What really matters in drives for plastics machinery

See KEB at MachineBuilding.Live, 4 October 2023, on stand 51

Benjamin Mönnig, Head of Application Sales at KEB Automation, explains what is important in plastics technology and why increased sustainability and plastics processing can work together in practice.

In which areas of plastics technology do customers rely on KEB in particular?

With our drive solutions, we are represented in all areas of plastics technology. This includes extrusion technology, such as blown film lines with auxiliary drives, profile extrusion or blow moulding machines. But we also supply injection moulding machines such as all-electric, hybrid or hydraulic machines with servo pumps, always with the aim of making the machine or system as efficient as possible.

Different fields of application also means different requirements for the drive and automation solutions. How does KEB meet these needs? 

Providing individual solutions for our customers in the plastics industry are our strength. Our experts from the plastics team go into detail about the requirements of the respective application and therefore find the right drive solution. Users benefit from our system solutions. This means starting with brakes for rotary table drives, gearboxes, servo motors, drive controllers, industry-specific software and control technology. We provide customers with coordinated hardware and software solutions from a single source that are specially tailored to the plastics machine.

Which aspects of drive technology are manufacturers of plastics machinery currently attaching greater importance to? 

Plant and machine builders have a justified interest in a high level of efficiency for their application. In addition, the quality of the drive components must be convincing to ensure maximum reliability and efficiency over a long service life and to prevent production downtime. A fast and globally positioned service is also important in order to receive straightforward and competent support if the unexpected should occur.

Many customers also rely on the advantages of sensorless control or DC coupling. This enables the exchange of energy with other drive controllers, saves energy and ultimately contributes to increased sustainability. We also offer our customers options for feeding the surplus energy back into the grid.

Plastics processing and sustainability sounds like a contradiction. To what extent can KEB’s drive solutions have a positive environmental impact in plastics machines?

It’s not a contradiction. Our drive controllers provide very high control quality in terms of speed and torque accuracy. This increases reproducibility and significantly reduces rejects. Furthermore, it enables the end customer to produce particularly thin-walled materials. This, in turn, has a positive impact on the subsequent transport of the packaging and therefore also on the environmental impact, which can be reduced in this way.

The importance of plastics in sustainable industries such as electromobility and the role they play in a well-functioning circular economy should also not be forgotten. However, sustainability at KEB already starts with the production of our components. Product design focuses on the lowest possible consumption of resources and at the end of the lifecycle, around 75 per cent of our product can be recycled.

KEB (UK) Ltd

5 Morris Close
Park Farm Industrial Estate
Wellingborough
NN8 6XF
UNITED KINGDOM

+44 (0)1933 402220

info@keb.co.uk

www.keb.co.uk

More products
16 hours ago
Schaeffler destroys ten tonnes of counterfeit rolling bearings
Schaeffler takes regular and consistent action against counterfeit products, and now it has had around 30,000 counterfeits with a total weight of ten tonnes destroyed in Schweinfurt.
18 hours ago
Klüber Lubrication awarded with gold medal for sustainability again in 2023
Klüber Lubrication was awarded the ‘gold medal’ by EcoVadis, a leading company for sustainability ratings, for the second time after 2022. This makes the lubricant manufacturer one of the best four percent of more than 100,000 companies rated worldwide.
21 hours ago
Festo highlights the benefits of standardised hardware
Festo says its standardised hardware and the ability to work with the industry leading control architectures makes its stepper and servo drives, remote I/O and valve terminals a natural choice for machine manufacturers and end-users.
3 days ago
NSK spindle bearings boost reliability at automotive plant
A large manufacturer of automotive engines has significantly improved the reliability of its CNC machining centres by adopting NSK sealed spindle bearings that prevent the ingress of cutting fluid.
3 days ago
Automotive manufacturers are rethinking ‘just in time’ approach
Supply chain disruption and rising material costs are causing the global automotive industry to re-evaluate lean manufacturing principles, reveals a new survey commissioned by ABB Robotics.
4 days ago
Spring budget presents mixed bag for UK industry
The Chancellor’s spring budget presents a mixed bag for UK industry, says Mark Yeeles, VP for industrial automation at Schneider Electric in the UK and Ireland, commenting: “While the full expensing measures are a good step towards encouraging the investment that is vital for our sector to become more efficient and productive, the imminent end to energy cost support presents an existential threat to many businesses in our sector.”
1 week ago
William G Search wins Atlas Copco Compressors’ Distributor of the Year Award
Honouring William G Search with the Distributor of the Year Award, Ariel Rubinstein, general manager at Atlas Copco Compressors, said: “At Atlas Copco, we want to recognise and celebrate partners who contribute towards our overall growth.
1 week ago
CMZ and NSK celebrate over 25 years of technology collaboration
World-renowned Spanish lathe manufacturer CMZ is lauding more than 25 years of high-level technological collaboration with linear motion and bearing specialist NSK. The company’s machines incorporate NSK innovations that include ground ball screws, linear guides and super-precision bearings.
1 week ago
Ensuring regulatory compliance for razor blade assembly machine
When consulting services company Laicon identified the need to appoint a European Authorised Representative (EUAR) in compliance with EU Regulation 2019/1020 for a razor blade assembly machine project, it turned to Hold Tech Files.
1 week ago
Delta Electronics recognised as Top 100 Global Innovator 2023 by Clarivate
Delta has been honoured for the second consecutive year as one of the Top 100 Global Innovators (2023) by Clarivate for its superior innovation and patent intellectual property portfolio.

Login / Sign up