PowerSeries shows top-class performance at the WITTMANN BATTENFELD Competence Days 2010

Visitors from more than 30 countries accepted the WITTMANN Group’s invitation to attend the Competence Days 2010, which took place on 28 and 29 April in Kottingbrunn (Austria). “Simply the Best” was the motto, under which experts of the WITTMANN group presented latest innovations and process technologies to interested trade visitors. The total of 1,000 visitors, thereof 700 customers, exceeded by far the organizers’ expectations for the Competence Days. In addition to its newly developed PowerSeries range with the EcoPower, MacroPower and MicroPower series, WITTMANN BATTENFELD presented exhibits from the HM and Vertical machine series, while WITTMANN showed its latest developments in the area of peripheral equipment – robots, granulators, dryers and temperature controllers. Since the merger of WITTMANN and BATTENFELD in 2008, it has become possible to fully implement the corporate philosophy of “everything from a single source”. During the Competence Days, this was demonstrated once more with a total of 70 exhibits from the areas of injection molding, automation and peripheral equipment. WITTMANN BATTENFELD is also breaking new ground in the area of process technology. The combination of water injection and projectile technology has opened up new possibilities in injection molding; the latest achievement in process technology is a process by the name of BFMOLD™ technology. This variothermic mold tempering technique has been developed by Kunststoffinstitut Lüdenscheid and is marketed exclusively by the WITTMANN group. BFMOLD™ enables the production of parts with high-gloss surfaces without sink marks, warpage or joint lines, and even within shorter cycle times in some cases. The temperature control function in this process is taken over by the WITTMANN multi-circuit tempering unit TEMPRO plus C VARIO, specially developed for this purpose. The MacroPower injection molding machine with 800 tons clamping force proved its efficient productivity by manufacturing a dryer center part (with a mold supplied by Coko Kunststofftechnik). The machine concept geared to user benefit offered the advantages of minimal locking and high-pressure buildup times as well as a facility for extremely quick mold change. The newly developed MicroPower proved to be of special interest for the visitors. This production cell is available with clamping forces of either 5 or 15 tons and consequently ideally suited to the production of micro precision parts and nano parts. At the Competence Days, the production of a micro plug with a part volume of no more than 0.0035 cm³ was demonstrated. Here, the part quality is checked and monitored by a camera integrated in the production cell and the machine’s control system. The modular design allows for easy integration of a clean room module, to accommodate medical clean-room applications as well. The servo-electric machines were represented by several units from the new EcoPower series. On an EcoPower 110/350, an LSR O-ring was produced in a 128- cavity mold supplied by Rico (Austria). With a 32-cavity mold from Schöttli (Switzerland), an EcoPower SE 110/350 produced a 2 ml barrel for medical applications. Another example from this series, an EcoPower 180/750, was shown producing a PP fitting formed in a mold from IFW (Austria). An HM 180/1330, equipped with the new, energy-efficient ServoDrive drive concept, was presented with the production of a PA media duct. Here, a combination of water injection and projectile technology was used, with a mold supplied by IKV Aachen (Germany). Projectile technology enables constant duct cross-sections, smoother inner surfaces and forming of special cavity geometries. This project was presented in cooperation with IKV Aachen. As an example of COMBIMOULD multi-component technology, a two-component oil closure in Gram technology was manufactured in a double stack mold supplied by KTW (Austria) on an HM MK 300/2250H/525V. Here also, the new ServoDrive drive concept was demonstrated.