Time for Fakuma

The industry is looking forward to the 28th Fakuma international trade fair for plastics processing in Friedrichshafen, scheduled to take place from 17 – 21 October 2023. This year, sustainability is once again the defining theme. It is given tangible shape in the focus on, among others, energy efficiency, recyclable design and AI-based solutions. These topics,  and more, will be addressed in depth at the upcoming show.

Sustainability is ‘essential for operational survival’, as a packaging specialist recently noted. More than an urgent concern, sustainability has become a ticket for the future of the plastics industry, he added. Companies in this industry have a clear choice: move with the times, or run the risk of becoming irrelevant.

And the times are changing rapidly. Today, consumers, and stakeholders including supply chains and governments are demanding more transparency, for example, into brands’ environmental, social, and economic impacts. For many processors, however, combining sustainability ambitions with high energy costs, inflation and the uncertainties brought by the macroeconomic and geopolitical situation has become an increasingly difficult balancing act – despite, on the other hand, being pushed by targets, customers and regulatory developments to evolve and change. 

Fakuma 2023, with its focus on new and innovative plastics processing technologies, will offer visitors and exhibitors a panoramic overview of this changing manufacturing landscape – change which is strongly being driven by technological advancements and environmental concerns and legislation. Materials, design, manufacturing technologies and the increasing reliance on data capture and analysis have all emerged as key to a more sustainable future for the industry and the people working in it. In that respect, among the more important exhibits at the show this year will be the the presentation of plastics processing in the intelligently networked factory of tomorrow. 

Highlights at Fakuma 2023
Machinery
The plastics processing machinery manufacturers are presenting their latest developments at the show this year. One of the highlights at the stand of  Wittmann Battenfeld (Hall B1, Stand 1204) is the premiere of the manufacturer’s new energy-efficient EcoPower B8X, featuring a number of important new features. The new injection unit, available in various sizes, is pivotable and oil-lubricated instead of grease-lubricated, reducing the mechanical resistance and enhancing the dynamism of the machine, which has a positive effect on the energy balance.

The design of the toggle lever itself has been optimised;  the faster injection units in combination with the highly dynamic toggle lever enable extremely short cycle times. The result is a higher internal clock frequency, shorter response times to sensor signals and a higher reproducibility of parts. The new EcoPower B8X will be available to the European market in clamping force sizes from 550 to 1800 kN from the Fakuma 2023 onwards.

Arburg (Hall A3, Stand 3101), is debuting the Allrounder 520 H – the company’s latest addition to the hybrid Hidrive series. Designed to save energy and conserve resources, the new Allrounder is production-efficient, user-friendly and reliable, the company claims. The Allrounder 520 H "Premium" on show will use a 1+1+1-cavity mould to produce three different moulded parts -a machine base, a feed hopper, and a controller - from ABS in a cycle time of around 50 seconds. The three components are separated from each other in a cutting station and round off a set of 15 parts for a model Allrounder on a scale of 1:18. The Moldlife Sense computer system enables sensor-controlled mould monitoring over the complete life cycle. The recorded data is passed via an OPC-UA interface directly to the Gestica control system, which displays corresponding malfunctions as well as performance-dependent maintenance intervals, thereby enabling predictive maintenance. The new Multilift Select 8 linear robotic system with an eight kilograms load removes the moulded parts and places them in a box. A box changer ensures an autonomy of about two hours.

KraussMaffei (Hall A7, Stand 7303) and partners are presenting a low-carbon children's bicycle at KraussMaffei’s booth at Fakuma 2023. The new Lion Bike by Marcel Kittel and Tony Martin, both former professional cyclists, features a frame and fork made of high-performance polyamide 6 with 40 percent recycled carbon fibres, produced by specialist Weber Fibertech on an MX 1600 from KraussMaffei, in combination with a water injection moulding process using PME fluidtec equipment.  WIT is ideal for producing this type of functionally complex, highly integrated plastic components with hollow body construction. Here, for the first time in a bicycle frame, PME uses the mass back-pressure method, in which the melt displaced by the water is pressed back into the plasticising unit and reused in the next shot for the frame or fork. This means that there is no waste during production, which in turn saves material during production and is beneficial for the carbon footprint. The first finished Lion Bikes will then be available on the market from spring 2024, in time for Easter.

PlastiVation Machinery GmbH (Hall B3, Booth 3216) is showcasing two Tederic NEO injection moulding machines at the upcoming exhibition. The first, a NEO-E230/e620 electric toggle injection moulding machine, will be running in a complete production cell equipped with an industrial robot and moulding a business card holder; the second, a NEO-T90/i380 machine described by the company as a cost-efficient hydraulic toggle injection moulding machine, will be producing  a plastic cup. Fakuma marks the launch of the second generation of Tederic NEO injection moulding machines in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Plastivation lauched the Tederic NEO machines two years ago. This new generation adds models with significantly higher clamping force sizes. The NEO -E will now be available with clamping force sizes of up to 1,400 - previously 1,088; the two-platen NEO-H series now goes up to 5. 500 t; the multi-component NEO-M series will now be available in sizes up to 3,520 t; and the hydraulic universal injection moulding machine NEO-T up to 1,050 t).
Engel (Hall A5, Stand 5204) is launching its new part finder at Fakuma 2023: an effective tool for plastics processors for which a smartphone is all that is needed. The solution lets users identify and order virtually any part of an ENGEL injection moulding machine in an uncomplicated way and is available free of charge as a feature of the ENGEL e-connect customer portal.  The tool offers various options for identifying parts, including a convenient, image-based spare parts search function. Users take a picture of the part in question and define the image section to be used for the search; or mail the images to the purchasing department. The purchasing coordinator can then use the image file in part finder to identify the part. The app can even recognise dirty, worn or defective parts of older machines – from cables to pumps. The part finder's database includes injection moulding machines which are up to 20 years old, along with other systems.

Materials
Asahi Kasei (Hall B5, Stand 5319) is presenting a range of material solutions at the show, including a new recycling technology for PA66. Together with Japanese partner company Microwave Chemical, the company is working on a new technology for chemical recycling of PA66. The process utilizes microwaves to depolymerize automotive airbags and other PA66 parts and directly obtain the monomers hexamethylenediamine (HMD) and adipic acid (ADA), which is expected to be accomplished at high yield with low energy consumption. The monomers obtained can then be used to manufacture new PA66. 

In Hall B4, Booth 4216 Domo is celebrating Technyl’s 70^th anniversary, marking 70 years of innovative flame and temperature resistance, light-weighting and sustainable solutions.
The Technyl brand has been available globally since 2022, with different Technyl grades finding application in the emerging mobility, urbanisation, miniaturisation and lifestyle megatrends. DOMO is also showcasing the Domamid and Stabamid virgin polymer product lines offering high-quality solutions for better end-product performance.

Plastics distributor and compounder WIS Kunststoffe GmbH (Hall B4, Booth 4307) will be presenting a broad portfolio of application-specific recyclates, including its new certified recyclates containing up to 100% post-consumer recycled content, the company announced.
WIS, whose recycling plant recently earned EuCertPlast certification, offers recyclates from both post-consumer sources (PCR) and post-industrial sources (PIR). At Fakuma, WIS Kunststoffe is showcasing its odour-optimised polypropylene and polyethylene recyclates, suitable for sensitive applications, such as toys or household applications. For applications in the automotive industry, special "high-tech" recyclates (PCR) have been developed that already fulfil the criteria of the upcoming regulations in this area. Reinforced variants are also offered for exterior components, while odour-optimized grades with low emission values are available for interiors. Also new are polyamides with high heat resistance for technical applications, especially in the engine compartment. For the packaging industry, WIS now offers recycled polystyrenes (rPS).

Mocom (Hall B4, Booth 4206) is launching recycled compounds for automotive translucent applications demonstrating that compounds made from post-consumer as well as post-industrial recyclates can be used in light diffusing, translucent applications. The Alcom LD (light diffusing) and LG (light guiding) Eco lines are made from up to 100% polymer post-consumer and post-industrial recyclates. Suited for light diffusing, translucent applications in the automotive industry, the products reportedly avoid the typical LED “hot spots” and are available in different polymers, including PC, MABS, MBS, copolyester, or PMMA.

The Lehvoss Group (Hall B1, Stand 11090) is showing a range of products developed by its Customized Polymer Materials division that, says the company, ‘open up completely new possibilities in the design and processing of plastics’. This is demonstrated by such examples as the Synergy on Wheels display: an injection moulded, fully recyclable carbon fibre compound e-bike frame with a carbon footprint that is reduced by up to 64%, and 64% increased material rigidity; and Lehvoss Group’s Large Format Additive Manufacturing (LFAM), also known as Fused Granulate Fabrication (FGF), which enables up to 80% cost savings in large component manufacturing.