Practical tipsIncrease your

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And it counts throughout the entire value-added chain – from prod-uct design right through to production planning, and including pre-

appropriate corporate strategy.

How are things at your company? Do you make rational use of your resources and exploit all available potential? With inspiring tips and concrete examples, ARBURG wants to motivate you to track down improvement potential in your injection moulding facility and to actively exploit this.

Knowing what counts!

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Our practical tips consist of ten modules that can also be applied individually and a self-test:

Product design ........................4Mould technology ..................6Machine technology ...............8Peripherals ............................10

.......................12Process integration ...............14Process control ......................16Production planning .............18Energy management ............20Corporate strategy ...............22

to the test! ............................24

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Production

Practical tips

Do you use computer-aided simulations to design components and

When designing products, do you pay attention to angles and radii, to enable a smooth injection moulding process?

Do you reduce wall thicknesses to save on materials and shorten cycle times?

Do you combine plastics, e.g. in order to integrate functions in the component or minimise production steps?

Do you select materials carefully with a view to reducing the energy requirement of the production process from the outset?

Do you look into the possibility of using recycled or recyclable materials, in order to reduce waste?

Do you think about using new materials, e.g. to improve material input or suitability for processing?

Product design

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Practical example

By replacing PA 6 GF 30 with Ultramid® High Speed – a plastic with

reduced by approx. 40°C, with comparable mechan-ical properties. So, for the production of a spinning top weighing 17.3 g, the energy requirement of the cylinder module was reduced by around 15% and the cycle time by about 10%.

Energy require-ment - 0.2 kWh Cycle time - 0.97 s

Furtherinformation

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Practical tips

Do you use computer-aided simulations to shorten development times and optimise the injection moulding process?

Do you endeavour to achieve a stable production process? Examples: Do you reduce moving mould elements? Do you ensure good de-moulding?

Do you use hot or cold runners to save on materials?

Do you insulate heated moulds to reduce the energy required for temperature control?

Do you segment mould temperature control to ensure good process control?

Do you use near-contour cavity cooling to enable fast cycles?

With multi-component applications, do you examine the use of robotic technology as an alternative to transferring parts in the mould? The advantages are simple, cost-effective mould technology.

Do you ensure that media channels are generously dimensioned so that optimum cooling and temperature control can be achieved?

temperatures to be selected?

Do you pay attention to the quality of the cooling water, to ensure pipe cross-sections remain unobstructed?

Mould technologyProduction

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Practical example

To counter energy losses, insulation of hot moulds with respect to the environment and the mounting platens is important. In this way, during the production of optical lenses of PC with a mould temperature of 90°C, it was possi-ble to more than halve the energy requirement for temperature control.

Energy requirement - 1.1 kWh

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Practical tips

When selecting machines, do you focus on functionality and performance and not just on energy requirement?

Are you aware of the potential savings that can be achieved through high-quality technology? Examples: Fast cycles through simultaneous movements. Good process stability through high reproducibility. High availability through reliability.

Do you compare achievable unit costs, not just the pure investment costs of the various injection moulding solutions?ARBURG uses a cost-effectiveness calculator to determine the most

products on offer.

Do you reduce the production energy requirements through the targeted use of IE2 motors, speed- controlled pump drives or electric drives?

Do you examine the possibility of improved insulation of cylinder

Do you consider liquid cooling of drives to reduce waste heat? This is particularly important in air-conditioned areas of production.

Machine technologyProduction

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Practical example

Electric machines may be more expensive, but they deliver a higher performance than standard hydraulic machines. In a comparison of both types of machine for the production of drippers for irrigation systems, the result is as follows: With an electric ALLROUNDER, the energy requirement can be reduced by around 45% and the cycle time by 20%. So, the extra investment pays for itself within a few months.

Energy require - ment - 1.06 kWh/kgCycle time - 0.83 s

Furtherinformation

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Practical tips

Do you control and monitor peripherals centrally to ensure high process reliability?

Do you ensure simple and, ideally, uniform control to reduce time spent on programming and training?

Do you employ speed-controlled, electric drives instead of pneumatic systems for automation? The advantages are simple set-up, low energy requirement, precise sequences and short cycle times.

Do you check your compressed air system regularly for leaks, in order to detect and rectify any leakage at an early stage?

injection moulding process, to reduce cooling costs?

Do you keep media supply lines short and insulate hot areas to reduce the energy requirement for cooling and temperature control units?

Do you ensure that media lines are generously dimensioned so that optimum cooling and temperature control can be achieved?

Do you pay attention to the quality of the cooling water, to ensure pipe cross-sections remain unobstructed?

Do you clean cooling water pipes regularly to prevent the formation of deposits and therefore extended cooling times?

PeripheralsProduction

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Practical example

Unlike pneumatic devices, sprue pickers with servo-electric movement axes do not require any set-up when changing orders. In addition, the servo motors enable simultaneous, stroke-dependent and exceptionally dynamic and fast movements. In this way, the cycle for producing a token holder became around 10% faster.

Cycle time - 1.4 s

Furtherinformation

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Practical tips

Do you tailor the performance of machines and peripherals precisely to suit the product range to achieve a perfect combination in terms of energy and the technical process?

Do you select and dimension individual components in line with the relevant requirements, in order to reduce cycle times and energy requirements?

Do you endeavour to ensure high utilisation of the injection unit?

Therefore, fast cycles are also desirable from an energy point of view.

Do you exploit the diverse range of modular equipment and expan-sion stages to the full, and so adapt technology to suit your needs?As your technology partner, ARBURG can provide you with detailed advice on the right technical equipment. Using an intelligent, “learn-

advice and provide a detailed concept for processing technology.

Do you make use of the ARBURG Customer Center for detailed machine comparisons and mould and process tests?

Production

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Practical example

A machine concept for especially high productivity is achieved by combining servo-electric drives for mould movement and dosage with hydraulic accumulator technology for in-jection. For the production of an IML container, with this solution it was possible to reduce the cycle time

15%, compared with a standard hydraulic machine.

Energy require - ment - 0.15 kWh/kgCycle time - 1.8 s

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Practical tips

Do you integrate upstream and downstream tasks in the injection

Do you link individual work steps together in a targeted way to shorten throughput times or reduce transport distances?As a main contractor, ARBURG provides you with all-round advice: from project planning of production cells through to all the necessary services.

Do you automate the feed of inserts, to increase process reliability and stability?

keep rejects to a minimum?

Do you perform quality assurance inline, in order to react immedi-ately to problems and reliably separate substandard parts?

Do you coordinate machines, moulds and automation systems with one another at an early stage to achieve the best possible results in terms of investment costs, cycle times and process stability?

In the early design phase, do you examine whether you have

Do you control the machine and robotic system centrally, so that

the best possible extent?

Process integrationProduction

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Practical example

The production of a toy buggy requires several work steps: inserting the metal axles, removing the individual parts

all these steps can be automated. The result is an autonomous, constant production process. And the simultaneous removal and insertion of parts means the cycle is also around 15% faster.

Availability+ 10%Cycle time - 5 s

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Practical tips

Do you use machine control systems centrally to ensure consistent monitoring of quality and to keep rejects to a minimum?

Are you familiar with the available options for quality and process control? Example: Do you analyse the signals from the supply of gran-ulate, compressed air or water and from automation components?

Do you make use of automatic On/Off functions for unmanned preparation?

Do you use start-up programs for a fast, controlled and automated production start?

Do you focus on achieving a smooth, uninterrupted production process when setting up?

Do you also search for ways to reduce cycle times, so that the machine is optimally utilised?

Do you set process parameters individually to save energy? Examples: Do you reduce clamping and nozzle contact forces during the residual cooling time? Do you make use of the entire cooling time for dosage? Do you only open moulds as far as necessary?

Do your employees regularly receive thorough further training by specialists, so that they can fully exploit the potential of the machines?

Do you take advantage of customised, on-site training courses, so that ongoing production processes can be directly optimised?

Process controlProduction

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Practical example

When robotic systems are fully integrated in the machine control system, sequences can be optimised in a targeted way; for example if the the robotic system already moves into the mould during the opening movement or its movement is synchronised with the ejector. In this way, the cycle time for producing a stacking box can be reduced by around 10% – with no additional investment costs.

Cycle time - 2 s

Furtherinformation

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Practical tips

Do you regularly switch pumps off during machine downtimes to save energy? Do you compare “pump operating hours” with “operating hours in automatic mode”?

Do you ensure preventive maintenance to prevent unplanned downtimes?

Do you use computer-aided planning for your production, to avoid time-consuming manual data acquisition and simultaneously improve machine utilisation through greater transparency?

Do you keep track of essential maintenance work in order to have a precise overview of available capacity?

Do you optimise batch processing times to keep set-up processes to a minimum?

Do you organise set-up processes and prepare them carefully to minimise machine downtimes? Example: Do you maintain a well- organised tool cart?

Do you practice set-up processes so that they can be optimised and systematised?

Do you continually record production data to enable detailed analysis and seamless documentation?

Do you archive setting data centrally so that you can always access the most recent, optimised data?

Production planningProduction

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Practical example

A host computer system eliminates the need for manual data acquisition. Production planners save around 15 minutes per order; while operators save approx. 5 minutes per shift and machine. As pro-grams are transferred online, set-up processes are com-pleted about 6 minutes faster. Downtimes are immedi-ately obvious from a central point and can therefore be

huge time savings are achieved in total.

Working time - 1500 h or moreDowntime - 500 h or more

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Practical tips

Do you analyse the energy requirement of processes, machines and peripherals, so that you have a solid basis for decision-making and can achieve further optimisation? Example: Peripherals can sometimes dramatically increase the overall energy requirement. This is particularly the case with technical parts.

Do you make use of the energy measurement system integrated in machines to automatically record and document energy values?

performing meaningful comparisons?

Do you have statistics on the energy requirement? Systematically recording these helps to identify potential energy savings.

Do you monitor your energy requirement, so that you can introduce organisational measures to pre-empt expensive current peaks?

Do you check your compressed air system regularly for leakage? Do you separate machine and mould cooling circuits? Do you use energy several times over through heat recovery?

Energy managementProduction

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Practical example

Preparing compressed air is an extremely energy-intensive process: only approx. 4% of the electrical energy used is available as pressure energy. Compressed air systems must therefore be inspected regularly. At a pressure of 7 bar, several

air per second to escape unused into the environment.

Energy requirement - 8.8 kWh

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Practical tips

Do you strive to achieve the rational use of all resources continuously and therefore for the long term?

Do you set realistic goals, e.g. for higher productivity, fewer rejects or lower energy requirements?

Do you keep your employees informed about set goals and planned measures?

Are your employees aware of the costs resulting from increased energy requirements, use of materials and personnel, set-up times, downtimes and rejects?

Do your employees know their responsibilities with regard to

Do you systematically identify potential and exploit it to the full? Example: Do you analyse recurring sequences and problems?

Corporate strategyProduction

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Practical example

At ARBURG, video analysis has proven to be a valuable tool for optimising set-up processes. During tool changes on a turning and milling machine, video analysis showed that the employee had to turn around 36 times in total. Thanks to a few low-cost measures, sequences were improved and set-up times halved.

Set-up time - 30 min.

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1. What role does product design play for you?a) Product design appropriate for plastics and targeted mate - rial selection are a matter of course. Customers’ attention is drawn to potential improvements from time to time.b) As well as product design appropriate for plastics

as energy requirements and cycle times are taken into account. Customers’ attention is drawn to optimisation opportunities in a targeted mannerc) Only functionality is taken into account during product design, regardless of the manufacturing process. Cus- tomers do not receive any feedback on product design2. What is important to you in terms of mould technology?a) Mould costs are the top priorityb) Ensuring a stable production process is more important than mould costs

criteria such as material requirements and cycle times are taken into account

3. How do you select your machine and drive technology?a) I explicitly enquire about alternative machine and drive technologyb) I seek out alternatives and compare them in economic terms as a matter of coursec) Same machine and drive technology as always, without looking into alternatives

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your injection moulding facility and where there is potential for improvement.

No multiple answers possible

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4. How do you equip your production in terms of peripherals – e.g. robotic technology?a) The machine and robotic system have separate control systemsb) The machine and robotic system form a single production unit with central machine control systemc) The machine and robotic system have separate control systems or form production units with a central control system

a) Regularly b) Occasionallyc) Never

6. Do you look for solutions to automate or link processes?a) Neverb) Occasionallyc) Regularly

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7. Do you systematically optimise your production sequences?a) Regularly b) Occasionallyc) Never

8. Do you plan your production sequences, such as set-up, for example?a) Neverb) Occasionallyc) Always

9. How much do you know about the energy requirement of your production?a) I know the energy requirements of important processes preciselyb) Manufacturer information is available regarding the energy requirements of machines and peripheralsc) No detailed measurements or estimates are available regarding the energy requirements of processes, machines or peripherals

10. Do you seek to identify measures for minimising energy requirements, material input, personnel, production steps, processing, set-up times, downtimes and rejects?a) Neverb) Occasionallyc) Regularly

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Total points

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Evaluation of results

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chain at your company. Your ARBURG contact will be pleased to advise you on how you can reduce your unit costs.

45-80 points

in some areas. Close examination, however, is sure to reveal further potential for unit cost reductions. Make use of the support offered by experienced ARBURG specialists to maximise your competitive edge.

85-100 points

costs. Continue to look out for innovations and promote new ideas. Make use of ARBURG’s unique pool of expertise and gain a leader-ship position in production over the long term. ARBURG could well imagine publishing a success story report on your company in its “today” customer magazine.

ARBURG GmbH + Co KGPostfach 11 0972286 LossburgTel.: +49 (0) 74 46 33-0Fax: +49 (0) 74 46 33 33 65e-mail: contact@arburg.com 68

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