- Arrangement of injection units allow good access to nozzles & barrel
- Switch-over between single-component & multi-component tasks possible
- Wittmann Battenfeld at #Fakuma 2014
Sandwich technology is popular primarily wherever thick-walled parts must be produced, or where regrind can be used as a filler. At this year’s #Fakuma, the company Wittmann Battenfeld will demonstrate its newly developed sandwich process on a large machine from the MacroPower series.
Arrangement of injection units allow easy access to nozzles & barrel
In the engineering concept adopted by the company, the main injection unit is placed in the standard position (H) at the center, the second injection unit in an angled position behind the main aggregate, in a Y configuration. This arrangement of the aggregates offers numerous advantages, starting with good access to the nozzles and barrel from both sides, which makes maintenance easy and safe, and also facilitates barrel change. Material feeding with standard material loaders is also possible. Furthermore, the position of the second aggregate in Y configuration favors short flow paths. The horizontal position of the injection units keeps the overall height of the machine low, which ensures easy installation of automation equipment.
Y-configuration of the injection units (source: Wittmann Battenfeld)
Switch-over between single-component & multi-component tasks
Due to the central position of the main aggregate, the machine can also be used for single-component tasks without having to be converted. All that is necessary is to switch off the second injection unit and deactivate it in the control system. The two aggregates can also be separated by a simple conversion process, thus making it possible to use the machine for standard multi-component applications.
Foaming of the core component to produce light-weight parts with an attractive surface, an application for which the sandwich process is frequently used, can also be integrated in this machine. For this purpose, the company offers its Cellmould structured foam process developed in-house, including the complete hardware package.
Sandwich nozzle in simple design for quick color change
The newly developed sandwich nozzle features a simple structure, making it possible to clean the nozzle from the front for quick color change. In addition, the sandwich nozzle can be rotated by 180 degrees to offer a free choice of combinations between individual injection units and nozzle channels, and so the injection units for the main and core components can be exchanged easily.
Wittmann Battenfeld sandwich nozzle (source: Wittmann Battenfeld)
At the #Fakuma, “Lechuza” flower pots will be manufactured from PP with foamed PP for the core component on a MacroPower 450/5100H/2250Y, using a single-cavity mold supplied by geobra Brandstätter, Germany. The parts will be removed and deposited on a conveyor belt by a Wittmann robot from the new pro series.
Main Picture: View of the MacroPower sandwich machine’s injection units from above (source: Wittmann Battenfeld)
