Milacron's LPIM sales on the rise

Milacron Holdings Corp. has seen demand increase for its industry-leading Low Pressure Injection Molding (LPIM) Structural Foam machines following a successful NPE 2018 presence in Orlando, FL. At its NPE booth, the company presented an eye-catching display of a replica platen of the massive Cincinnati 6,750 ton machine sold to 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics of Holiday City, OH.

 

Owing to 20/20’s long-standing relationship with Milacron, the two companies entered into an agreement for Milacron to refurbish and upgrade two of 20/20's existing 400 ton LPIM machines to 500 ton LPIM machines, and one of its 500 ton LPIM machines to 750 ton LPIM machines. 20/20 is also having Milacron rebuild and upgrade five of their 750 ton LPIM machines. The machines will undergo a complete remanufacture and rebuild process at Milacron’s Batavia, OH manufacturing plant and be returned like new machines. In total, Milacron is currently rebuilding 8 LPIM machines as well as four HPIM machines as well.  

 

Ideal for injection molding large, lightweight, durable structural plastic parts, the Milacron LPIM Structural Foam Technology creates a cellular foamed core surrounded by integral skins, forming a total integral and rigid structure. In this process, a foaming agent N2 is mixed with the polymer melt and short-shot through a modular multiple nozzle system into a mold (or multiple molds) in a volume less than is required to fill a solid part. The injection pressure and expanding gas/polymer cellular mixture act to fill the mold. The mold cavity pressures are 10 – 20 times lower than conventional injection molding which permits the use of lower cost aluminum molds with no hot runner since the hot runner manifold and nozzle system is integral to the machine. Many molds and large parts of different sizes can be molded at the same time. The multi-nozzle machine design allows for multiple molds to be run simultaneously allowing for higher productivity.

 

The markets driving the increased level of activity are material handling (pallets and boxes), underground enclosures for telecommunications and utilities, drainage and irrigation products, ATV components, commercial/institutional, and industrial and safety products. Milacron is also seeing other new products being developed that are conversions from concrete, metal, and wood in the building and infrastructure market as well.

 

Milacron has aggressively expanded its rebuild and remanufacture capabilities for LPIM machines for customers. There are a large number of old LPIM machines in the field that were purchased in the late 1980’s and 90’s that are in need of rebuilds and upgrades to control systems and new motor and drive selections, moving away from DC to AC drives which provide better energy efficiency. Milacron’s full remanufacturing consists of fully rebuilding the machine to current model specifications, including full teardown and inspection, platen refurbishment, full re-painting of the machine, new controls, electrical system, and hydraulics. The major tonnage and injection cylinders and hydraulic accumulators are sent out for refurbishment and resealing. New screws, barrels, and injection melt accumulators are also included as part of this program.

 

Milacron continues to push the boundaries of possibilities in plastics with breakthrough products from leading brands including Milacron®, Mold-Masters®, DME®, Ferromatik®, Uniloy®, and CIMCOOL®. All Milacron product brands offer industry-leading service, support, and spare parts inventory – trust only Milacron trained experts to ensure your assets run at peak performance.