The Future of Injection Moulding

PRESS RELEASE | August 2019

Echternach – FANUC is responding to market demands with new ROBOSHOT technical solutions for future-oriented injection moulding. The company will demonstrate several premieres in their product portfolio on FANUC’s K 2019 stand A 60 in hall 14. Apart from implementing industry-specific know-how FANUC’s products are well known for their low power consumption, no hydraulic oil involved, low carbon footprint, low scrap rate and more. Furthermore, technical progress with ecological benefits leads to commercial advantages – short downtime i.e. long uptime, better product unit cost/price, high-end production quality and prevention of rejects and – last but not least – longevity of the ROBOSHOT injection moulding machine.


Premiere: ROBOSHOT α-S150iA Medical Package

FANUC has now released an injection moulding machine specifically for the medical and pharmaceutical markets: the ROBOSHOT α-S150iA Medical Package. ROBOSHOT meets stringent user requirements for low energy consumption and flawless injection moulding quality combined with stability, repeatability and process reliability. The ROBOSHOT α-S150iA Medical Package, which has now been presented for the first time, also has Class 7 cleanroom approval. This has been achieved through design features such as tie-bars without bearing bushes, Cr-coated linear guides, NI-coated plates, specially approved lubricants and an unpainted, brushed stainless steel cover. In the 32-cavity mould, needle caps made of PP are produced. Like all FANUC injection moulding machines, the “Medical Package” also operates with these processing features: efficient energy recovery control function, reliable torque plasticise control – Precise Metering Control (PMC) 2&3 – as well as backflow monitor and highly efficient AI mould / ejector protection. The results are high-end process performance and product quality.


Premiere: ROBOSHOT α-S450iA with a larger standard injection unit

A new larger injection unit specially developed for high injection pressures and volumes has been developed. FANUC thus extends the performance of its largest precision injection moulding machine to date – the all-electric ROBOSHOT α-S450iA – by a further step. More cavities on larger moulds require larger platens, which in turn require a larger/stronger machine with higher clamping forces and powerful injection units. Beyond the automotive industry, medical and pharmaceutical markets, as well as other precision parts industries, are demanding more precise, faster output and higher production rates than ever before. What's more, complex geometries require absolute precision – especially in terms of surface quality, contour accuracy, weight stability and reproducibility. FANUC was aware of this when the company decided to develop a larger machine with the same reliability as the previous six models with clamping forces between 150 and 3000 kN. Now we have 4500 kN clamping force, 920 mm x 920 mm tie bar spacing, a clamping stroke of 900 mm, 1300 mm x 1300 mm platens and a mould height of up to 1000 mm. The α-S450iA shows its impressive productivity potential: for lawn mowers, Polypropylene covers measuring 330 x 570 mm are produced in less than one minute cycle time: shot weight 725m³. A FANUC Robot M-20iA, mounted on the IMM’s fixed platen, takes care of demoulding and depositing the hoods.


Premiere: ROBOSHOT α-S50iA LSR Edition

For products that need to be tightly protected against environmental influences, FANUC presents its proprietary liquid silicone processing cell. The ROBOSHOT α-S50iA - 500kN clamping force - works with a FANUC Robot LR Mate 200iD/7. It takes four rectangular (length approx. 8 mm) LSR electrical connector seals from the four-cavity mould and deposits them on a conveyor belt. The core of the system is the D18mm LSR screw/cylinder unit developed by FANUC. Here, a Robot system called QSSR (Quick and Simple Start-up of Robotization) has been implemented.


ROBOSHOT α-S150iA + SI-20A Multi Component

FANUC now offers a further development in multi-component injection moulding: a rotary table with one of the most reliable servo drives on the market. A production cell of ROBOSHOT α-S150iA + vertical type 2nd injection unit SI-20A is automated with a FANUC Robot LR Mate - also via QSSR. Useful during the cold season: the FANUC Robot deposits two-colour ice scrapers moulded in a special hard PC/ABS blend combined with a soft TPE handle on the conveyor belt. Visitors are invited to take the product home.


ROBONANO Demonstration

At a demonstration station, mould makers can discuss real precision with FANUC experts. ROBONANO is the company’s solution in the sector of finishing quality optical surfaces. ROBONANO’s typical applications are the finishing of tool inserts for injection moulding machines when form accuracy and surface finish requirements are strict, for instance in the production of high quality optical components. ROBONANO features a high positioning accuracy with the programming command resolution of 0.1 nanometre (0.1nm is equal to 10-10 meters or 1 Angstrom, the unit of length used to measure the size of molecules and atoms) which is required to achieve optical quality surface finish. You can meet a perfect showcase of FANUC state of the art technology. In Japan ROBONANO has been contributing for about two decades to the success of FANUC’s customers serving information and communication technology, automotive, medical and other industries. A video shows this new machine tool in its ability to produce highly precise, repeatable and stable optical quality surface finishing on high-precision mould inserts.


Industry 4.0: FANUC ROBOSHOT LINKi & Euromap 77

In an area on Stand A60 in Hall 14 - the so-called IOT Corner - visitors can see how FANUC masters the new Euromap 77 OPC UA Interface in cooperation with the TIG "Authentig" MES System (Manufacturing Execution System). The viewer sees real-time quality, machine and order status monitoring of all machines and robot cells - in accordance with industry 4.0 specifications/requirements. ROBOSHOT LINKi will be demonstrated live to visitors.


For more information, please contact:

FANUC Europe Corporation S.A.
7, rue Benedikt Zender,
L-6468 Echternach, Luxembourg

Telephone: + 352 (0)72 7777-0
Email: pr@fanuc.eu