CLEVELAND—Wabash MPI and Carver Inc. debuted their hybrid servo-pneumatic Microlim-brand liquid injection molding machine during the ACS Rubber Division's Rubber Expo in Cleveland.
The Microlim machine is ideal for clean room and medical applications, the companies said, and is designed for shot sizes from less than 1cc to 15cc.
“The big feature of this machine is actually its accuracy and the small shot size,” said Dave Singer, Wabash MPI sales and marketing manager. “It's really meant to be a short-run or a prototyping (material).”
Additionally, because customers are injecting right into the part itself, he said there is no waste in the process.
The key for this machine was to keep it simple.
“We have a lot of customers come to us asking us to develop a small machine like this,” Singer said. “Since we also build transfer molding presses and compression presses, this press is really a natural extension of our product line.”
Wabash MPI and Carver already were working within the markets and with customers who would need this type of product, he said. Adding it is a nice move forward.
The machine features include a patented plunger design with center shutoff nozzle for accurate shot size control and clamp force up to 17 tons. “It's proven technology for its accuracy,” Singer said, noting that the new machine also has some ungraded controls.
Wabash and Carver started taking quote requests at the show and received a good response, according to the Wabash official.
“(We've had) several leads and a lot of interest,” he said. “We're pretty excited about getting started with this in the marketplace.”
For the International Elastomer Show demonstration, Wabash and Carver partnered with various companies, including: Fort Wayne Mold & Engineering providing the mold; Sterling Inc. providing the chiller; Graco Fluid Automation providing the meter mix; and Wacker Silicones providing the liquid silicone.
Wabash and Carver are separate operations but work essentially as sister companies, Singer said. Both companies work from the same facility in Wabash, Ind. Wabash is noted for production style presses, while Carver is more known on the laboratory scale of presses.
“It makes a nice blend because they are all presses ... but different specialties,” he said.