PICC invests to meet business needs
11.12.2019 ARTICLE PRÉCÉDENT ARTICLE SUIVANT"As head of the pilot production workshop, I always aim to have the right equipment that’s as close as possible to manufacturers’ needs," says Jean-Marie Dutoit. "Our state-of-the-art infrastructure opens up new opportunities for collaboration, particularly in process modeling and 4.0 production."
The Plastic Innovation Competence Center (PICC) recently reinforced its machine park with two state-of-the-art injection molders and a tensiometer.
The Fanuc S150i A is a 150t, two-phase plastic injection molder with a 6-axis handling robot, while the Arburg 370H is a 60t hydraulic-electric hybrid press. These two new molders are equipped with interfaces for process monitoring and optimization using data in an Industry 4.0 manufacturing context.
With a total of four plastic injection molders, the PICC now has extensive capabilities to carry out research and development projects with client companies who can then directly transpose the results obtained to their production site.
The Krüss DSA2 tensiometer measures contact angles to give the wettability of a surface by a liquid. It complements PICC’s cold plasma surface treatment equipment, making it possible to characterize treated surfaces to accurately measure treatment effect on a given polymer. Currently under development, the Biosmart project notably employs cold plasma treatment to create antimicrobial surfaces.