Injection Molding: Small Electric Press Debuts In LSR Micromolding

At its recent Competence Forum open house in Germany, KraussMaffei (U.S. office in Florence, Ky.) showed off the newest and smallest member of the highly modular, all-electric PX series of injection presses. The new PX 25 has 25 metric-ton clamp force; the rest of the line ranges from 50 to 200 m.t. It was demonstrated in an LSR micromolding application—a radial seal (pictured) with an intricate undercut and weighing 0.15 g.

For this project, the press was equipped with a new injection unit housing a 12-mm screw. Cycle time was 14 sec.

Addressing growing demand for both LSR and solid silicones in the U.S. and Asia, KM also introduced the new AZ 50 feeder for solid silicone rubber on a servo-hydraulic CX 200 two-platen press (pictured). The feeder has a rotating hopper and pulls the silicone downward using a continuously rotating stuffer screw. Rear ventilation allows air to escape upwards, unlike other systems that use a piston, which is more likely to result in entrapped air and bubbles in molded parts, KM says.