ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH has expanded its technical center in St. Valentin, Austria, with one of the largest injection molding machines from its standard portfolio: the duo 5500 combi M. With a clamping force of 55,000 kN, it is by far the largest technical center machine in the world, measuring 32 meters long, 13 meters wide, 6.8 meters high, and weighing 545 tons. ENGEL aims to use this machine to enable technologies and components in completely new dimensions in collaboration with its customers and partners. The extra-large mold space accommodates molds weighing up to 150 tons, with possible shot weights up to 42 kg.
This state-of-the-art machine was developed to meet the demands of the automotive industry and technical injection molding and is now available for customer trials.
Mega-Trends in Automotive Manufacturing
The automotive industry increasingly uses larger plastic parts to reduce vehicle weight, improve fuel efficiency, and lower production costs. Plastics offer design flexibility, enhance corrosion resistance, and contribute to the longevity and safety of vehicles. They also allow for the integration of functional elements and reduce the number of individual parts needed. ENGEL’s new facility supports this trend by enabling the production of larger plastic components.
New Injection Molding Opportunities for the Automotive Industry and Technical Molding.
Until now, large plastic parts have often been manufactured using various processes other than injection molding, which have significant limitations. With the availability of an injection molding machine as large as the duo 5500 combi M in a technical center, extensive possibilities for part and technology development and sampling are now available. This offering reinforces ENGEL’s role as an enabler of new technologies, allowing customers and partners to actively pursue developments in new dimensions and expand injection molding capabilities.
The sheer size of the machine is impressive, as is the wide range of material combinations and technologies it supports:
- clearmelt – Coating visible parts with PUR
- foammelt – Foam injection molding for lightweight construction and warpage reduction
- organomelt – Processes with long glass fiber or tape reinforcement
- coinmelt – Compression injection molding
- optimelt – High-quality optical parts made from transparent plastics
- combimelt – Multi-color injection molding
- foilmelt – Back-injection of decorative/functional films
The new ENGEL technical center facility covers all application areas for the automotive sector and technical injection molding.
Cutting-Edge Technology and Digital Assistance Systems
The duo 5500 combi M represents the latest technology in injection molding. It features two movable (combined and individually operable) horizontal injection units and a combi M injection unit. It is also equipped with two six-axis ENGEL easix articulated robots for flexible and efficient automation.
For PU applications, two Cannon systems are available, one for small-volume applications and one for high-volume applications. Additionally, a corresponding dosing unit allows for coloring the polyurethanes to create exciting designs.
All digital assistance systems from ENGEL are integrated into the machine control, enabling energy-efficient, sustainable, and efficient production while optimizing processes.
Extensive Know-How
No other manufacturer has built as many injection molding machines of this size as ENGEL, giving it extensive expertise from which its customers benefit. By proactively installing a machine of this magnitude, ENGEL emphasizes its commitment to technological leadership, innovation, sustainability, and customer orientation, underscored by the motto “be the first.”
Flexibility and Innovation at the Technical Center
With the introduction of the duo 5500 combi M, ENGEL’s technical center reaffirms its role as a leading hub for testing new technologies and collaborating closely with the industry to promote new injection molding possibilities. The machine allows for the testing and development of existing and new customer projects under real conditions and on neutral ground. This includes tool and material tests as well as the development of new manufacturing technologies.
Manufacturers of large, complex plastic parts and toolmakers can now test feasibility and implementation at an early project stage. This significantly shortens the go-to-market time and avoids costly subsequent errors by identifying and eliminating sources of error early on.
