Tederic Promotes High Technology, Broader Market Presence

Well established in China where it was founded in 2003 as a family-owned company and is now publicly traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Tederic is seeking to make its mark on the global molding stage. “Tederic is pursuing a global presence,” says Tony Firth, VP sales and marketing, Tederic North American Machinery. “And, as part of that, it’s been aggressively recruiting top quality engineering talent in Germany to assist with its product development and overall quality goals.”

The company set up that R&D center in Germany in 2021, recruiting a local engineering team with extensive experience at a Germany machinery OEM. After establishing overseas subsidiaries in South Korea, Mexico and Brazil in 2019, it will create a new operation in the U.S. later this year. This follows a $200-million investment in a new global headquarters in China. Tederic has four machines at its NPE2024 booth, showcasing its technical capabilities in multimaterial, medical and inmold labelling (IML).

Tederic’s investments in in people, places and products reflect its ambitions in the market, according to Firth. “Tederic is trying to show that our capabilities are such that we can service even the most sophisticated molders out there with integrated packages and some high-end technologies,” Firth says.

To illustrate that goal, the company has a 1,300-ton NEO·M1120s-e1700c-e1100c molding a high-gloss automotive B pillar in a 2-shot operation with PMMA overmolded onto an ABS substrate in a piano black finish. That finish is possible because of Tederic’s Coinsure injection-compression molding package with positional accuracy as high as ±0.01mm. For peak optical performance, the shots are molded at reduced pressure lowering internal stress that would impact appearance. “We take the stresses out,” Firth explains, “and we do that by using injection compression. The only way you can achieve a piano black finish is to destress the component.”

The NEO·Ms, with the “s” standing for “spin,” features opposing injection units with a horizontal rotary turntable in the middle. That center table rides between the fixed and moving platens, and can rotate to receive shots from either injection unit. In this instance, the resulting part has a glass-like appearance that is tougher and lighter (40% mass reduction) than glass and can feature curved surfaces not possible in that traditional automotive material.

The M series of multimaterial machines are modular in design with the controller able to accept up to six electric or servo-hydraulic injection units. “Tederic has invested a lot of money, time and effort in specialty multimaterial machines,” Firth says. “Particularly for the automotive sector, including lighting, interior and some exterior components.”

In medical, a NEO·EII260-e1100 high-speed hybrid press is molding 1.5-mg centrifuge capsule with a flip-over cap in PP from a 48-cavity mold in a 6.5-sec. cycle time. Configured to satisfy ISO Class 8 cleanroom standards, the system can achieve injection speeds up to 500 mm/sec. with high-resolution control and part weight repeatability of 0.1%. The hybrid-electric machine features electromechanical drives for the clamp, injection and screw rotation, with a servo-hydraulic power pack for the ejector and carriage.

Molded with a thermochromic pigment, the capsules will change color based on their temperature, going from clear to blue. In a lab setting, this would alert technicians to samples that can’t be tested based on exposure. “These are actually used now in medical applications,” Firth says. “The lab technician knows if you can’t test the sample; if it has to go back in the fridge.”

In an inmold-labeling (IML) application, a NEO·EII380-e1700h is PP molding stadium cups from a 6-cavity tool in a 6.5-sec. cycle. The machine applies Tederic’s LabelSure IML technology. “The objective is to show we have the capability to integrate IML,” Firth says, “and the machine is especially configured for the application.” Specifically, the press has a higher L/D ratio on the screw and barrel, and enhanced injection speeds of 500 mm/sec.  

To showcase a general-purpose machine and application, Tederic has a NEO·T120-i580 servo-hydraulic toggle machine mold a 1.5" dry-wall knife in 10% glass-filled PP from an 8-cavity tool in a cycle time of 18 sec. Tederic says the NEO T line has been engineered with the contract molder in mind, shops requiring maximum flexibility to accommodate multiple applications and materials with one press.