stands for
successful extrusion solutions. The injection moulding machines of Netstal, our Swiss subsidiary, meet the highest of requirements imposed on process implementation, parts quality and production performance and are mainly used to make highly sophisticated technical and thin-walled plastic parts.
With over 100 years’ of expertise and know-how in machinery for plastics and rubber processing, KraussMaffei is today a major technology and process partner for industry. The group offers a wide range of solutions that includes specialized and fully integrated turnkey systems. Headquartered in Munich, the company employs around 4000 people worldwide. Worldwide KraussMaffei operates a network of 140 subsidiaries and sales agencies, and deploys over 570 service technicians, ensuring fast response and closeness to customers everywhere.

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