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Procan ALPHA ® 4 NEW Spritzgiessautomaten ® THE NEW Procan ALPHA ® 4 Sequence setting via drag & drop Integrated OPC-UA server for easy network communication * Host computer interface EUROMAP 77 Automatic screw size identification for easy set-up Screen with multi-touch technology Substantially improved reaction time and position accuracy Monitors peripheral equipment status & communication reports (*optional) The Step towards Industry 4.0 BOY Machines, Inc. | Exton, PA 19341 | Ph 610.363.9121 | Fx 610.363.0163 | E-Mail: sales@boymachines.com • • • • • • • the engineers can keep an eye on things," Hoskins notes. The tooling operation employs 15 to 20 people, out of about 100 for the whole Octex group. Octex had a much smaller tool- making capability before integrating the Choice Tool operation. New state-of-the-art equip- ment is designed to attract medical and aerospace customers. That includes what Hoskins calls "the most precise, high-speed, five-axis machining center you can buy," a Yasda system that offers precision to a 20-millionth of an inch on all axes. That one machine alone costs over $500,000. Plans are to add a robotic loader and a three-axis Yasda system. That will constitute the plant's "hard-milling" section (capable of milling hardened steel). In coming years, Hoskins aims to add a duplicate of that entire cell. Meanwhile, a new wire EDM machine will arrive soon (the first of a planned three or four); and a new horizontal milling machine will replace several older Bridgeport machines. It will be automated so that it can be loaded up with two days' work and run unattended. The facility also has a CNC lathe. Choice Tool is occupied 60-70% with outside tooling business and builds only about 30% of Octex's molds. One thing that stands out from its competition is that Choice Tool offers a 3-million-shot warranty (as compared with the usual 1 million shots) for jobs that Octex molds in-house. Choice Tool has experimented with 3D-printed plastic molds for prototyping. Octex has a Stratasys Objet 30 inkjet- style 3D printer, which it also uses to make robot EOAT, jigs, fixtures, and support structures. Octex is interested in using 3D printing to make plastic production parts, but this requires work on establishing parameters for certi- fying such parts, Wigton notes. Choice Tool is involved in projects designed to drastically accelerate the tool development and qualification process. The heart of the Omnia Scientific metrology lab is the Zeiss Metrotom 800 CT scanner, shown here with (l. to r.) metrology engineer Michael Pare, senior metrology engineer Sarabeth Smith, and Omnia director Thomas Schuler. @plastechmag 59 Plastics Technology On-Site Octex Group