With the main focus on sustainability and resource efficiency, this year's K trade fair in Düsseldorf focuses on an area that has already played a central role in the development of highly efficient and high-performance injection moulds at ifw mould tec for many years. Whereby ifw thinks about the topic of sustainability in both its ecological and economic dimension and incorporates it into its solutions. This is the case, for example, with SE multi-cavity mould systems. Here, the company based in Micheldorf, Upper Austria, has been impressing customers for several years with high-end solutions for bends. Not least because of the successes achieved with these, the company has now expanded its smart injection (SE) program to include solutions for the series production of sockets and branches. ifw Managing Director Mag. Gerald Neudeck speaks of new standards in production compaction and resource efficiency, which the company is now also relying on for these fittings. "In addition to first-class product quality, our SE moulds enable double the output in the same cycle time with power savings of up to 40 percent."

Custom developments in the 2 components (2K) range

Resource efficiency is also an important aspect at ifw mould tec when it comes to the development and implementation of molds for the production of customer-specific 2K components. For example, for the sanitary and ventilation sector. In fact, compared to conventional methods, the 2K process is not only less material- and energy-intensive, but also more time-efficient. This is because the time-consuming assembling process is eliminated. A further advantage is that ifw's services in the 2K sector begin with the analysis of whether the product required by the customer can even be implemented in the mold in its current form. If this is not the case, the ifw tooling experts develop an alternative component or product concept that is at least equivalent, but usually even better. Shareholder Christian Otte, AIE: "Consulting and technical application support for the customer as well as the development of customer-specific solutions are services that we offer our customers not only in the 2K segment, but for all technologies."

Unique synergy with ifw kunststofftechnik

ifw mould tec will also use the K to provide information on the unique synergy effects resulting from the cooperation with its sister company ifw kunststofftechnik. In fact, customers are offered exclusive benefits resulting from the combination of mouldmaking and injection moulding operations with a large machine park. For example, after maintenance or repair, ifw often even tests the moulds on the same machines in which they are later used again by the customer. In addition, mould customers have the option of contract manufacturing their components on ifw kunststofftechnik machines. Sales Director Ing. Harald Schicklgruber, MIB MBA adds, "If the customer is later able to utilize his own machine to capacity and buys it, he gets our full support in integrating the mould into his own production process. "

Live production at the 120 m2 booth

With what is probably the largest exhibition stand of a mould manufacturer at K, ifw does justice to its leading position in an impressive way, also in terms of space. The booth is even large enough to provide a 220-ton ENGEL-machine with enough space for the live production of double branch with an innovative ifw mould. Specifically, this is a technology that is much more compact than conventional moulds and can therefore run on smaller machines, consuming less space and energy. Which brings us back full circle to the central topic of this K, where ifw awaits its visitors in Hall 1, Stand C15.