Small framed 3,000-ton press packs a big punch
The Maxima two-platten machine from Ferromatic Milacron North America, has a 44 X 15.75-ft footprint and a height of about 12 ft. |
The more-compact 3,000-ton press fits into a manufacturing cell designed for a unit half its tonnage. The machine's two-platen design also helped beat previous cycle times by 15%. |
Textron Automotive, Athens, Tenn., fit a 3,000-ton press into floor space designed for a conventional 1,500-ton machine. The new press also helped the manufacturing cell boost line speeds and shrink cycle times, or TAKT times, by nearly 15%. The Milacron Maxima is said to balance cell or operator time with the 61-sec TAKT time requirements and requires no additional work in process when compared to conventional 3,000-ton presses.
The two-platen injection machine produces 1,200 GM instrument panels per day. The material of choice for the GM panel is a 16% glass-filled SMA styrenic. The shot is 8.5 lb and is drawn from a central system/silo and is shot in a short stroke using a direct-acting hydraulic ram. This is said to eliminate the double-platen deflection common to machines that build tonnage through tie rods. The ram's maximum travel is 1.37 in. The Maxima also has a dry-cycle time of 8.1 sec (30-ips clamp speed at 50% stroke).
Milacron Inc., Plastics Technologies, 4165 Halfacre Rd., Batavia, OH 45103, (513) 536-2428.