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4. INTEGRATED MULTI-PROCESS CELLS Some of the most dazzling exhibits at recent plastics exhibitions have demonstrated intimate pairings of injection molding with other processes in an integrated cell. Fakuma 2014 was no exception. It showed how machinery OEMs are pulling out the stops to show that virtually anything can be integrated with injection molding. • Among the more unusual pairings, KraussMafei operated a two-shot molding cell in which a frst shot of polycarbonate was overmolded with molten zinc metal. The technology was devel- oped by German molder and moldmaker Krallmann Group (krallmann.de), which also built the small metal-injection unit on the side of the press. That unit melts a billet of zinc at 250 C and injects it through a special hot runner. Shot capacity is up to 30 g (at a density of 7.5 g/cc). In this case, only 3.5 g of metal was injected to show the capability of adding conductive paths or electrical contacts to a plastic part (photo on opposite page). • Arburg operated a cell in which a bead-foam molding press was integrated with an injection machine, using a six-axis robot to transfer foam components to the injection mold and to demold fnished parts. The part was a socket consisting of a cir- cular EPP foam part and a solid PP threaded component that was molded inside the foam piece. According to Arburg, it's not pos- sible to achieve a permanent bond between the bead foam and solid PP without this overmolding process, which is called Particle-Foam Composite Injection Molding (PCIM). The photo opposite shows the part and how it can be incorporated into larger bead-foam components, repre- sented in this case by an EPP board. • Although less exotic, close cou- pling of a laser printer to an injec- tion machine is not something you see every day. Boy Machines ran a cell in which laser printing was performed side by side with the injection press molding an ABS "business card." The laser printer was integrated with the machine controls, where the print program was selected. CO FEED IT GRIND IT DRY IT EXTRUDE IT STORE IT G D EX ST ND IT Y IT UDE IT RE IT CO FEED IT GRIND IT DRY IT EXTRUDE IT STORE IT GRIND IT DRY IT EXTRUDE IT STORE IT CO FEED IT GRIND IT DRY IT EXTRUDE IT STORE IT GRIND IT DRY IT EXTRUDE IT STORE IT CO FEED IT GRIND IT DRY IT EXTRUDE IT STORE IT GRIND IT DRY IT EXTRUDE IT STORE IT Be Our Guest at NPE 2015! March 23-27, 2015 • Orlando, Florida USA Visit www.npeguestpass.org/830 to get your FREE guest pass and be sure to visit Conair at booth W2143. Portable Chillers Central Chillers Cooling Towers Pump Tanks ASK US ABOUT OUR NEW ADIABATIC TECHNOLOGY! QUESTIONS ABOUT INJECTION MOLDING? Visit the Injection Molding Zone for more articles. Electronic water-fow monitoring and regulation is the next frontier for injection molding process control. FA K U M A 2 0 1 5