Foboha mold automates, speeds up process

Dec. 14, 2022
A demonstration line at K 2022 produced three-component parts in around 9.5 seconds, using a CITI cube mold and an Arburg IMM.

CITI Available through Arburg, this Foboha mold, also known as Cube Inclusive Turning Inserts, features turning inserts that can be used on the Lossburg, Germany, injection molding machine (IMM) maker’s Cube machines, as well as in single-face molds, to help automate the molding process. At the K Show, Arburg demonstrated an eight-plus-eight-plus-eight-cavity cube mold with the new technology installed on an Allrounder Cube 1800 IMM, which produced eight functional, three-component parts in a cycle time of around 9.5 seconds. First, one of the IMM’s three injection units injected PP in one row of cavities on the moving side of the platen. The cube rotated 90 degrees, so the side with the molded parts faced outward. Then, the two CITI elements rotated 180 degrees vertically around their own axis, positioning the frames in the second row of cavities. After the cube rotated an additional 90 degrees, an injection unit on the side of the fixed platen applied a shot of TPE. The TPE melt reached the back of the frame through a small opening, and the third injection unit added polyoxymethylene. 

What’s new? The CITI mold. 

Benefits Speed, and space and energy savings. The CITI Cube technology allows for simultaneous filling and cooling of the mold, along with part removal.

Arburg Inc., Rocky Hill, Conn., 860-667-6500, www.arburg.com 

Foboha USA, Lawrenceville, Ga., 770-449-1820, www.foboha.com 

https://youtu.be/R5PfZMiUD5c

About the Author

Karen Hanna | Senior Staff Reporter

Senior Staff Reporter Karen Hanna covers injection molding, molds and tooling, processors, workforce and other topics, and writes features including In Other Words and Problem Solved for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, Plastics Recycling and The Journal of Blow Molding. She has more than 15 years of experience in daily and magazine journalism.