Moog Helps Machine Builder Switch from Hydraulic to Electric Control for Speed, Savings and Repeatability
19 September 2018
Moog has helped Thailand-based SMC Corporation Ltd. produce an electric injection blow molding model that is cleaner (e.g., reducing the potential for oil spills) and consumes less energy than legacy hydraulic machines. Manufacturers of blow molding units and injection stretch blow models are increasingly moving away from all-hydraulic designs, say industry watchers.
SMC implemented hybrid electric actuation on its injection blow molding machines, so customers would have the power of a hydraulic machine for faster mold transport or clamp up, with programmable servomotors for repeatability. SMC chose Moog to replace the hydraulic motor operating the turntable on its 135IB injection blow molding machine with a Moog electric servo motor. The 135IB was a large machine with an injection mold clamping force of 1,200 kN and a blow mold clamping force of 300 kN.
Moog engineers helped to size and select the right Moog servo motor and servo drive, and integrate it with a Moog Machine Controller M400 series. The result was increased machine performance with higher speed, shorter cycle time, and better accuracy and repeatability.
“Moog’s technical support was as important to making the shift from hydraulic to electric as its technology,” said Thammarat Pitakchat, electrical engineer at SMC Corporation.
After completing the 135IB project, SMC decided to upgrade its smaller injection blow molding machine 85IB and 65IB. Similar to the 135IB, the 85IB and 65IB have hydraulic motors that rotate the machine turntable but with lower injection mold clamping force at 880 kN and 565 kN respectively. SMC selected Moog’s new generation modular machine controller MC Series 600, which provides closed-loop controls for all the machine axes.
“With the Moog Machine Controller series, operating the machine is easier and more intuitive with a touch-screen interface,” said Prasit Painok, Head of SMC’s Technical Service Team. “As for servicing the machine, one operator can conveniently service the machine, instead of the two operators it took for our older model IB.”
