SKZ in Würzburg welcomes new additions to its injection molding technical center
You don't always need a big machine to achieve big things. With this new addition, even difficult and expensive materials can be processed efficiently. The SKZ Plastics Center is thus expanding its capabilities with a babyplast machine that will be used for industry, research, and education.
Marc Tesche (left), Managing Director of CHRISTMANN Kunststofftechnik GmbH, and Christoph Mussauer (right), Head of Injection Molding Technology, in front of the new SKZ machine with its first mold (photo: Luca Hoffmannbeck/SKZ)
Small but powerful – babyplast with comprehensive equipment for processing demanding plastics
With the commissioning of a new babyplast micro injection molding machine, the SKZ Plastics Center is expanding its injection molding capabilities to a total of 13 machines. The state-of-the-art system features a clamping force of 10 kN and a dosing volume of around 6.5 cm³ – ideal for precise and material-friendly processing of difficult and cost-intensive plastics.
A particular highlight is the wear-protected injection molding unit, which is specially designed for processing high-temperature materials. Thanks to gentle piston plasticization and injection, even sensitive or highly filled plastics can be processed efficiently. Initial tests with long glass fiber granulate have already shown above-average fiber length distributions – results that are often not achieved even on larger machines.
The babyplast machine is fully mobile and is supplemented by its own cooling system, a temperature control unit from Regloplas, and a dry air dryer with material feed from Moretto. All components are compactly integrated into a mobile table system – only electricity and compressed air are required for operation.
Christoph Mussauer, Head of the Injection Molding Technical Center at SKZ, emphasizes the advantages: “For SKZ, the machine is an ideal basis for sampling demanding and expensive materials with low material consumption. It also offers great flexibility in material development and the use of printed tool inserts.”
Marc Tesche, Managing Director of CHRISTMANN Kunststofftechnik GmbH, is delighted about the new partnership: “We are proud to welcome SKZ as a new customer. Thanks to its compact design and ease of use, the babyplast is ideal for testing, trials, and innovative developments – especially for new processes and technologies.”
Thanks to its compact and uncomplicated design, the babyplast machine is an ideal basic machine for many process and process engineering techniques, especially for testing and trialing new technologies. It can be flexibly converted and adapted with little time and money, making it extremely versatile.
In future, the new system will also be used to produce component and test specimen tools based on the Meusburger “FM – Microforms” system. This means that micro injection molding will soon be available at SKZ for research projects, industrial applications, and educational formats.
The injection molding tools can be manufactured using conventional or additive manufacturing methods – or even a combination of both. This significantly shortens the path from the initial product idea to the near-series molded part. In this way, new concepts can be quickly tested for their technical feasibility and practical benefits.
The particular advantage is that all the necessary expertise is available under one roof at SKZ – in a modern, inspiring environment. These are ideal conditions for joint development, testing, and innovation.
Tip for podcast fans:
Marc Tesche can be heard in episode 129 of the SKZ podcast “KUNSTSTOFF: nachgefragt” (PLASTICS: asked and answered) with exciting insights into “injection molding subtleties, pistons, and hobbyists.”
