Injection moulding for energy savers: KraussMaffei launches the new electric AX series at the Fakuma 2008

Munich, August 21, 2008 – With up to 75% greater energy efficiency and a 25% smaller footprint for a fully automated, completely enclosed production cell, KraussMaffei’s new AX injection moulding machine series will help to slash manufacturing costs in standard applications. The all-electric injection moulding machines from 50 to 350 tonnes combine proven toggle mechanics with extreme operator friendliness. KraussMaffei’s competitive pricing policy and short set-up times for AX machines will deliver further reductions in total cost of ownership. The AX rounds out KraussMaffei’s product portfolio, adding a lower-priced electric machine series for standard applications to the company’s portfolio of highly customizable solutions. The new series seamlessly continues the company’s reputation for engineering excellence.

The AX features a centrally-lubricated, low-maintenance, five-point toggle for the clamp and a moving platen on precision roller bearing guides with friction up to 80% lower than a sliding-support design. The high-precision platen guides guarantee very high platen parallelism, helping to prolong mould service life. The water-cooled converters are regenerative-capable, harvesting braking energy and controlling the servomotors with high efficiency. A number of energy-saving engineering measures have made the AX series over 50% - and in some cases up to 75% - more energy efficient than a comparable modern hydraulic machine.

The super-slim machine can be supplied as a complete production cell, with an integrated KraussMaffei linear robot and safety housing, that shrinks space requirements by around 25%. The operator-friendly KraussMaffei MC5 control system coordinates all machine functions and the integrated robot via a real-time Varan bus. This simplifies operation and full fault diagnosis for all machine functions, boosting safety and reliability for operators and machine. By fitting uniform connectors, KraussMaffei opens up to AX customers the whole spectrum of its premium plasticizing units, tried-and-tested in the company’s CX and EX machines. These screws have extended service lives, due to outstanding resistance to abrasion and corrosion, and deliver very high plasticizing performance and a homogenous melt. Screw performance teamed with KraussMaffei’s electric drive technology enables the AX to deliver precisely repeatable shot weights.

Easy access to all machine modules and the swing-out injection unit make for shorter set-up times. This improves the productivity of AX machines, especially processing small batches. With the launch of the AX machines in Q3 2008, KraussMaffei will initially offer three clamp sizes – 80, 100 and 180 tonnes – covering a wide range of applications. Within a short time, the company expects to be offering a finely scaled range of machines spanning 50 to 350 tonnes.

KraussMaffei’s new all-electric injection moulding machine series AX as a complete production cell, with an integrated KraussMaffei linear robot