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The latest in automotive injection molding technologies

ENGEL trend.scaut America 2016

York/PA – May 2016

To present the latest trends in automotive molding technologies, ENGEL is inviting automotive industry molders to the ENGEL trend.scaut America 2016. This event, being held in Livonia, MI on June 29th, will examine which automotive trends in technology should be focused on and the latest opportunities available in the field of lightweight design and efficient production.

ENGEL North America, member of the ENGEL Group, a world leader in the design and manufacture of injection molding machines and parts-handling automation, will host the complimentary ENGEL trend.scaut America 2016 event at the Laurel Manor Banquet & Conference Center in Livonia, MI, on Wednesday, June 29, 2016.

It is the first time that this automotive conference will be held in America – with ENGEL being your trend scout in the automotive industry. This motto also reflects in the series’ name, combining the words ‘trend scout’ and ‘automotive’ to ‘trend.scaut’.

The event

Technical presentations on a wide range of topics, focused on current and future trends in automotive molding and presented by industry experts, will be featured during this single day event. Several featured topics and speakers include:

·  inject 4.0 | The ENGEL Solution for Your Smart Factory, Stefan Engleder, ENGEL Austria

·  Important Emerging Technologies and Trends within the Automotive Industry,
Drew Winter, WardsAutomotive

·  Next-Generation Automotive Applications with Thermoplastic Composites,
Pal Swaminathan, Lanxess

·  A Tier 1 View of OEM Trends and Challenges, Jim Moore, Magna

·  Global Energy Outlook with a Concentration on the Americas, Larry Gros, ExxonMobil

·  Technology Solutions for Lightweight Composites, Peter Egger, ENGEL Austria

·  Design Flexibility Through the MuCell® Process, Levi Kishbaugh, Trexel

·  Lightweighting Strategies Through Tooling Design, Steve Jarzynski, Hi-Tech Mold & Engineering, Inc.

·  Sales and production forecasts for the next 7 years (focused on North America within a global context), Haig Stoddard, WardsAutomotive

·  Innovations in Biobased Thermoset Foams: The Next Generation Structural Lightweight Materials, Srikanth Pilla

Participants will also have opportunity during the event to converse with both industry experts and ENGEL speakers, as well as the event partners at the Partner Fair.

SA Engineering Technology Center

The formal presentation portion of the event will be followed by machine exhibits and a reception at the SA Engineering Technology Center. The reception will offer guests the opportunity to fuel their systems at a multi-station buffet and refreshment bar, as well as to examine a number of injection molding cells, which will be processing automotive applications. There will be additional opportunity to converse with the speakers and event partners, with a second Partner Fair set up in the Technology Center.

ENGEL is pleased to be an in-house partner – as well as exclusive supplier of injection molding machines and automation -- of the SA Engineering Technology Center, which is a world-class incubator for developing leading edge technology processes and finding innovative and efficient solutions to meet the customers’ objectives. The goal of the SA Engineering Technical Center is to be the center of expertise for new injection molding technologies to reduce weight, waste, and process costs, as well as to improve quality. The center’s specialists and partner companies will support customers in optimizing specific processes utilizing state-of-the-art injection molding equipment and technologies in a confidential environment. They will also co-develop and prove out repeatable processes for mass-market launch into production.

Technology in action

Several ENGEL injection molding cells will be showcased at SA Engineering Technology Center, demonstrating some of the latest developments in automotive molding technology:

·  To manufacture luggage compartment covers, Daimler and mold maker Georg Kaufmann Formenbau (Busslingen, Switzerland) developed a process based on ENGEL coinmelt (injection compression) technology. An ENGEL duo 16050/1650 WP US machine, with an integrated ENGEL viper 60 robot, will produce ready-to-install components with a highly complex, three-dimensional geometry – creating a dimensionally stable part with little material. Injection-compression molding allows for distortion-free parts with a high-quality reproduction of surface details and thinner wall thicknesses compared to compact injection molding, thereby saving weight and reducing material costs.

The machine is also equipped with ENGEL flomo, a compact temperature control water manifold with electronic flow monitoring, which can be adjusted manually. This smart water manifold system helps to increase part quality, process stability, cost effectiveness and energy efficiency, while achieving higher reproducibility with minimum reject rate. In this application, the ENGEL flomo is integrated into the machine, providing increased process reliability and simplified process optimization.

·  Clutch pedals will be manufactured, utilizing the ENGEL watermelt method, on a tie-bar-less ENGEL victory 1350/285 tech US machine. The ENGEL tie-bar-less victory machine, with its large platen face and free access to the mold area, meets the need for high efficiency and cost-effectiveness in injection molding production better than any other design today.

Water injection technology uses pressurized water to not only prevent surface defects caused by shrinkage during cooling, but also to deliberately create cavities, with the capability to create complex media lines. This technology allows for the savings of raw material, decreased component weight, and faster cycle times. In this application, the injection of water into a cavity partially filled with plastic melt ensures a uniform wall thickness throughout the clutch pedal, and no sink marks despite the complex part geometry, resulting in a very precise part surface. ENGEL, together with its system partner PMEfluidtec (Ettenheim, Germany), offers tailor-made turnkey solutions for water injection technology worldwide.

·  An ENGEL duo 2550/660 US, two-platen injection molding machine, equipped with an ENGEL viper 20, will be utilizing the Trexel MuCell® process to produce an automotive reservoir. MuCell® is a complete process and equipment technology which, through the use of gas in its supercritical state, creates relatively uniform stress patterns in the molded part, rather than the non-uniform stress characteristic of solid molding. The process generally offers a 50-75% improvement in key quality measures such as flatness, roundness and warpage, while eliminating all sink marks.

The Trexel gas dispensing unit is integrated into the CC300 control unit of the ENGEL injection molding machine, so it can be monitored and regulated via the machine display.

This exhibit also showcases ENGEL ecodrive system which puts hydraulic machines nearly into the energy range of an all-electric press, providing substantial energy savings over conventional hydraulic machines.

·  Equipped with an ENGEL viper 40 robot, a two-platen ENGEL duo 7050/1000 WP US, wide platen version injection molding machine will run a single cavity, hot runner, spoiler mold. The wide platen configuration of the ENGEL duo allows for increased flexibility to run larger molds which do not require higher clamp tonnage. This machine is also directly interfaced with the HRS FLEXflow sequential valve gate system, developed by ENGEL partner HRSflow (San Polo di Piave, Italy). The New FLEXflow is a Servo-Driven valve gate that assures accurate, easy and flexible control of pressures and flow rates during the whole injection process by precisely adjusting position, acceleration, velocity and stroke. The FLEXflow technology allows clamping force reduction, surface quality improvements and warpage reduction.

·  To experience the ease of full integration between man, machine, and robot, the fully integrated ENGEL 3500 US injection molding machine and six axis robot will be demonstrated. Having the automation controls fully integrated with the machine’s CC300 control unit, the system offers numerous features for improved productivity and easier handling for the complete cell, including consistent control logic for more convenience, safety and efficiency. Through this integration, the machine and robot access a shared database, thereby enhancing process security and operator convenience while achieving optimal efficiency in production sequences.

For more information and to register:

https://event.engelglobal.com/event/trendscaut2016

At the SA Engineering Technology Center, an automotive reservoir will be produced on an ENGEL duo 2550/660 US, two-platen injection molding machine, equipped with an ENGEL viper 20 and utilizing the Trexel MuCell® process.

Various sizes of the ENGEL viper robot will be demonstrated during the event. These fully integrated robots feature active vibration control which boosts positioning speed and thereby contributes to the achievement of shorter cycle times.

In answer to the question of how the productivity, flexibility and quality of manufacturing processes can be maximized, ENGEL CTO, Dr. Stefan Engleder, will present ENGEL inject 4.0 to attendees.

ENGEL North America

From facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico, ENGEL North America offers its customers a single source for the design and manufacture of injection molding machines for thermoplastics and elastomers, a wide range of technology modules for plastics processing and a full scope of automation solutions. With eight production plants in Europe, North America and Asia (China and Korea), and subsidiaries and representatives in more than 85 countries, ENGEL provides its customers the global support they need to compete and succeed with new technologies and leading-edge production systems.

Press Contacts:

Kleta Childs, Manager of Marketing and Sales Administration, ENGEL North America

3740 Board Rd., York, Pa., 17406,

tel.: 717.764.6818 ext. 3390, fax: 717.764.8093, e-mail:

Birgit Degwerth, Strategic Marketing Manager, ENGEL North America,
3740 Board Rd., York, Pa., 17406,

tel.: 717.764.6818 ext. 3391, fax: 717.764.8093, e-mail:

Susanne Zinckgraf, Public Relations Manager, ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH,
Ludwig-Engel-Straße 1, A-4311 Schwertberg, Austria,

PR-Office: Theodor-Heuss-Str. 85, D-67435 Neustadt, Germany,
tel.: +49 (0) 6327 9769902, fax: +49 (0) 6327 9769903, e-mail:

Contact for readers:
ENGEL Machinery Inc., 3740 Board Road, York, PA, 17406
tel.: 717 764 6818, fax: 717 764 8093, e-mail:

www.engelglobal.com/us

ENGEL Machinery Inc. | York PA 17406 | tel: 717 764 6818 | fax: 717 764 0314
e-mail: | http://www.engelglobal.com/us

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