Chinaplas is the most important trade fair in Asia for Arburg. From 17 to 20 April 2023, two important, pioneering innovations will be presented in Shenzhen: the Flexlift, a robotic system specially designed for the Asian market, and the new hybrid Allrounder 470 H, which Arburg is launching to mark the anniversary of "100 years of the Hehl family company". Furthermore, the 400 square metre Arburg stand no. 10J21 in Hall 10 will impressively feature the two key topics of digitalisation and sustainability, as well as an Allrounder 1600 T rotary table machine, an Allrounder 370 H and a Freeformer 300-3X for industrial additive manufacturing.
Chinaplas is held alternately in Shanghai and Shenzhen. In 2023, the latter metropolis will play host to more than 3,900 exhibitors from all over the world, who will present themselves at the 35th edition of Chinaplas on the grounds of the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center (SWECC). "The Chinese market is the largest for injection moulding in Asia. The demand for high-end solutions is growing very rapidly and we can offer excellent, market-adapted solutions with our know-how," says Zhao Tong, Managing Director Arburg China. "We have a particular focus here on turnkey applications with post-injection assembly for the large-scale productions of our customers from the medical, mobility and electronics sectors. This is complemented by digital management and important individual services and training. Most of the automation components and tools come from Asian suppliers and have been assembled and intensively tested at the Arburg Technology Factory Pinghu, China.
"Highlights of the trade fair presentation are, of course, the anniversary '100 years of the Hehl family company' and the new Allrounder 470 H that Arburg has launched to mark the occasion," emphasises Zhao Tong. "With this exhibit, we are even celebrating two premieres: that of the milestone machine and that of the Flexlift robotic system, which was specially developed for the Asian market and is also only available there. The Allrounders 470 H milestone machine is available in Comfort and Premium performance variants. The focus of these new developments was on increasing efficiency, optimising the energy footprint and reducing the cycle time. Highlights include the new oil management concept, throughput splitting enabling simultaneous movements of the axes, servo hydraulics and the high level of user-friendliness in day-to-day operation thanks to optimised connections and interfaces.
At Chinaplas, the anniversary machine Allrounder 470 H Comfort will produce adapters for the medical market using PC (polycarbonate), in a three-platen mould with 2+2 cavities. The cycle time is 25 seconds. The moulded parts are removed by the Flexlift 10+2 double-arm robot, the main arm can handle a payload of ten kilograms, while its second arm can lift loads weighing two kilograms. The entire turnkey system that also has an integrated camera test and a sample part drawer for quality assurance purposes, was designed, built and commissioned in the Arburg Technology Factory Pinghu. The gripper component of the Flexlift was also manufactured there in an additive manufacturing process on a Freeformer 300-3x. A live demonstration of the Freeformer at Chinaplas will show how to manufacture a hard-soft compound from PC/ABS and TPU for grippers.
Arburg is not only well positioned and represented in Shenzhen with its machine technology, but is also well prepared for future requirements in the areas of digitalisation and sustainability. Two digital terminals with the Arburg host computer system ALS and the functions of the "arburgXworld" digital customer portal are on display. Two additional info points will provide more information on the "arburgGREENworld" programme for the circular economy, carbon footprint and resource conservation, as well as on Arburg services. Zhao Tong outlines the strengths of the offer: "In addition to injection moulding machines, we offer a wide range of services, consulting and digital solutions. We help our customers with high-end technology to produce their products even cheaper, faster and with even higher quality."
Of particular interest to trade visitors from the electronics industry is the Allrounder 370 H Ultimate with Gestica controller, 600 kN clamping force and size 290 injection unit: with a fast cycle time of just seven seconds and a 16-cavity injection mould, the exhibit produces relay sockets from a 30 per cent glass-fibre-filled PBT. The Flexlift 5 with a payload of five kilograms removes the sprue and the moulded parts, which are then deposited separately downstream according to cavities.
Finally, the Allrounder 1600 T with 2,000 kN clamping force and size 170 injection unit is likely to attract the attention of customers from the mobility sector. Supported by a Kuka six-axis robot with a load capacity of ten kilograms, fluid connections and connecting parts are produced from polyamide 6 with 35 per cent glass fibre content (PA6 GF 35) and metal inserts. The products are produced in a 4-cavity mould in a cycle time of around 40 seconds. This automated turnkey system was customised to include a punching unit with punching strip conveyor and a PIN removal system. The Kuka six-axis robot was also implemented at the Arburg Technology Factory Pinghu.
