Plastics News - Show Daily - October 22, 2022 - 33

SHOW DAILY
Plastics News, October 22, 2022 * 33
Milacron President
Mac Jones at K 2022.
Plastics News photo by
Marco Stepniak
FERROMATIK MILACRON
GMBH
Hall 14, Booth B31
shrugged their shoulders at it.
But now it's very common. "
The rising cost of electricity
is biting into household and
business budgets. Stirn said
switching to all-electric presses
signifi cantly reduces heat load in
production plants along with energy
consumption.
Milacron sees 'reawakening'
to green technology
By Catherine Kavanaugh
Plastics News Staff
Ferromatik Milacron GmbH expanded
the range of its eQ series
of injection molding machines
launched in 2021 with two new
sizes that have 110 and 180 tons
of clamping force.
The all-electric presses designed
for a wide variety of markets
is fi nding early adopters in
the packaging, housewares and
consumer goods markets, according
to offi cials of the Germany-based
business.
The builder of injection molding
machines and extrusion
equipment has a North American
base in Batavia, Ohio, called
Milacron LLC and is an operating
company of Batesville, Indiana-based
Hillenbrand Inc.
The eQ series has energy monitoring
built into the controls to
give real-time feedback while the
machine is still running parts and
it easily integrates automation
and technology to improve capabilities
to mold recyclables.
The eQ series addresses
processor challenges related
to skyrocketing energy costs,
shrinking labor pools and an
increasing calls to use more recyclable
materials, according to
Milacron offi cials.
At K 2022, Milacron had an eQ
press equipped with processing
software from Hamilton, Ohiobased
Imfl ux Inc. that enables low
constant pressure molding for
100 percent post-consumer resin
despite viscosity challenges.
Milacron also partnered with
Sepro Group (Hall 12 Booth A49)
on a work cell to produce a small
sailboat out of post-consumer
polypropylene.
" A lot of dynamics are converging
with labor, sustainability and
supporting a circular economy, "
Milacron President Mac Jones
said. " What we've been preaching
for decades has been forced
on the industry. Every customer
has a different adoption rate and
they're on a different journey but
inevitably they will all get there.
So we look at it as kind of a tailwind. "
For
an example, Andy Stirn,
Milacron's general manager of
advanced systems, said, " we had
energy monitoring built into the
machine in 2000 and everybody
In general, all-electric presses
uses 60 to 70 percent less energy
compared to a hydraulic machine
and 10-15 percent less than a servo-hydraulic
machine, Stirn said.
With hydraulic machines, hot
air escapes and has to be removed
by the HVAC system or
transferred to the tower cooling
system.
" So you're spending more on
energy to remove the wasted energy
and that can add up to significant
cost, " Stirn said.
For processors wanting to help
their customers increase the
recycled content of products,
Milacron is offering Imfl ux as a
standard available option on all
machines, not just the eQ.
" When we saw that technology
we liked it from the get go, "
Jones said. " We knew it had benefi
ts for the future and being on
the ground fl oor with them was
critical. "
'Monosandwich'
Milacron also is focused on
Monosandwich processing to
simplify multi-component molding.
The process creates parts
with a layered sandwich structure
that has recycled materials
for the core and new material for
the exterior layers.
The process can signifi cantly
reduce manufacturing costs compared
to conventional sandwich
molding technologies, Milacron
offi cials said.
" Monosandwich allows us to
achieve coinjection and not only
improves sustainability with increased
recycled content but also
improves the structural strength
of parts. You can use less resin for
a higher strength part, " said Bun
Ly, Milacron's director of strategic
marketing and innovation.
The company is seeing interest
from the packaging, automotive
and industrial markets.
Back in the 1980s, Milacron was
one of the fi rst companies to develop
this kind of process and it
has progressed over time, Ly said.
Milacron out a spotlight on
the process at NPE 2015 with a
coinjection machine producing
fi ve-gallon pails, but it was ahead
of its time, company offi cials said.
However, Milacron is fi lling orders
for Monosandwich technology
now.
" With the trends going on now
in the industry, this is the right
time and place for Monosandwich, "
Ly said. " It's helping them
[processors] achieve the goals
set for them by customers and
packaging regulations that mandate
a certain percentage of recycled
content. It's a key technology
for us going forward to really benefi
t the industry. "
Stirn is heartened processors
are fi nally adding the technology
to their machine fl eets.
" I think the industry is now
reawakening to this type of
molding and it's great to see it
being factored into new product
designs, " he said. " The machine
capabilities have been there for
many decades. "
RESERVE A
BOOTH
TODAY!
The leading exhibition and conference for the polyurethanes industry in Latin America
returns to Mexico City on June 13-15, 2023. Contact Matt Barber at
mabarber@crain.com / +44 (0)7739 302081 to discuss exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities.
UTECHLASAMERICAS.COM
CONNECT WITH US
@UTECH_PU
Organized by:
UTECH POLYURETHANE
#UTECHLASAMERICAS
GLOBAL POLYMER GROUP

http://www.UTECHLASAMERICAS.COM

Plastics News - Show Daily - October 22, 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Plastics News - Show Daily - October 22, 2022