At K 2019, ENGEL will exhibit its iQ weight control intelligent assistance system for injection moulding processes with a recycled material application.
iQ weight control individually adjusts the quality-related process parameters for each shot during injection to suit the prevailing conditions.
Since 2014, the system has been used to great effect to process virgin material, but recycled material naturally yields greater batch variations than virgin material.
The software’s ability to also operate reliably under these circumstances was thoroughly put to the test by ENGEL and recycling specialist Erema, and using different recycling technologies, heavily soiled geotextiles made of PP were salvaged, pelletised, and put through an injection moulding process while using iQ weight control.
Paul Kapeller, Product Manager for Digital Solutions at ENGEL Austria, said: “The tests confirmed that iQ weight control maintains a constant melt volume throughout the production process, even when processing recycled material.”
“By offering this solution, we’re opening the door to a significantly wider range of applications for recycled material, making an important contribution to the circular economy.”