MARKET AND MANAGEMENT

High-Tech in
Three Dimensions
Extended Spectrum. People, ideas, innovations
was the motto of the summer forum held by KraussMaffei in Allach on the outskirts of Munich. All in all,
some 50 exhibits from the three segments of injection
moulding, PU processing and extrusion were on show.
At the same time, the company also presented its full
range of services. Attracting 3500 visitors, the summer

Josef Mrtl: For the year as a whole, we are

assuming that incoming orders and sales will
be at a higher level than for the previous year.

forum constituted one of the big events organised by

the sector.
he Krauss-Maffei Group succeeded
in considerably stepping up the value of its incoming orders over the
first six months of the 2005/2006 financial year. At EUR 305.6 m, these exceeded the EUR 300 m mark over a six-month
period for the very first time. This represents a rise of 8.9 % over the previous year
(first half of 2004/ 2005: EUR 280.6 m).
At a press conference held on the occasion of the 2006 summer forum in Munich, Managing Board Chairman, Josef
Mrtl, explained that the growth in orders received stems primarily from hightech applications and our export business. At EUR 266.5 m, sales were slightly lower than for the previous year (first
half of 2004/2005: EUR 276.6 m), which
is attributable to a number of big orders
that were invoiced in the first half of
2004/2005. Mrtl is assuming that, for the
year as a whole (closing date: 30 September 2006), both incoming orders and sales
will be above those of the previous year.

half of 2004/2005: EUR 39.4 m). The Extrusion Technology business unit recorded a high demand for profile and pipe extrusion systems from Turkey, Russia and
the CIS states, as well as a fair demand for
sheet extrusion systems from the USA.
The Reaction Technology business unit
increased its incoming orders by 6.1 % to
EUR 48.5 m (first half of 2004/2005: EUR
45.7 m). This also includes the first orders
for Tooling Technologies. Orders received
by the Injection Moulding Technology
business unit were similarly up on those
of the previous year, at EUR 197.9 m (first
half of 2004/2005: EUR 195.5 m). Injection moulding machines in the medium

clamp range (up to 650 t) and big machines (as of 800 t) are key pillars in respect of the orders received. According to
Mrtl, foreign business is playing an increasingly important role for KraussMaffei. Orders from abroad were up EUR
22.5 m on the year before. This puts the
export ratio at 75.5 % (first half 2004/
2005: 74.3 %).

Strategic Focus on High-Tech

In his opening lecture, Dr. Otto Urbanek,
Manager for Production and Technology
at Krauss-Maffei, forecast that plastics
machinery construction would have divided into two segments by 2010, namely into a high-tech segment and into a
mass market. The strategic focus at
Krauss-Maffei is on the high-tech seg-

8 PE103625

Increased Inflow of Orders in

All Business Units
All three of the Krauss-Maffei business
units contributed towards the increased inflow of orders, with Extrusion Technology
recording the biggest jump. Here, incoming orders rose 50.5 %,to EUR 59.3 m (first

Translated from Kunststoffe 7/2006, pp. 4042

Fig. 1. The specialist Technology Avenue exhibition showed visitors the companys entire range of
activities on the basis of specific case studies

Kunststoffe international 7/2006

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2006 Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich, Germany
www.kunststoffe-international.com
Not for use in internet or intranet sites. Not for electronic distribution.

 MARKET AND MANAGEMENT

Injection Moulding

Otto Urbanek: By combining the processes of

injection moulding, and polyurethane and extrusion technology, we are marking out a threedimensional technology arena which will permit a large number of technical innovations.

ment. The decisive factor here, stressed

Urbanek, is the companys competence in
the three disciplines of injection moulding, extrusion and polyurethane processing. By combining these three processes,
Krauss-Maffei is marking out a three-dimensional technology arena, which will
permit a large number of technical innovations to be achieved. This unique selling point will prevent the company from
being worn down in price battles.
In a specialist exhibition entitled
Technology Avenue Krauss-Maffei
demonstrated the companys entire range
of activities in the plastics processing sector. The programme was rounded off by
a series of lectures on technology and
trends, processes and applications.

For the exhibits from the injection

moulding sector, attention was focused
inter alia on the SkinForm process. This
combines thermoplastic injection moulding and PU processing in a single-stage
process. The parts are ready for use after
moulding, with no need for finishing
work. The sample part employed for the
Summer Forum was a tray weighing 720 g,
made of ABS/PA and PU.
The electric EX series was on display
in three different sizes and three different
application areas. The smallest variant
with a clamping force of 500 kN was being used to produce medical tubing in
LSR. An 800 kN-EX was producing needle protectors in PP. The biggest machine
in the series, with a clamping force of
1600 kN, was making lids for household
trays. The kinematics of the patented Z
lever on the EX series permits rapid
movements over a short period of time
for the build-up and removal of the
clamping force. The markets response to
this series, introduced to coincide with
K2004, has, however, been rather sluggish.
The company is still not satisfied with the
sales figures for the EX, reported Josef
Mrtl.
Midway through last year, cycled production was introduced for the CX-series
machines in Allach. This has considerably
reduced the throughput time.Krauss-Maffei is currently also switching the big MXseries machines in the 8000 to 16 000 kN
clamp range to synchronised assembly.
In the automation segment, the focus
was on the LR-S variant of the linear robot. This stand-alone robot variant, that
was first presented at Fakuma 2005, has
its own independent control system and

can thus be employed on all makes of injection moulding machine. The LR-S series supplements the LR series, where the
control system is integrated in the injection moulding machine.
Krauss-Maffei recently introduced the
Economiser, a unit for dynamic, decentralised reactive power compensation,
which is specially tailored to the requirements of injection moulding machines.
The reactive power only flows from the
motor on the injection moulding machine to the Economiser and thus no
longer places a burden on the mains
network. In addition to this, the Economiseroffers a motor management system for hydraulic operation which can
similarly achieve clear savings on active
power. This applies especially for the production of parts with long cooling times.
Krauss-Maffei offers customers test runs
with loaned units to enable them to assess the savings that they could make.

PU Technology
The Reaction Technology business unit
presented itself as a system supplier for
the very first time at the summer forum.
Alongside the classical product portfolio
of mixing heads and metering machines,
as well as polyurethane processing units,
the newly acquired expertise in tooling
technology was also on show. The entire
tooling technology range was in operation, with moulds and dies, and also cutting, stamping and milling technology.
The new micro-colour metering system from Krauss-Maffei reduces set-up
times for colour changes to a minimum:
all the machine elements that come into
contact with the colour can be fully exchanged within 15 to 20 minutes. This
then consistently prevents colour carryover. The constrained control means that
the micro colour metering can also be
adapted to systems of other makes without any problems.
The production of skins with demanding surfaces in polyurethane was also demonstrated. The PU is sprayed directly into the open mould here. As it is
being applied, the sprayed material
spreads out uniformly over a broad area.
This leads to short cycle times and a high
productivity. Krauss-Maffei offers different spraying systems and thus covers a
wide range of applications.

Extrusion
Fig. 2. The new CX, MX and EX series were the focus of attention
in the injection moulding segment

The QuickSwitch process developed by

Krauss-Maffei makes it possible to change
Carl Hanser Verlag, Mnchen

Kunststoffe international 7/2006

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2006 Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich, Germany

www.kunststoffe-international.com
Not for use in internet or intranet sites. Not for electronic distribution.

MARKET AND MANAGEMENT

Fig. 3. Krauss-Maffeis Reaction Technology business unit is now presenting itself as a system supplier. The Tooling Technologies business unit
was introduced for the first time at the summer forum 2006

the pipe diameter while the system is running. This online dimension change can
be performed within just a few minutes
at the simple press of a button. After
QuickSwitch was first presented to the
public for the production of polyolefin
pipes three years ago, the response from
the PVC sector too was so positive that
Krauss-Maffei has now modified the system for PVC processing. A number of adjustments were necessary to the core components when developing the QuickSwitch technique for polyolefin pipe extrusion, and a completely new concept
had to be worked out for the pipe extrusion head. A spider-type extrusion head
is used for PVC tube production; this is

Fig. 4. The Extrusion business unit demonstrated three extrusion lines in

running operation

equipped with a mandrel that can be

moved in the extrusion direction.
PP corrugated pipes for drainage systems were produced at the summer forum on a combination of two singlescrew extruders (KME 90-36 B/R and
KME 75-36 B/R). Increasing the length of
the processing section from 30D to 36D
raises the specific throughput and hence
the overall output. The product homogeneity is further enhanced at a low melt
temperature level.
Also in operation was a complete window-profile production line with a KMD
75-32/P twin-screw extruder, three different dies and also downstream units. On
the 32/P-series extruders, both the screw

torque was increased and the pre-heating

length extended. This means that the output, expressed in terms of the screw speed,
rises by around 20 % compared with the
previous generation. This allows higher
outputs to be achieved with lower screw
speeds.
The in-house exhibition was rounded
off by the participation of 75 partner exhibitors. Over the two days, Krauss-Maffei reports that it was able to welcome
3500 visitors from 54 countries, thus setting a new attendance record. Visitors
from abroad accounted for 48 % of those
who attended.
Gerhard Gotzmann

Kunststoffe international 7/2006

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2006 Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich, Germany
www.kunststoffe-international.com
Not for use in internet or intranet sites. Not for electronic distribution.