Sumitomo (SHI) Demag and BASF Develop New Production Cell for High-Performance Polymers

Creating tomorrow's polymer innovations begins with understanding the chemical and mechanical performance of materials and processing conditions. At BASF's Injection Molding and Extrusion Pilot Plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany, the latest fully electric injection molding cell from Sumitomo (SHI) Demag delivers pioneering and reproducible results across more than 4,000 test configurations annually. BASF's Performance Materials division, working in collaboration with Sumitomo (SHI) Demag and H + S Automatisierung, has pooled engineering expertise and technological resources to create an innovative production cell capable of producing a diverse range of different test samples for product development and research activities in thermoplastic polymers. At the heart of the cell is Sumitomo (SHI) Demag's ultra-precision IntElect 1000 kN plastic injection molding machine. Selected by the team of 30 research engineers at the facility for its compact design, energy efficiency and reproducibility, the team also welcomed IntElect's advanced comfort and safety features. These include progressive solutions for automating mold changes and low noise emissions, along with fully digitalized robotic processing solutions. BASF Senior Project Engineer Angelika Homes commented, "Although we have extensive experience working with the Sumitomo (SHI) Demag team producing standard test parts, from the outset all partners had the courage to deviate from previous concepts and break new ground. Despite the project's complexity, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag and H + S presented an innovative production cell design with a significantly smaller energy and spatial footprint."