Lukas Prinsloo of Hestico with Ueli and Ruedi Vogeli of UV Tooling and the new Arburg Trend 1000 machine, which went into production seamlessly. The system is fully electric, with only the core operation being hydraUelic, allowing for high clamping and system pressure to be maintained and thus achieving high accuracy and helping reduce scrap, which is particularly low at UVT. At the time, closures for intermediate bulk containers were being produced

The control panel of the Gestica Lite system on the Trend, being put to the ultimate test by Lukas and Ruedi. Having a larger screen that is proving welcome, it also offers built-in tutorials for setters

A compact system that is, for the smaller series machines, slightly wider than most injection moulding machines, the new ‘Trend’ machines from Arburg offer some compelling features. This includes easier setup, reduced maintenance requirements, and a high level of accuracy. Arburg has also developed the platform to allow for the Trend machines to be more rapidly available

UV Tooling installs first Arburg ‘Trend’ machine in SA

UV TOOLING of Cape Town, a specialised injection moulding business with its own high-tech toolroom, has become the first user in South Africa of the new electric ‘Trend’ machine from Arburg of Germany.

One of the Trend machines was recently commissioned at Killarney Gardens-based UVT in a project that went of smoothly and created excitement among UVT’s production team.

Arburg’s machines have been particularly popular in the ‘small’ machine sector in the Western Cape for long: in fact, in the earlier years of the industry, in the 1960s and 70s, Arburg was the standard in the region. However, times have moved on, and machines from several Chinese manufacturers have entered the sector and proved successful.

Now Arburg has come back with what it describes as the ‘New standard in injection moulding’. It says the Trend machines are particularly quick to set up, intuitive to operate and simple to maintain, features that would be welcome for most moulders.

This, according to UV Tooling production director Ruedi Vogeli, is proving to be exactly the case. Set up by Ueli Vogeli in 1986 (it was originally only a toolroom) and now run under the directorship and ownership of Pierre Swanepoel, Smittie Boonzaaier and Ruedi Vogeli, UVT operates a significant number of Arburg machines, but its fleet also includes a variety of other machines. Now it has renewed its relationship and enthusiasm for Arburg and the brand’s SA agent, Hestico, whose Lukas Prinsloo managed the commissioning of the unit.

UVT operates in the technical moulding area and has a liking for complex jobs. “The more complex the better for us,” said Ruedi, alluding to the fact that its ability to manufacture complex tools distinguishes the company. It has a liking for electronics, aerospace and related complex moulding jobs. The skills in the toolroom are largely a result of the acumen of founder Ueli Vogeli and have been passed down with Ueli, who is now operating as something of a wandering ambassador and guru, empowering the company’s tool designers and toolmakers to welcome difficult challenges.

Gestica Lite control
The Trend is fitted with the new Gestica Lite control package from Arburg. It was inevitable, one imagines, that machine control technology would become more intuitive and react to and interpret what setters in countries around the world require, where its machines operate, but that was not automatic. Arburg appears to have achieved this with the new control system, and the UVT setters are revelling in the enhanced technology.

The world premiere of the Allrounder Trend was held as recently as the K show last year. Arburg said the completely redeveloped electric machine is quick to set up, particularly easy to operate and maintain and produces moulded parts with a high degree of reliability and energy efficiency.

Arburg has also placed great emphasis on ease of maintenance and reducing maintenance requirements. For improved accessibility and convenient set-up, the sliding guard has been substantially enlarged, and the slider on the injection unit can be opened wide in two stages. The maintenance points on the injection and clamping units, for example for grease lubrication, are easy to access without any special tools. Those wishing to maintain their machine themselves can obtain digital support, including installation instructions, directly on the control system: ‘aXw Control MaintenanceAssist’ explains the tasks to be completed using step-by-step video tutorials.