Seal continuously with Mold'n Seal
without intermediate storage
W
ith the onset of Industry 4.0
not only the Internet of Things
is in the foreground, but also
maximum flexibility in production
instead of conventional mass production.
At the same time, the production
concepts and methods of the plastic and
metal-processing supplier companies of
the OEMs are constantly being tested
to be efficient. With the introduction of
the Mold'n Seal process developed by
Sonderhoff, Weidplas was able to realize
efficient production in large quantities
in the smallest space. The objective was
to integrate different production steps in
an in-line production, without having to
interrupt the production process and to
temporarily store components.
The Sonderhoff Mold'n Seal process
involves the inline processing of
injection-molded components followed
by direct application of a polyurethane
seal in accordance with the FIPFG
(Formed In-Place Foam Gasket)
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sealing technology. Injection molding
and dispensing equipment as well
as handling robots are placed in a
production cell on a compact footprint
of approx. 70 square meters. Thus, space,
costs and time can be saved.
For Sonderhoff, the challenge for the use
of the Mold'n Seal process at Weidplas
was to design the formulation for the
low-emission foam so that the foaming
process to form a foam gasket would be
adapted to the injection molding cycle
specified by Engel. With the fast-cure
foam seals FERMAPOR® K31 Low-
Emission the component application
could be successfully implemented
within the injection molding cycle. After
2-3 minutes at room temperature, the
surface of the foam seal is tack-free
and the foamed components can be
processed quickly. Buffered or pre-
produced injection molded parts and
an expensive intermediate storage can
therefore be left out. Also, thanks to the
short tack-free time only short conveyor
belts are required.
By integrating the processes of injection
molding and foam gasketing, it is
possible to save considerable time in the
entire production process at Weidplas.
The assembly and further processing of
the components can start earlier. The
high degree of automation in the Mold'n
Seal manufacturing cell also means
lower labor costs and, as a result, higher
manufacturing output at lower unit costs.
Thanks to the high level of process
engineering expertise and the many
years of expertise of all the companies
involved in the project, the compatibility
of the challenging material properties,
coupled with a modular and compact
system concept, has been successfully
implemented in a high-wage location
such as Switzerland.
www.sonderhoff.com