An injection molding machine (also known as an injection molding machine) is a machine that produces plastic parts from plastic in the form of granulate or powder. For this purpose, the required molding compound is prepared in the so-called injection unit and injected into a die, which represents a negative mold of the desired plastic part. Depending on the process used, various components of the machine are heated or tempered. Injection molding machines basically consist of two assemblies: The injection unit or plasticizing unit, which prepares the raw material and injects it under pressure into the tool (also known as the mould), and the clamping unit, which holds the tool and opens and closes it.
Basically, you might think that plastic parts can't be that heavy. That is certainly true for the most part. But injection molding machines can easily be several meters in size. The parts they produce are correspondingly large and heavy. And even low weights can quickly lead to tension and incorrect strain on the body when working continuously. Unfortunately, this often results in long-term illnesses. Therefore, prevention is the best protection for the long-term health of the worker at the machine. Depending on the size of the injection molded part and the cycle time, several kilos can quickly add up per day. If it is then necessary to twist the body, for example to remove the finished parts from the machine and place them in a box, additional strain is placed on the musculoskeletal structure. In addition to the weight, the shape and temperature of the manufactured component can also have an impact on handling. Large-format, sharp-edged components with an off-center center of gravity and still hot (warm) from production affect handling.
A customer produces different types of plastic parts on his injection molding machine. These plastic parts have to be transferred from a roller conveyor on the ejection side of the machine. Due to the high number of parts and to support the employee at the machine, a so-called manipulator was suggested after a detailed analysis of the work area. Due to the changing work area, this should be mobile. The workstation solution is a mobile, electro/pneumatic parallel arm manipulator of the MANTIS type from Sachs. It is equipped with a mechanical gripper and a vacuum lifter. The MANTIS has a unique selling point compared to other competitor products on the market thanks to its integrated scales. Regular manual adjustment depending on the load weight at a compressed air valve is not necessary with the electronic scale of the MANTIS.
Of course. The MANTIS has a wide range of connection options for load handling devices for handling different loads.
There are indeed. For example, when changing the injection mold or during maintenance work, workers can get into an area where there is a risk of falling when climbing onto the machine. This makes it necessary to use appropriate protective equipment.
