STATE OF THE TECH: THE BEST 300-TONNERS IN STOCK
22 October 2006 - DTI Globalwatch

So, what is the state of the tech in 300-ton machines? What key technologies are smaller U.S. custom molding shops looking for when purchasing new 300-tonners? How well are machine suppliers responding to your requirements? And how much can you expect to pay for a 2006-model-year, state-of-the-tech, 300-ton press?

To find out, we asked some of you what types of technologies you’d be looking for, if you were in the market. We also composed an imaginary RFQ-type inquiry from an imaginary molder and sent it out to leading machine suppliers to the domestic market to find out what’s in stock. You can see our imaginary molder’s imaginary RFQ yourself, at right.

We compiled the machinery suppliers’ responses to our inquiry, summaries of which you’ll find on the following pages. Meanwhile, here’s what three of you had to say about what you need in 300-ton molding machine technology.

Repeatability
“Outside of any special features, reliability, shot-to-shot repeatability, would probably be the number one selling point for us, the ability to hold variables in close tolerances from one shot to the next,” says Thomas Nagler, VP at custom molder Natech Plastics Inc. (Ronkonkoma, NY). “We worked with other machines, but we saw that the process was more repeatable with the brands we’ve chosen. They’re reliable. In fact, I barely know their service guys.”

Standardization
Like other custom molders contacted for this report, standardization has become a big issue at Natech. “Machine decisions are made differently for a small shop like ours,” Nagler says. “A small shop like ours only adds a couple of machines every couple of years.

Although the technology is important, machine brand is the number one priority, at least it is for Natech. We’ve settled on two suppliers.“ Another reason custom molders like Natech like to buy from as few suppliers as possible is machine pricing. “With a shop like ours with just 10 machines, more than two different machine suppliers wouldn’t make sense to me. Of course, we wouldn’t just stick with one supplier, because we’d lose out on a competitive pricing scenario.”

When you have just two suppliers, Nagler says one supplier knows it has the sale. From there on, it’s just a matter of making a price and financing deal.

Other molders agree with this sentiment, including Mike Cummings, plant manager of the seven-machine shop in El Paso, TX belonging to Wadal Plastics Inc. WPI doesn’t standardize on just one press supplier, Cummings says. “You can work a heck of a better deal on price when you’ve got a couple of suppliers, just like our customers do to us.”

Control
Machine control systems are another major factor influencing Natech’s decision to stick with just a couple of suppliers. “We standardize so we don’t have to learn a lot of different screens. We’d hate to have to learn what and where the right screens are to do a specific task on five different machines. Standardization also makes maintenance a lot easier,” says Nagler.

As far as the state of controls technology goes, most of those we’ve spoken to agree with Bill Durden, VP/GM of Durden Enterprises Inc. (Auburn, GA).

“I think the machine builders have pretty well figured them out,” he says. “You may have to pay a bit more for the controls nowadays, but they’ve packed them with features, like closed-loop and centralized process monitoring capabilities, and they’ve made remote monitoring systems pretty easy to work with, you used to have to hire an information systems specialist to get them to work.”

WPI’s Cummings adds, “The basic controls on our new machine are OK. In fact, we plan on eventually adding a cavity-pressure process controller to it. We think it would be a very easy transition.”

Space
One of the pressing technical issues influencing custom molders’ press purchasing decisions is space between the tiebars.

“As far as the clamp end goes, there again we do relatively short runs, more often than not in exotic materials with the understanding that large runs in materials like PP and ABS are going to go overseas. So our clamps have to have enough room for it to be easy for us to swap molds, big molds and smaller ones,” says Durden.

“And another fact is that, because the machine opens and closes, cleanliness is an issue. So we might look at an all-electric down the road. But fortunately, most of the hydraulic machine guys out there are cleaning up their act pretty well these days.”

WPI’s Cummings runs an all all-electric shop. “It’s really nice and quiet around here,” he says. “We just bought a new 400-ton all-electric to add capacity to our 300-ton all-electric machines. We wanted more tiebar spacing to make it easier for our people who are moving big tools in and out of presses.”

However, he says that the bigger all-electric has only slightly more tiebar spacing than his 300-ton presses.

“If we had gone with another supplier of 400-ton presses, we would’ve gotten a little more space between the bars, but price was the driver.”

Nagler says it all depends on the job, though, if the mold fits, run it. “If we’re buying for a specific job that might call for a different type of machine technology, we’ll call in the technical people from the supplier and make them assure us that they’ve got the right technology for the best cycle time to run the part. We had one job run on a 400-tonner that was switched to our new 300-ton machine, and we were able to cut the cycle time.”

Injection
Another key technical issue factored into machinery purchasing decisions today is barrel size.

“Our bias is toward small runs, being a custom shop,” Durden Enterprises’ Durden says. “Those captive guys might put a mold in a machine and run it for 60 months. But, because of the variations in what we might run, the huge variability of materials we run, and all the varying shot sizes, residence time is a huge issue for us.

“If we’re talking about getting a 300-ton machine, we traditionally say, ‘Give us the largest barrel we can get.’ But, then, all of sudden the residence time in that big barrel is so long we’re degrading the material. So, what we like to see is a machine with a barrel that’s fairly easy to interchange.”

Natech’s Nagler also sees the need for easier interchangeability. “It all depends on the job. If I had a particular job, say, one running a high-temperature and high-pressure material like Surlyn [acid copolymers from DuPont], I’d probably need a high-pressure screw and barrel assembly.”

WPI El Paso’s Cummings adds, “We swapped the injection unit out on the new 400-ton machine for a smaller barrel. The standard injection unit was a monster, so we would’ve run into residence time problems.”

IMM’s Request for Quote
To Whom this Might Concern: I’m John E. B. Goode, owner and president of Illinois Molds & Molding Co. here in Addison. We’re custom molders of consumer products and we also mold some electrical and industrial parts. We’ve got seven molding machines now, ranging from 28-350 tons, and we’re running two shifts, 24/5, sometimes 24/7. We run commodities, olefins, styrenes, mostly, and some engineering resins, but we don’t run any vinyl. Business has been pretty good here at IMM and we’re looking to expand. I’d like to add a new 300-ton horizontal press, say around 15-20 oz. And I’d like it to have as much space between the tierods as I can possibly get, something around 25 in2, and a big platen, too, about 35 in2 or so.

Like I said, business has been good, and I’d like to buy my 300-ton machine brand-new on standard terms. IMM doesn’t owe the bank any money whatsoever, but we’re not billionaires, if you know what I mean. Oh, and we don’t need it yesterday either, a four- to six-week delivery would work just fine, eight weeks, possibly. I’ve got time to do some research.

I don’t necessarily need an all-electric machine, though we’ve been thinking about getting one if the resin prices ever come back down to Earth. We’ve got both hydraulic toggles and a straight hydraulic in the shop, so we’re not too particular in that regard, either. What we’re looking for is a safe, reliable machine with an easy-to-use, multilingual (Spanish) control, and the interfaces for a picker. We’d also like to be able to upgrade it easily down the road, we may have some two-shot work coming our way soon.

One more thing, do you supply parts, tech service, and training here in the U.S.? U.S. parts and service are very important to IMM. Very important. We got burned once on parts and service, and we don’t want something like that happening again.

Anyway, what’s the best standard-model, stock machine from your latest lineup that you could recommend and why? What kinds of options are available for it and how much more, percentage-wise, could I expect to spend for one with the “works?” I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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