The Range Was on Show at The Company's Munich-Allach Headquarters

KraussMaffei lifted the veil this week on a new GX two-platen hydraulic drive injection moulding machine series. The range, of which six tonnages are available within 400 and 650 tonnes, was on show at the company’s Munich-Allach headquarters. Although 400 guests, of whom around two-thirds were from Germany, had their first glimpse of the GX on 15 May, the machine was already secretly under evaluation at two German moulders, Coko-Werk and WAFA Kunststofftechnik. Both of these companies presented their experiences with the GX at the launch day event. KraussMaffei chose a modular design for the GX, not only to provide customers with a choice of four different injection and clamp units, we well as hydraulic or electric drive plasticising screw options, but also to make the machine more suitable for worldwide production. Dr Karlheinz Bourdon, vice-president of technologies, said KraussMaffei will produce the series in China and the US, as well as Munich-Allach. Production will begin at Ningbo, China, in 2013, and in the US at a later date. Large metal castings will be sourced locally, as Bourdon said that local castings have sometimes had better quality. The company will still source its injection units and plasticising screws from Germany. However, the modular design will allow for a change to local production if KraussMaffei so desires. Another feature of the GX is that it can incorporate all parts of the company’s Blue Power energy saving solutions to further optimise the hydraulic systems. Energy consumption is therefore even lower than the existing CX range. The 32 series variable capacity pumps from Rexroth help lower energy consumption, as do shorter oil lines, says the company. The GX has a very similar footprint to the existing CX machines, which will continue to be sold by the company. Bourdon told European Plastics News that while the length is “practically the same” as the CX, the GX is around 150mm wider, because of the higher complexity and improved access to the mould area. Mould heating interfaces are located on the operator side. Bourdon summarised the launch of the GX by saying: “We have been discussing the ideas of a self-adjusting injection moulding machine for years – now we have at least done it with energy”. Source: prw.com