FANUC UK’s expertise in injection moulding applications has been recognised with two shortlist nominations for the 2018 Plastics Industry Awards.
The company has been shortlisted in the ‘Supplier Partnership – Prime Machinery’ category, and has also received a special mention in the ‘Supplier Partnership – Ancillary Machinery’ category, from systems integrator Hi Tech Automation Ltd.
Both entries relate to a joint project between FANUC and Hi Tech Automation, which involved the development and delivery of an automated injection moulding cell for custom rigid solutions plastic manufacturer, Technimark.
FANUC has been a key equipment supplier to Technimark for over 30 years. Working in partnership with Hi Tech Automation, Technimark’s most recent investment comprised of an injection moulding cell, which would be used to manufacture two separate medical filter components – the cover and connector – each of which would be manufactured in 32-cavity moulds, to produce three different variants and four different colours.
The cell comprised of two FANUC ROBOSHOT 300T electric injection moulding machines, and a series of FANUC industrial automation robots to de-mould the finished parts and transport them throughout the remaining processes within the cell. Side-entry robots were used to delicately de-mould the products, before a 6-axis M-10iA robot transported the finished parts to an inspection station prior to completion.
Crucially, the fully-automated cell – all of which was controlled via FANUC CNC and designed using FANUC’s ROBOGUIDE software – enabled Technimark to produce parts at an as-yet-unseen speed. What’s more, the compact footprint of the all-electric ROBOTSHOT machines ensured production could take place in a much smaller clean room space than would be needed if non-electric models were used.
The 2018 Plastics Industry Awards will take place on the 28th September at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, London.
For more information, please visit: http://www.plasticsawards.com.
