An all-electric injection-molding cell produces twice the work with half the machines and less manpower and offers RFID tagging of consumer parts.

Cincinnati Milacron all-electric Powerline NT550 injection machine shows how to save machines, energy and labor at NPE with an unmanned molding cell producing an assembled flowerpot - complete with RFID label. The same product had previously required two molding machines and downstream labor. The Powerline NT also introduces a new high-capacity, direct-drive, reciprocating-screw injection unit with single roller-screw actuator that reduces noise and inertia.

'This cell highlights a range of all-electric molding advantages - process consolidation, floor-space reduction and a conservative 70+% energy savings over the two hydraulic machines previously used for this application,' said Powerline Product manager Andy Stirn.

'We started by marrying two molds in one machine with a sequential valve-gate hot runner from D-M-E.

The demonstration highlights how our new Mosaic control's standard injection setup permits sequential injection.

'The robot saves labor with part removal and press-side assembly, which had previously been done downstream, while the RFID labeling demonstrates how easy it is to add traceability to parts such as baby seats, medical devices, automotive parts and others that need an on-board manufacturing history.' The Powerline NT550 is the mid-size machine in a range of seven rated 2200 - 11250kN (220-1125 tonf).

It comes standard with Milacron's new Mosaic control.

'The control's 10-segment injection profiles, in combination with sequential valve gates, allow parts in the NPE demonstration to be filled and packed sequentially,' Stirn explained.

'This lessens the tonnage requirement to that of a single cavity.

'Each injection segment can be configured by the operator to be a fill stage or a pack-and-hold stage.' The NPE machine introduces a new high-capacity 54oz injection unit equipped with nozzle shut-off valve and 80mm, 24:1 BARR feedscrew from ServTek.

A single roller-screw actuator reduces mechanical complexity and components, while eliminating the need to perfectly synchronize two actuators.

The roller screw is capable of five times the speed of a ballscrew.

The all-direct drive injection unit is available with A, B, C screws, and can deliver up to 20,600 lb/in2 (at 41in3/s.).

The low-inertia direct drive eliminates all belt issues, providing faster response and more precise control, with cleaner operation, lower noise and less maintenance compared to other designs.

The Powerline's direct-connected, rack-and-pinion clamp drive powers a toggle clamp that has been mechanically balanced and refined over five generations of design.

The direct-connected system eliminates inertia and maintenance issues related to belts and pulleys, along with premature motor bearing failure caused by shaft side loading.

The clamp and drive are exceptionally quiet and responsive, with a maximum stroke length of 34.64in (880mm) - repeatable to +/-0.002in (0.05mm).

Euromap dry cycle time is a crisp <3.0s.

The clamp builds full tonnage in 0.4s.

but allows injection to begin before full tonnage is reached to cut cycle times and improve throughput.

'The rack-and-pinion clamp drive gives the Powerline NT a speed advantage over competitive electric and even allows it to compete with many accumulator-driven machines,' Stirn added.

All Powerline NT models have independent drives for each machine axis, making it easy to reduce cycle times with overlapped functions.

Cycle times are also improved by allowing pre-decompression, relaxing the toggle during part cooling to eliminate the wait on tonnage release before opening the clamp.

Tie bar spacing on the Powerline NT 550 is 36.2in x 36.2in (920mm x 920mm) with a base design that permits tri-directional part removal.

The base also houses an integrated 8.5 GPM hydraulic pump to power core or valve-gate actions.

The machine at NPE features extended daylight of 79.72in (2024mm)'.

Standard daylight is 67.72in (1720mm), with max/min mold height of 33.07in/9.84in (840/250mm).

The Powerline's advanced Moldguard and Ejectguard provide the most sensitive full stroke mold protection in the industry, according to Milacron.

'Powerline machines have historically been popular with captive molders running complex, expensive molds,' said Bob Strickley, Milacron's director of marketing.

'Moldguard and Ejectguard are technology innovations that result in significantly less repair and maintenance for molds over the life of a project or product.

'It is like free mold insurance built into the machine.' The Powerline comes standard with Milacron's new Mosaic control.

The new control's operator panel is all-sealed, with an embedded operating system that requires no hard-disc drive or back-up power source.

It has extensive capabilities for connectivity and security, with Ethernet LAN and Powerlink, dual USB ports, optional ID card reader, and web-based or network access to process data and machine status.

The 15in touchscreen display includes standard multilingual and inch/metric support, setup wizards and a single-page overview of all critical set points.