Designing their multicomponent dosing systems, ELMET, full-system supplier of liquid silicone rubber (LSR) injection molding (LIM) solutions, puts special emphasis on a highly sensitive control of the dye pigments and additives dispensing process to make the use of these components as efficient as possible. For Fakuma 2015, the company has raised the achieved precision to a new level. Using a high-resolution flow meter in the controlled supply of dyes and additives now makes it possible to determine the dispensed volume with a resolution of 640,000 increments per liter. Based on these readings, the system precisely controls its output to the percentage preset on the touch display while at the same time making the corresponding values available for documentation purposes.
The new flow meter forms part of the control system of ELMET's multicomponent dosing system TOP 3000 S, which is designed to maintain an unchanged mixing ratio over the entire drum content and to achieve a material yield of over 99%, thus settings standards in terms of both stability of the injection molding process and cost efficiency. The LSR components A and B are likewise metered and supplied as part of a closed control loop comprising precise volume counters to quantify the amounts dispensed. In addition, the associated process data for each individual shot can be conveniently exported via an USB, LAN or WLAN interface.
ELMET's managing director, Kurt Manigatter, notes: "With our current advance towards an even higher degree of precision we again demonstrate ELMET's high standard of process management accuracy. This has been a hallmark of our dosing systems ever since their market launch around ten years ago, and makes their operation so cost-efficient. Now, with this most recent refinement, our systems are perfectly equipped to meet even the particular high demands of sensitive industries such as automotive and medical device manufacturing."
The high-efficiency, feature-packed multicomponent dosing system TOP 3000 S boasts particularly rugged and energy-efficient pneumatic drives and can be used with both 20-liter and 200-litre drums. Its maximum discharge rate is 2.5 l/min, withup to 10% colorant added. It forms part of ELMET's line-up of proprietary products which further includes fully automatic high-precision injection molds, electronically adjustable valve gates for cold runner systems, as well as peripheral devices such as check valves, diving nozzles, screen adapters, etc. On the strength of this portfolio, combined with externally sourced injection molding machines from all renowned manufacturers, the company delivers complete LSR processing installations to a turnkey standard.
