New machinery in tool making and production at the plastics processing specialist.
Creglingen. Continuous improvement is the self-set goal of the Wirthwein Group. In 2020, the family-owned company therefore invested around 3.4 million euros at its headquarters. State-of-the-art technology will increase efficiency even further and secure competitive advantages.
Nothing is as constant as change. Especially in the field of technology, developments happen rapidly and being up to date means to react quickly. Wirthwein in Creglingen is aware of this and regularly adapts its equipment to the latest developments in order to guarantee maximum precision and excellent quality.
Modernization in production
Three large injection molding machines on which Wirthwein manufactures its highly complex plastic components were replaced by new models at the Creglingen production facility at the end of the year. "Among the new additions is the largest machine at the site to date, with a total weight of 75 tons, which presses the two mold halves of the injection mold together with a clamping force of 1,300 tons while the molten plastic is injected into it," reports plant manager Jürgen Michel.
It is already producing fan wheels with a diameter of almost one meter and a weight of around seven kilograms for a major customer in the electrical industry business unit, for whom five further projects will be realized on the machine in the coming year. The other two new machines are currently producing components for the fastening of railroad tracks and components for the home appliances business unit.
Tool making receives novelty in the Wirthwein Group
Wirthwein manufactures the molds used to turn plastic granulate into complex forms on the injection molding machines itself at three locations in Germany. In the Creglingen tool shop, a team of 37 specialists and 10 trainees process the precision tools using the latest milling and eroding technologies. Now the employees are pleased about a new machine for drilling and milling operations with a weight of around 50 tons - the largest at the site so far. With traverse paths of up to 2,100 mm, they can process injection molds weighing up to 6,000 kg on it.
"The technical highlight of the system is a pallet tool table on which the next workpiece is already being prepared while one is being worked on. In this form and size, this is a future-oriented innovation in the Wirthwein Group, which enables us to massively reduce set-up times," explains Thomas Dörfler, Head of tool making. New solutions in the digital provision of production data from the design department as well as automated processes for maintenance create an additional increase in efficiency. Currently, the moldmakers are producing molds on the machine, which Wirthwein will use to produce components for a northern German automotive manufacturer at its sites in New Bern, NC and Fountain Inn, SC in the USA. Afterwards, the processing of the molds for the fan wheel projects will start, which will run on the new 1,300 t injection molding machine next year.
