A publicationof the ARBURG group

Issue 7 Autumn 1997

Information concerninginjection moulding tech-nology and market news

LEGO: Room for Imagination

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CONTENTS EDITORIAL

PAGE 3

PAGES 4-5

PAGES 6-8

PAGE 9

PAGES 10-11

PAGES 12-13

PAGES 14-15

ARBURG internal newsARBURG Marketing: Fully tailored to our needs

ARBURG trainingPlastics: Material with a future for jobs with a future

Technology and developmentAutomatic start-up and switch-off

A celebration of many years partnerships

Environmental technologyA declaration of independence

In brief

PAGE 16Controlled or regulated (Part 2)Controlled or regulated:The difference is in the detail

User reportThe material which children’s dreams are made of

ARBURG internal newsAn overall view for the benefit of our customers

ARBURG subsidiariesTop service in the “New World”

PRINTED BY

ARBURG GmbH + CoArthur-Hehl-StrasseD-72290 LossburgTel. 0 74 46 / 33-0Fax 0 74 46 / 33-33 65e-mail: today_kundenmagazin@arburg.comWebsite: www.arburg.com

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The key economic terms of our times are dynamism, in-ternationalisation and globalisation. Certainly, no inter-nationally active company can continue to exist todaywithout adopting a strategic approach to the globaleconomic market. At ARBURG, we follow these deve-lopments by way of our extended network of branchesand representatives.

For us however, this is only one side of positive eco-nomic developments. The other is many years of part-nership and continuity in tried-and-tested business rela-tionships. In this respect, we in no way underestimatethe importance of dynamic developments but we forgea very special relationship with our long-term customers.

In this issue, we want to present to you some examplesof this very special type of relationship: For many years,we have had intensive contact with the world-famoustoy manufacturer, the LEGO Group. Over the last few dec-ades, two ideas have extended together around theworld - one the multifunctional LEGO kits, the otherbeing a multifunctional injection moulding machine, theflexible ARBURG Allrounder.

We are equally pleased with the well-developed busi-ness relationships with the companies Bosch/Waiblingenand Soehner/Schwaigern, with whom we enjoy tradi-tionally trusting and close cooperation. We have con-gratulated Bosch with a certificate marking the deliveryof the 150th ARBURG machine, and in the case of Soeh-ner we have been able to celebrate the 100th machine.

These are only three examples from a long list. Exam-ples which illustrate that ARBURG is always at the fore-front of development from a technological point ofview, yet at the same time continues to attach impor-tance to continuity and teamwork with regard to busi-ness relationships.

With their individual production requirements, everycustomer represents a new, interesting challenge forARBURG. A challenge which we are still only too pleasedto accept - for our mutual benefit and as a basis for con-tinued relationships.

We hope you find our new issue of ARBURG todayboth informative and enjoyable.

Eugen Hehl Karl Hehl

service, consultation, docu-mentation and training, andalso planning, networking,special processes, automationand peripheral devices.

In our case, many detailsshow that the wishes of the cus-tomer significantly influencethe development, productionand sales of the Allrounder.The building-up of our own,worldwide network of branch-es is just as much a part of thiscontext as the orientation ofglobal services to the fully-de-veloped system in Germany.

This is illustrated by, amongother things, a team of trainedsales consultants, networked,computer-controlled spare partssupply, telephone service, aflexible, easily reached customerservice with a well-equippedvehicle pool and a comprehen-sive range of training coursesfor machine operators.

In addition, customer consul-tation makes synergy effectswhich arise from daily work

ARBURG INTERNAL NEWS

The overall view of things is atradition at ARBURG and isbased primarily on the fact thathighly-specialised machine sys-tems are best planned, manu-factured and serviced by thosewho also develop them.

The best example of thisclaim is the relatively high in-ternal production depth of ap-proximately 60 % for a me-chanical engineering compa-ny. Our own quality standards,but also the work based on ISO9001, are major reasons whythis view is held at ARBURG.

Customer requirements areanother supporting pillar towhich ARBURG has alwaysbeen orientated and in recentyears, the company has clearlydeveloped from being only asupplier of machines into anall-round service-provider forall aspects of injection mould-ing technology.

These services also includethe complete worldwide ser-vice range offering customer

very useful. As a result, the cus-tomer who not only wants amachine but is also planning acomplete injection-mouldingshop or automated productionwith a host computer, qualityassurance, mould change andthe supply and disposal of theinjection-moulded parts, willfind exactly what he is lookingfor at ARBURG.

However, ARBURG applica-tions technology consultantscan provide equally compre-hensive advice concerningquestions about production is-lands, which are intended tocombine in a single unit thevarious machine and peripheralcomponents. Comprehensiveknow-how on special proces-sing methods, powder injec-tion-moulding or LSR, multi-component and CD produc-tion, as well as the design ofmoulds, round off the range ofconsultancy services.

At ARBURG, the positive ef-fects of internal teamworkhave a great effect on coopera-tion with the customer. How-ever, this can only work if thecommunications routes withinall the regions of the companyare short and unbureaucratic.Only in this way can ARBURGkeep that decisive step aheadof its competitors on the mar-ket. This is the way in which acorporate philosophy, whichassumes that the lion’s share ofspecific specialist knowledge

An overall view for thebenefit of our customers

In the much-quoted times of "outsourcing", a strategywhich integrates combined know-how in a central loca-tion may at first glance appear somewhat anachronistic.The ARBURG corporate philosophy follows exactly thisstrategy. However, a more precise examination revealsthat this procedure is backed up by a system and carefulthought, and the many years of continued success withthe Allrounder technology justifies this method.

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remains concentrated in thecompany, displays its great ad-vantages.

The same applies both to theR & D sector and to production,as well as to the subordinateservices. Despite all certainlyprofitable (from an economicpoint of view) "outsourcing"concepts, companies which pro-duce highly-specialised tech-nical investment goods canachieve top quality and a longlife only if they can come upwith most of the componentsrequired for this.

ARBURG has already success-fully pursued this strategy formore than 70 years, and we donot intend to change it in thefuture. All important companydepartments will remain in acentral location at the Lossburgheadquarters in the comingyears. This means that the com-pany is also very well equippedfor the new millennium.

The material whichchildren’s dreamsare made of

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USER REPORT

And in so doing, the LEGOGroup has been actively sup-ported by the machine tech-nology of ARBURG since 1973.Both halves of this constructivepartnership have many signifi-cant things in common: For ex-ample, the names of both com-panies which, even in an era oflarge multinational groups, arestill in family ownership, aremade up of parts of severalwords and are thereby unique.

ARBURG was formed fromthe names of the companyfounder Arthur and the com-pany’s location Lossburg. Thename LEGO represents a con-traction of the Danish words

LEGO: The rapid rise of aningenious idea

The rapid rise of the LEGOGroup to its position as one ofthe leading toy manufacturerson the world market which to-day employs 9200 people in 29countries began in 1932: Thecompany founder Ole KirkChristiansen, who had run ajoinery and carpenter’s shop inBillund since 1916, was forcedin 1932 (due to the dramatic ef-fects of the world economic cri-sis) to stop production for agri-culturally-orientated customers.

With the idea of now pro-ducing wooden toys for children,Christiansen scored a bull’s-eye.

The name of this solid, qualitytoy was developed in 1934, andthe product sold in largequantities from Danish retailoutlets and among consumers.

At the end of the 1930s, theLEGO range was extended toinclude cars, animals, yo-yosand other wooden toys, withthe result that the companyproduced about 150 differ-ent products and sold them inDenmark.

Plastic revolutionisesproduction

One of the effects of mili-tary-related developmentsduring the Second WorldWar was the revolutionarydevelopment of plastic as aproduction material. As earlyas 1947, Ole Kirk Christiansenrecognised new possibilitiesand set up a small injection-moulding shop with a ma-chine in which rattles, smalldolls, animals and buildingblocks were manufacturedusing the new material.

After the first, now veryprimitive-looking LEGO bricks("automatic binding bricks")were developed in 1949,Godtfred Kirk Christiansen(the founder’s son who waskeen on fiddly things) cameup with the pioneering in-vention, for which he thenapplied for a patent in 1958.With an internal tube system,the LEGO bricks gained theirtoday famous clamping force.Thanks to their significantlygreater stability, completelydifferent designs and combi-nation possibilities could berealised. In this way, thefoundations of the LEGO suc-cess were laid in the truesense of the word.

The Danish toy companythen concentrated fully onplastic in 1960, after a fire

They can be found in every child’s room and there is hardly anyone who has never playedwith them: We’re talking about the world famous LEGO bricks, an irreplaceable toy in mostcountries of the world. Whether they are red, yellow, green, LEGO Primo, the large DUPLObricks or the LEGO TECHNIC system - the world-famous brand name has for four decadessupplied the right plastic toy to suit all ages and interests.

"leg godt" ("play well"). Thefact that "lego" also means "Iassemble" or "I read" in Latin,was only an extremely luckystroke of fortune, and this wasnot realised until much later.

The products of both compa-nies represent further parallels.Both became worldwide best-sellers following an inventivestreak of genius: On the oneside a versatile toy, on the oth-er side the machine on whichthese children’s dreams aremade. The combination whichbenefited both companies.

had destroyed the entire stockof wood.

More than 110 billionparts

Today, the LEGO Group, theonly European representativeamong the world’s ten largesttoy manufacturers, markets515 different LEGO kits, con-sisting of 1964 different ele-ments: The systems LEGO Pri-mo, LEGO DUPLO, LEGO SCA-LA, LEGO SYSTEM, LEGO TECH-NIC and LEGO Dacta have re-placed the simple "LEGO box"with which everything beganand which went on to lure gen-erations of godfathers, moth-ers and young master design-ers onto the living room floor.Between 1949 and 1990, a totalof about 110 billion LEGO ele-ments were manufactured withthis quality claim.

The basic LEGO principleHowever, the basic princi-

ple always remained the same,manufacturing high-qualityand educationally importanttoys, the individual elementsof which must remain com-binable throughout the worldand for decades.

LEGO quality -Allrounders make it

possibleThe dictum of Ole Kirk

Christiansen dating back tothe 1930 - "Only the best isgood enough" - still applies asone of the corporate princi-ples of the LEGO Group. AndARBURG Allrounders, forwhich the ARBURG companyhas the same production prin-ciples, help to achieve this lev-el of quality assurance.

Innovations on the toysmarket

Innovations will continue tohave a decisive influence onthe developments of the LEGOGroup in the future: New ideas,new elements, new kits andnew play subjects constantlygive children new opportuni-ties for playing, thinking andlearning. For example, a CD-ROM has for some time beensupplied with one of the LEGOTECHNIC kits, containing manyadditional instructions and ex-citing ideas for playing.

Every LEGO box addressesthe inimitable nature of chil-dren’s imagination and pro-vides stimulation for realisingthe most varied design dreams.The almost unlimited LEGOpossibilities are restricted onlyby the power of the imagina-tion and by the age and devel-

opment stage of each child -and, of course, by the amountof components available.

Two ideas - one successIn the last few decades, two

ideas have travelled aroundthe world - one the multifunc-tional LEGO kit and the otherthe multifunctional injection-moulding machine, the flexi-ble ARBURG Allrounder....

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ARBURG INTERNAL NEWS

ARBURG marketing:Fully tailored to our needs

Dedicated, dynamic, ex-panding - the still veryyoung Marketing Divisionat ARBURG can be accuratelycharacterised by these keywords. Under the supervi-sion of partner Juliane Hehl,this division (made up ofthe Marketing, Advertisingand Publicity work depart-ments), was founded abouttwo years ago.

With some 20 employees, thejunior manager today has astrong team with a young aver-age age of 32. This makes it ayoung division in both senses ofthe word, and one which isgrowing with its responsibilities.

Its range of tasks is a large one,with the traditional work of amarketing department havingbeen precisely tailored to meetthe special needs of ARBURG. Tous, marketing is not simply mar-keting!

Always practically-orientated marketing

Of course, this should in noway mean that there was nomarketing at ARBURG before1995. On the contrary: For prac-tical reasons, marketing re-sponsibilities were concentra-ted more in other divisions ofthe company, primarily in theTechnical and Sales depart-ments. Marketing require-ments and customer wisheshave always consciously beengiven high priority at ARBURG:The economic successes of the1950s and 1960s were based onaccurate market analyses andthe implementation of the

conclusions drawn from them.Pioneering and revolutionarydevelopments like the ARBURGAllrounder itself, the digital con-troller or the Vario principlewere developed from such de-velopment work which was ori-entated directly to productionproblems.

1995: The launch of theMarketing Division

Due to the successful globalexpansion of ARBURG which isnow active in about 120 coun-tries throughout the world andincreasingly complex demands,in 1995 it became necessary toadopt a systematic approach tomarketing procedures by form-ing a separate division.

Market and competition ob-servation, portfolio analyses,location analyses, reports fromGerman and internationalsales - all of this work todaymakes it easier for decision-makers at ARBURG to accu-rately estimate markets anddevelopments and to act with awide entrepreneurial view.The division forms the inter-face between the market, tech-nology and sales, and also be-

tween the parent company andthe 18 subsidiaries, as well as nu-merous trading partners.

Advertising andpublicity work

In addition to the MarketingDepartment, the responsibilityfor advertising and publicitywork also lies with the Market-ing Division, where all sub-divi-sions work together in close co-operation. Here, all tasks arecovered by graphics, photogra-phy, exhibition designs andtexts.

Thanks to its excellent techni-cal facilities, the advertising de-partment is without doubt oneof Germany’s leaders for a com-pany of this size. For example,with an extremely modern digit-al printing machine, one of thefew machines of its type in Ger-many, ARBURG is able to reactflexibly and in an order-relatedway to many different demands.As in machine production, AR-BURG also attaches great impor-tance as far as communication isconcerned to dealing with mosttasks internally in order to be asindependent as possible fromexternal influences.

INFORMATION CENTRE

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www.arburg.com

INTERNET

At this address you will findour varied ARBURG Internetservice. It allows you to takeinteresting walks through theARBURG company.

At the click of a mouse, youwill receive comprehensive in-formation on technology, thecompany’s history and ourservices - up-to-date and ex-tremely quickly.

Pay us a visit!

Modern and provenmeans of communication

This also applies to the numer-ous other tasks involved in adver-tising and publicity work:Whether we are talking aboutthe most up-to-date forms ofcommunication like multimediaapplications as tools in consulta-tion and sales discussions and therefined range of Internet servic-es, or proven information meth-ods like mailings, brochures oreven the ARBURG today custom-er magazine - the Advertising De-partment works to professionalstandards in all fields.

As a result, things which of-ten cause astonishment elsew-here are no longer surprisingat ARBURG: In addition to in-formation media on paper,we also have multimediaapplications on CD ROM orthe services of the Inter-net, complete and loca-ted centrally in the Ad-vertising Department.Here, short communi-cations routes allowrapid action and

therefore quick infor-mation - an advantage which

our customers also appreciate.Because, in the final analysis,all our efforts enable us to opti-mise internal procedures to thebenefit of our customers and tooffer them comprehensive in-formation as quickly as possible.

An international characteris ARBURG’s trump cardAnd thanks to the superb

worldwide contacts of ARBURG,we can offer this in numer-ous languages. For example,ARBURG today appears in fivelanguages (German, English,French, Italian and Spanish).Brochures are sent in thirteen,

mailing campaigns in as manyas fourteen different languages.The complex translation work iscoordinated by the MarketingDepartment, with the Advertis-ing Department assuming re-sponsibility for implementationand production. This meansthat an increasing number ofpeople throughout the worldare able to obtain ARBURGinformation in theirnative language.

Publicity work - animportant infor-

mation instrumentAnother important

cornerstone for pro-viding our customersand interested mem-bers of the public withrapid and compre-hensive information isthe national and in-ternational press.

Whether you are interested inspecialist articles, exhibition pre-views, background informationor ARBURG today - ARBURGPublic Relations supplies over100 media internationally withmany items of new informationand things worth knowing.

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For rapid and effectivecommunication: The digital colour

printer is connected on-line with theDTP workstations of the Advertising

Department and provides topquality printing "on demand"

"Marketing" continued

To the benefit of ARBURGand the customer

The staff of the MarketingDepartment, under their boss Ju-liane Hehl, have set the aim ofproviding a service to the benefitof ARBURG and therefore, ofcourse, also to the customer. Thisis because that which allowsARBURG to act quickly on themarket and with a world viewalso assists the customer in opti-mising his technological stand-ard, thereby also optimising hisproduction from a qualitativeand economic point of view.

This means that professionswhich deal with "plastic" arealso future-orientated profes-sions. It is not absolutely essen-tial to have studied in order tobe involved with plastic atwork. Training as "plastic mouldshapers" prepares young peoplefor a profession which, in con-trast to many others, is extremelyflexible, secure and at the sametime varied.

Well-founded trainingARBURG has for many years

trained plastic mould shapersin cooperation with the regio-nal vocational schools. The in-frastructure provided by thecompany for solid training isvery clear: State-of-the-art com-puter systems and machinetechnology, a stringent tea-ching concept for all thosestarting out in their career, in-structors who are always well in-formed of the latest develop-ments because, besides provid-ing training, they are also con-stantly training themselvesfurther.

Educational requirementsThe educational requirement

for employment as a plasticmould shaper specialising in in-jection moulding systems is ajunior high school certificate.Training always starts at

ARBURG in September of the rel-evant year. The training period isthree and a half years. The clos-ing date for applications for allpotential trainees is, in each case,the end of September in the yearbefore the planned commence-ment of training.

Main emphases of trainingThe main emphases of the

training can be divided up intomachine-related, plastic-relatedand quality-related subjects.Among other things, traineeslearn to set up and inspect injec-tion moulding machines accord-ing to a protocol; they learn thedesign and function of machinesand moulds; important facts onsprue designs, handling devicesand technical accessories, andalso work in internal productionon Allrounders using the com-pany’s own moulds. After threeto three and a half years, theythen take the Chamber of Indus-try and Commerce Skilled WorkerExamination.

Areas of work following train-ing are application systems, theinjection-moulding shop andmachine acceptance.

The right companyinfrastructure

Trainees and students whoare starting out on their careerat ARBURG can expect to find acompany equipped in accor-dance with the latest stand-ards, together with a pleasantworking environment wherepartnerships and teamworkare the main aims.

Trainee wages are always inline with the relevant valid col-lective bargaining agreements.Trainees are also entitled toholiday and Christmas pay,meal allowances, free teachingand learning aids, as well as atravel allowance and bus trans-fer to the company. The flexitime

rules can also be utilised to thefull by new employees. Compu-ter training and specialist inter-nal training courses are alsoavailable to employees.

Ideal conditionsAll in all, trainees at ARBURG

find ideal training and workingconditions, which have a posi-tive influence on their enjoy-ment of their training. And byalso learning a secure profes-sion like that of a plastic mouldshaper, nothing more can gowrong at the beginning oftheir career. And if the neces-sary enthusiasm is combinedwith performance, an internalpromotion may also be a possi-bility.

Plastic: Material with a futurefor jobs with a future

"Plastic" occupies an im-portant position today inboth the economy andsociety. In daily life and alsoin high-tech fields, there isan increasing number ofproducts made of a verywide range of materialswhich fall under the head-ing "plastic" and whichmake work, research andlife in general easier.

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ARBURG TRAINING

TrainingPlastic mould shaper

School-leaving certificate:Junior high school

Training duration:Three or three and a half years

Final examination:IHK (Chamber of Industry andCommerce) examination

FACTS

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TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING

Three different switch-onand switch-off alternatives arepossible as standard on the Vmachines: Switching on and offwith setpoint value control,switching on and dosage, andalso switching off with diffe-rent variants.

Switching on and off withsetpoint value control

Automatic switching on andoff with setpoint value controltakes place on a time-relatedbasis. The various temperaturelevels are approached inde-pendently in this case. It is pos-

sible to determine via the se-quence editor whether theAllrounders should only beswitched on and off, or wheth-er they should be put into andout of operation via tempera-ture reduction, setpoint valuesor release temperatures. Every

Automatic start-up and switch-off:Operating and convenience benefitson the Allrounder V

Additional control features on the Allrounder V are presented in a user-friendly and con-venient way to further enhance automation of the production process. The possibilities ofswitching the machine on and off automatically are particularly interesting. Here, manyadjustment variants allow the Allrounder to be specially started up in a tailored way forproduction requirements, as well as enabling operation to be ended. These control compo-nents are becoming particularly important in the automation field, when mould-changes,material changes or colour changes are used.

AN EARLY RISER

150th ARBURG machine for Bosch/Waiblingen100th machine for Soehner/Schwaigern

Recently ARBURG thanked the companies Bosch (Waib-lingen) and Soehner (Schwaigern) for many years of positivecooperation. The chairman of the Management BoardEugen Hehl presented certificates to mark the delivery ofthe 100th and 150th ARBURG machines respectively, mar-king the traditional close cooperation between these twocompanies and ARBURG.

ARBURG - Soehner cooperationDuring his visit to Schwaigern (photo), Eugen Hehl said that

he was certain that the good business relationships betweenARBURG and Soehner would continue to bear fruit in the fu-ture. Since then, another four Allrounders have taken theirplace in the production halls since the anniversary machinewas installed. "And further proof of our positive relationship- if such proof is necessary - is the fact that you possess ma-chines from almost all parts of our machine range. This is asign of your confidence in the high-quality work ofARBURG!", said Eugen Hehl enthusiastically.

ARBURG - Bosch cooperationWe have been able to celebrate the handing-over of the

150th machine at Bosch in Waiblingen. On this occasion,Eugen Hehl emphasised that ARBURG and Bosch are con-nected by a double business relationship: In this specialcase, both partners are suppliers as well as buyers.

ARBURG supplies machines to Bosch and in turn buyscomponents which are required for machine production.In the true sense of the word, both companies are in a mu-tually profitable economic relationship.

Good ideas as a foundation for reliablepartnerships

Both anniversaries prove that the tried-and-tested andat the same time still innovative ARBURG concept of asmall, versatile machine promotes excellent, mutually be-neficial business relationships in the long term.

This is a fact which many customers appreciate, and havedone for many years.

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PARTNERSHIPS

operating mode - whether it isstandby, automatic or prehea-ting / time switch-on, are as-signed different temperaturelevels for the various machinecomponents.

A maximum of cylinder hea-ting, machine cooling, hot run-ner and mould heating, tempera-ture control units and the Ther-molift can be addressed via vari-ous interfaces. Cooling and theThermolift can be switched onand off. All other temperaturescan be defined via setpoint val-ues. The switch-on and switch-offtimes of the machine are each en-tered daily in a tabular mask.

Switch-on processesSwitching on of the machine

can be automated in four ways:"Switch on only", "Switch onwith dosage", "Switch on withstart up injection cycle" and"Switch on and dosage with au-tomatic start". The dosage pro-cedure is subdivided into variousparts and can therefore be acti-vated on a machine-orientatedbasis. It can either remain com-pletely switched off, the nozzlecan be retracted, the unit can bedosed over time, purged andagain dosed to the defined set-point value (start up injectioncycle). Production can then startby pressing a button manually orautomatically with the existingreference cycle (guaranteeing afree cavity before starting pro-duction).

Automatic switch-off ofthe Allrounder

The machines can beswitched off automatically ei-ther via time, at the end of therelevant order or via the alarmtime. In this case too, the vari-ous functions can also be car-ried out. It is possible to switchoff in conjunction with "closemould", "close mould and

purge" and with "close mould,and approach the screw removalposition". In all three machinestates, the temperature levels in"standby" mode and in switch-ing-on of the Allrounder can befreely selected.

The varied program segmentof the Selogica controller forautomated switching-on andswitching-off is particularly ap-propriate when, for example,unmanned material changes ormould changes are performed.This enables important prepara-tions for such changes - whichthe operator would otherwisehave to carry out (dosage, purge,preheating) - to be made via the"Time" feature.

The switch-on and switch-offfunctions can be set in shift op-eration so that, for example, anoperational Allrounder is readyfor production immediately atthe beginning of a shift. Thesefunctions enable the Allroun-der V to be preset even moreflexibly and therefore operat-ed more conveniently. For com-plex production sequences, thismeans an efficient simplifica-tion of work and time savings.

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ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY

Since January 1997, the resultsof this have been in operationin the thermal control centreof the company: Since the begin-ning of the year, the new block-type thermal power station hasnot only supplied the centralheating system, but has also fedelectric current into the compa-ny’s own electricity network. Pre-viously, the gas-operated andencapsulated MAN twelve-cylin-der had to run for approximately8000 operating hours per year,equivalent to 24 hours roundthe clock. Today, it is necessaryto heat the water up to 80 °C forthe environmentally-friendly,water-based powder coating

cleaning baths for machineparts.

Whereas it was previouslypossible to switch off the boilersafter the end of the winter heat-ing period (October to April),as the required hot water washeated by a heating pump, to-day the additional energy whichis required is used by the block-type thermal power station toheat up the baths. The heatingboilers remain in "standby"mode during the summer, andin an emergency would beable to supply the power.

Power generation as a"secondary product"

As the combined heat andthe power system is operatedwith heat conduction, the elec-tric current of the system is ob-tained almost as a waste prod-uct, which is fully utilized byfeeding it into the company’sinternal network.

This also explains the system’svery high efficiency (approxi-mately 90 % (!)) compared withother systems currently in use.This was also shown in theeconomy inspection whichARBURG had carried out byan independent expert be-fore purchasing the system.

A Declaration of Independence

The statement "at our place, the heat comes from the heating system and the electric cur-rent comes from the socket" may apply to individual private households, but for a long timethis has no longer been the case for large industrial companies. The emphasis here is directedmuch more towards testing and finally using systems which utilise valuable primary energyas optimally as possible. At ARBURG, we are always searching for innovative solutions whichreduce costs and at the same time are helpful in providing all types of energy for the company.

The combination of a gas com-bustion motor with a currentgenerator, according to therésumé, is both economicaland ecologically sound.

The 290 kW electrical out-put of the block-type thermalpower station could supply 150average households. The ther-mal output is approximately470 kW. Assuming these figuresare accurate, the system costsare recouped in continuous op-eration after only three and ahalf years. These were figureswhich clearly showed the com-pany’s decision-makers thatthis investment would definite-ly pay for itself.

Aworld premiere:ARBURG is presenting theextension of the S range atthe Fakuma 97 exhibition inFriedrichshafen. The success-ful, innovative series is beingcontinued in the upper clos-ing force range with the All-rounders 370 and 420 S.These new Allrounders rep-resent another stage in thecompletely modular exten-sion of the S range.

Professional debut: With34 new trainees and voca-tional academics, ARBURGtook on at the beginningof the new training year inSeptember three morenewcomers than was origi-nally planned. This meansthat ARBURG offers a totalof about 100 young peopletraining places, therebymaking it clear that invest-ment in training means in-vestment in the future.

Training debut: AnARBURG Allrounder 220 Splays a key role in an inter-esting training project runby the Baden-Wuerttem-berg regional museum fortechnology and labour inMannheim. Trainee plasticmould shapers and voca-tional school students spe-cialising in mechanical en-gineering are given a verysuccessful introduction toplastic injection mouldingusing both modern andhistorical plastic machines.

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The environment alsoprofits

However, the environmentalso continuously benefits fromthe system’s use. The approxi-mately 1 million kWh of electri-cal energy and more than 1.6million kWh of thermal energyproduced by around the mid-dle of the year emitted into theatmosphere 1570 kg less CO2

and 1400 kg less nitrogen ox-ide, compared with the previ-ous heating system.

3526 kg less sulphurdioxide each year

However, the greatest reduc-tion is in the amount of sulphurdioxide emitted. In this case,3526 kg less pollutes the envi-ronment, corresponding to apercentage reduction of99.65 % (!) For a company lo-cated in the Black Forest, this isone more very clear reason forchanging over to an effectiveenergy system, when one con-siders that with the normal,separate production of elec-tricity and heat, up to 72 % ofthe energy used is lost.

ARBURG bought the systemas an optimized complete solu-tion, including an electroniccontroller, for fully-automaticoperation. In this way, all sig-nificant data such as operatinghours, hot water temperaturesand any faults can be processedand displayed. The switchingsystem includes a power sec-tion, measurement, switchingand control unit for auxiliariesand the machine controller.

The system is always run withheat, in other words at opti-mum efficiency. Changes in thefactory had to be made for in-tegration into the existingheating system and for feedingelectric current into the exist-ing 20 kV network of the com-pany.

The future will bringfurther expansion

An extension of the block-type thermal power station isalready a definite part of inter-nal company planning. Threeadditional locations for com-bined heat and power systemsare already prepared. This isbecause with regard to thebuilding’s air-conditioning, theintention is to no longer pro-duce the coolness with the ex-isting cooling machines (CFCs).Instead, the intention is to ob-tain absorption cooling ma-chines which produce coolnessfrom heat based on the waterevaporation principle.

However, the fact that no en-ergy is wasted at ARBURG is il-lustrated not only by the use ofsuch systems, but also throughthe utilization of the compa-ny’s "waste products". Anyonethinking that the motor heatemissions of the block-typethermal station dissipate un-used is mistaken: Instead, theyare used to provide optimumheating for the adjoiningrooms.

A further step in resourcecon-serving production: The ARBURGblock-type thermal power station

IN BRIEF

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14

ARBURG SUBSIDIARIES

The most important thing:ARBURG makes sure that thedistance between it and therelevant partner is short, evenin the enormous countries USAand Canada. This also allowscustomers in the "New World"to be able to rely on rapid sup-ply with the latest information,state-of-the-art Allroundertechnology and all necessarytechnical components.

The main characteristic is theefficient increase in machinesales in North America. Thisstrategy was extremely success-ful last year: ARBURG succee-

ded in almost doubling All-rounder sales, and an end tothis boom is not yet in sight.The list of customers continuesto grow in both the small andmedium-sized injection moul-ding machine sectors. This isdespite the fact that in theUSA, large domestic supplierswith decades of home advan-tage in the fields of sales andservice (as well as strong Japa-nese competition) adopt amuch more aggressive andhigher profile than in Europe.

ARBURG in North America:Historical growth

As early as in the 1950sARBURG began to work themarket "across the pond" withits own representative. Thecompany "Polymer Inc." basedin Berlin just a few kilometresfrom the current location inNewington then assumed re-sponsibility for Allroundersales and service for more than25 years, up until 1991. Sincethe beginning of the 1990s,ARBURG has itself taken overthe business of Polymer. Themarket position which ARBURG

Top-Service in the"New World"

Since 1991, ARBURG inc./USA based in Newington, Connecticut, has been responsible forsupplying Allrounder customers in the company’s largest single regional market outsideGermany. Over 100 qualified employees - 60 full-time staff plus 40 representatives in allparts of the country - work for the American branch in the Sales, Spare Parts and ServiceDivisions. Experts in application and control systems provide rapid assistance if there areany problems. Regular training courses in the company’s own seminar rooms, as well aspossibilities for testing moulds and machines, complete the wide range of services in oneof the hardest markets in the world.

15

Ideal distribution:The ARBURG ATCs ensure

comprehensive coverage of theNorth American market.

currently occupies in NorthAmerica does justice to thecompany’s long tradition in theregion. ARBURG counts ap-proximately 25 % of all injec-tion moulding machine cus-tomers in the USA in its own cli-entele. With over 12,000 soldmachines so far, the Lossburgcompany occupies a place in thetop group of European injec-tion moulding machine sup-pliers.

Taking into accountregional factors

When working North Ameri-can market, ARBURG has totake into account specific nation-al factors. Firstly, American cus-tomers also want to be servedfrom America. This means thatas wide an "on-location pres-ence" as possible is absolutely es-sential. Since US customers nor-mally make their purchasing de-cisions much more quickly thanis normally the case in Europe,this also requires a certainamount of Allrounders of all sizesto be kept in stock directly at allsupport points in North America.Finally, in almost all cases, onlyDollar invoicing is accepted, irre-spective of how the exchangerates are at present.

ATCs support the head-quarters in NewingtonIncluding the main head-

quarters in Newington, thereare five regional ARBURG tech-nology centres (ATCs), the oth-ers being in Spartanburg /South Carolina, Chicago / Illi-nois, Los Angeles / Californiaand Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas.Together with the servicevehicles, these form a customerservice network which providesthe company’s business partnerswith complete technical supportin all matters relating to injec-tion moulding.

The regionalATCs are ad-ministrativelysubordinate tothe headquar-ters in Newington, with allbranches also being connectedonline with Lossburg via theNavision communications sys-tem. This allows the direct dispo-sition of machines and spareparts round the clock. In otherwords, it does not matter wheth-er we are talking about technicalservices or customer service: Themost direct routes possible are inall cases intended to guaranteethat the customer is suppliedquickly and fully.

The geographical size of themarket alone made a rethink inall areas relevant to machinesales absolutely essential. TheUSA was divided up into a totalof five different sales areas, whichcorrespond to the locations ofthe technology centres. The divi-sion was based on intensive priorstudies of customer structure anddistribution.

This subdivision makesARBURG and its services sostrong that it can stand up to anynational and international com-parison in the USA and Canada.Technical training courses,mould tests, technical applica-tion supervision or test injectionmouldings are effectively supple-mented by, for example, region-al open days at the ATCs. Thiscomprehensive range meansthat ARBURG is continuallypresent near all customers andinterested parties, somethingwhich forms the basis for con-stant dialogue and thereforepositive business developments.

"MSV program":Exemplary like in Germany

The fact that the consultationactivities in the USA are com-pletely orientated to the Germanmodel, albeit without neglect-ing the necessary adaptations tothe North Market requirements,is important in this context. Thisalso applies, for example, to thecurrent fleet of 17 service vehi-cles which, with their compre-hensive range of equipment andspare parts inventories, arrivevery quickly to render assistance,even in the event of unusualfaults.

ARBURG is the only injectionmoulding machine manufactu-rer to use such a mobile supplysystem in the USA. However,the customer service busses arenot only equipped with all nec-essary measuring units and All-rounder components. They alsohave state-of-the-art telecom-munications. Mobile phones,mobile radio and portable faxmachines not only enable ser-vice technicians to be contactedanywhere, they also permit therapid transfer of customer data,circuit diagrams or repair in-structions. This makes every vana mobile office, somethingwhich allows effective disposi-tion and customer supervisionbetween jobs.

The aim of the expansion ofthe "MSV program" (mobileservice van program) which hasbeen going on since 1993 is tohave as many customer servicebusses in operation so that nosingle vehicle has to cover a ra-dius of more than 200 miles.Here, ARBURG is primarily in-vesting in the satisfaction ofcustomers who already appreci-

ate quick access to know-howand assistance.

The customer services are com-pleted by a telephone diagnosisservice, which efficiently reme-dies minor faults by way of tele-phone consultation. Here, use ismade of the fact that the individ-ual service stations can also actwith appropriate flexibility tocustomer enquiries, given a timedifference of up to three hours.In plain language this means thatwhen it is the end of the workingday on the eastern seaboard, cus-tomers can benefit from up tothree more hours of personalconsultation simply by way of adiverted call to the WestminsterATC.

Expansion with clear aimsThe ARBURG strategists have

further expansion in the Statesfirmly in their sights for the me-dium term. Sales figures shoulddouble in the coming years.The aim is to achieve this by fur-ther investments in the infra-structure, and also close coop-eration with the Lossburg head-quarters. This corporate philos-ophy has also borne fruit in theother regional markets.

And something which hasproven successful in Europeand Asia can’t be entirelywrong for North America, as faras the approach is concerned.

16

CONTROLLED OR REGULATED (PART 2)

After dealing in the firstsection of the report withthe theoretical principles ofcontrolled and regulated in-jection control, and also theAllrounder with Multronicamachine controllers, the sec-ond part deals with the actionpossibilities available on ma-chines with Dialogica andSelogica controllers.

In general, Dialogica and Se-logica differ primarily fromMultronica controllers by wayof their greater computer ca-pacity. The Dialogica is a 16 bitmulti-processor controller andthe Selogica is a 32 bit multi-processor controller. This allowsmore parameters to be incorpo-rated into and monitored inthe injection process, and alsothe switching speed of thevalves is significantly faster,which results in greater uni-formity of the injection process.The hydraulic system operateswith two hydraulic manifold,one of which is assigned to the

clamping unit, with the otherone being assigned to the injec-tion unit.

Position control of thescrew

Both controllers allow injec-tion with a position regulatedscrew. On all Allrounders of se-ries S, C and V, the regulationvalve is directly on the injectionunit. The valve can optionallybe fitted to the injection unit insuch a way that, as a result of ashort oil column, the dynamicsare further increased during in-jection. A second regulationvalve on the hydraulic mani-fold is used for pump control.

Two pressure sensors in-stalled directly on the injectioncylinder measure the pressureconditions in both cylinderchambers, and therefore alsothe differential pressure. In thisway, the screw position can beprecisely regulated both dur-ing injection and for maintain-ing the reached position. Dur-ing this process, the screw is"clamped" between the pres-sures in the two cylinder cham-bers, i.e. it is positioned exactly.A special injection regulation

board is used for this system.A regulation board is alsoused for the back pressure. Thescrew is therefore position-regulated, and the back pres-sure and screw speed areregulated.

AdvantagesThe accuracy of the pressure

control is increased due to thefact that forces acting on thesystem from the outside, suchas flow resistances of the mate-rials, are effectively compen-sated for.

A hydraulic accumulator isavailable as an option with theS, C and V Allrounders whichcan be combined with positionregulator. It meters additionalaccumulator energy via a con-trol valve. This guarantees fullposition and pressure regula-tion, even in the case of veryhigh injection outputs.

With the possibility of run-ning the mould protection withpressure regulation, it is possi-ble to avoid pressure peakswhen switching over to the

Controlled or regulated:The difference is in the detail

Dialogica and Selogicamachine controllers allowrapid, high-precision actionin the injection process.

various pressure stages. Thissignificantly improves thequality of parts, and shortensthe cycle time by increasing theoperating speed.

The advantages which regu-lation of injection speed, injec-tion flow and injection pressureprovides compared with con-trol of these parameters are asfollows:

■ A constantly high partsquality

■ Continuously narrowertolerances

■ Less scrap due to the inde-pendence of the regulationsystem from ambient influ-ences and

■ Shorter starting times

Thanks to the fast regulationvalves, the machine move-ments can be mastered witheven more precision, particu-larly during the switchoverprocesses.

The principle of screw position regulation: The accuracy of the pressureregulation assists precise screw positioning

Ideal mould internal pressure - andhydraulic pressure curve of anamorphous plastic