 |
 |
||||||
[May 2001]
Model Wheel Work Used to Demonstrate Injection Moulding of Small Parts
Arburg GmbH & Co (Lossburg, Germany) is showcasing one of its new technical developments at PM2tec 2001, which takes place in New Orleans from 14-16 May 2001.
Using an ALLROUNDER machine, a carrying wheel of copper will be produced for an H0 gauge model railway locomotive, to demonstrate the extent of precision making possible with this process. Extreme filigree part details are involved.
The shotweight for the wheel - already produced in stainless steel on an ALLROUNDER 270 C 400-100 - was just 2.1g and the cycle time was 30 seconds. Arburg says that to combine such a small quantity of injected materials and, at the same time, maintain the extremely high precision required was astonishing.
The injection moulding process meant that it was possible to process stainless steel with precisely defined characteristics and, from the very beginning, production of these wheels using injection moulding has been so precise that there has been no need for any finishing work, as would otherwise be the case with traditional manufacturing techniques.
Arburg adds that by producing this intricate part for a model railway, it is clearly demonstrating why it is a leading light in the field of powder injection moulding. The company has proven the ALLROUNDER series for special component production in plastics, PM and ceramics. In ceramic, it has managed to produce a ferrule which has an internal diameter measurement of just 122 microns (after sintering). This component uses a feedstock of zirconium oxide with a granulometric diameter of 250nm.
With a different machine in the range, a customer has been able to injection mould cubes of zirconia with sides measuring 8mm.
Web site: http://www.arburg.com
ENDS