By Bruce Geiselman
GN Thermoforming Equipment has kicked off sales of a larger version of its plug-assist form-cut-stack thermoforming machine.
The GN915 is similar to the GN800, which was introduced about six years ago, but can produce larger packages using fully integrated servo controls, drives and motors throughout. GN Thermoforming is a division of BMG (formerly Brown Machine Group).
“We started with the GN800,” said Paul Phillips, VP of marketing and sales for BMG. “Its success led us to the smaller GN580, and now the big brother, the GN915. It’s a bigger forming area, ideally made for the North American market.”
The usable forming area measures 2.8 feet by 3 feet, as compared to the GN800’s 2.7 feet by 1.9 feet.
The GN915 is a three-station machine, with forming and in-mold cutting capability in the first station, cutting in the second station and robotic stacking in the third. The clamping and cutting force is 100 tons.
In-mold cutting — or cut-in-place — allows for forming and cutting in the same station for products that require precise trimming. The servo-controlled knife in the cutting press improves cutting precision, preventing waste and increasing product yield. When in-mold cutting is used, the product bypasses the cutting station and goes directly to the stacking station, Phillips said.
The machine has third-motion plug-assist capabilities in the forming station, which reduces thickness variations in final parts via a servo-driven process. The technology allows for faster cycling, and makes it easier to downgauge sheet thickness while making a product with uniform material distribution and less weight, but comparable strength.
The machine measures 52 feet long by 10.8 feet wide by 11.9 feet high.
The GN915 was designed to accept competitors’ tooling.
“We want to make sure that their [customers’] legacy tooling is compatible with our equipment,” said Brian Golden, sales director Americas for GN Thermoforming Equipment.
It also incorporates an easy-to-use tool change system, which is important to customers, Phillips said. Only a single operator is required to change tools.
“It’s very simple to operate, very easy to use,” Phillips said. “Within an hour, you can change both tools very, very quickly. The tools come in blocks. They’re essentially loaded with the top and bottom tool together.”
The GN915 includes an integrated robotic stacker with moving basket capability that reduces packing time and increases line efficiency, according to the company. The robot is capable of a variety of stacking patterns, including AB, ABC and rotational stacking.
The moving basket is a servo driven sheet clamping system designed to hold scrap web secure while parts are stripped from the web in the stacking station, Phillips said: "It helps for stacking when trying to achieve very high cycle speeds, when the tooling layout involves a high number of cavities, the part is positive formed or round and finally if the material is a thin gauge or brittle."
The GN915 can form PET, PP, high-impact PS and PVC, as well as polylactic acid and other biodegradable materials for food, medical, industrial and other packaging applications. Material thicknesses range from 0.18mm to 2mm and the depth of draw is 5.9 inches.
GN Thermoforming Equipment, Chester, Nova Scotia, 902-275-3571, [email protected], www.bmg-solutions.com/gn/
Bruce Geiselman | Senior Staff Reporter
Senior Staff Reporter Bruce Geiselman covers extrusion, blow molding, additive manufacturing, automation and end markets including automotive and packaging. He also writes features, including In Other Words and Problem Solved, for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, Plastics Recycling and The Journal of Blow Molding. He has extensive experience in daily and magazine journalism.
