Sumitomo Demag rationalises moulding machine offering

After two years of joint planning between its German and Japanese teams, Sumitomo Demag – “SHID” – is implementing a platform strategy to define the future development of all-electric, hybrid and hydraulic injection moulding machines. The IntElect Smart series was developed with clamping forces between 50 and 160 tons. It will be upgraded by the time of K 2010 with four new models rated at up to 450 tons. "This is backed by our strong conviction that our all-electric drive concept best satisfies the demands of customers for dynamic performance, precision and energy efficiency,” commented Andreas Schramm, who heads SHID’s research and development department at Schwaig, Germany. The Smart concept is based on the proven SE drive technology originally developed by Sumitomo. It is now available as a joint platform for both the German IntElect Smart and Japanese SE machines. “In addition to high-technology drives with the greatest efficiencies, the user will benefit from all the features for which Demag machines are already known, such as the NC5 control system, powerful plasticating units and a wide range of options", said Schramm. Besides the IntElect Smart, the IntElect Performance with European drive technology and clamping forces from 50 to 210 tons is also available. This is supplemented by the all-electric Sumitomo SE DUZ models with clamping forces from 30 to 180 tons, the SE HDZ rated from 220 to 450 tons, and the SE HSZ. The latter is a high-speed variant rated at 220 to 350 tons. These machines are produced in Wiehe, Germany. SHID c haracterises stable continuous operation, extreme ruggedness and high injection energy as the specific requirements of the packaging market. Based on the hybrid concept of the proven El-Exis series, the company’s engineers have further enhanced and optimised its drive technology in terms of high dynamic performance and injection capacity. The El-Exis SP series machines, with clamping forces from 150 to 780 tons, are specifically designed for high-speed operation in thin-wall applications. “With our Active Adjust feature, the user can tailor the dynamics of the machine to the specific application, thus saving on cycle time" commented Schramm. SHID continuously optimises control systems and interfaces for automated injection moulding production. Schramm remarked: "We are conceiving a flexible concept to facilitate the integration of robot and peripheral equipment controls into the machine control system." In addition to the current model DR robots from SHID, six robot models (SDR11 to SDR66) have been conceived in collaboration with Sepro using an integrated control system. These will be launched at K 2010. Integrated customer-specific solutions are already in service, based on this engineering solution.