Sodick is launching a range of high-end plastic injection moulding machines to the European market at K 2019.
The company has manufactured such machines for over 30 years, but they have previously only been available in Japan, China and the USA.
The GL30, which will be demonstrated at K, is a 30-tonne electric-hydraulic hybrid specifically suited to the production of very small, high-precision parts, e.g. for the medical sector.
Sodick machines use the V-Line injection method to accurately prepare the polymer meter shot by weight, filling the component in a precise and repeatable process, resulting in more accurate filling and pressurisation of the component.
Due to the linear motor drive system which governs the injection plunger, also traveling at high speed to reduce the viscosity of the melt, accuracy is further enhanced.
The GL30 is capable of linear injection speeds in excess of 1,300 mm/s and can achieve and maintain this speed within a 5mm shot size whilst accelerating and decelerating within 1mm of plunger movement.