Extrusion International USA 1-2019

59 Extrusion International 1/2019 The innovated Kiefel TBL vacuum laminating machine operates completely automatic, without any operators. Operators are substituted by robots. The unique feature: Tailored blanked exact foil precuts will be used. Thus how the name of this new technology was derived. By utilizing a uniquely designed servo motor gripper sys- tem, the Tailored blank foil precut will be positioned and aligned on the substrate without any foil pre-stretch be- fore the TBL-tool will be closed and the vacuum laminat- ing process takes place. Cutting knives, integrated in the TBL-tool are responsible for exact foil overlap length for the subsequent edge-folding process. For this application Kiefel developed a completely new highly automated vacuum laminating machine. Robots which are integrated components of the machine are not responsible for movement of tool components and parts only. These robots will also be used to transfer the TBL- laminated parts to the subsequent process, e.g. edge- folding or punching. It means that the automation solu- tion is integrated in the machine and more or less free of charge. The TBL machines new innovative design reduces the overall machine footprint by 50% in comparison with traditional vacuum-laminating machines with the same output, which is another big advantage of this new TBL- machine. Based on using the tailored blanks foil exact-precuts the entire foil consumption can be reduced up to 40% in com- parison to traditional vacuum-laminating technology. The TBL technology interior parts will be produced at a more cost effective rate offering savings over the produc- tion period of 5 years in the range of millions of Euro. Simultaneously, the foil stretch and the grain wash-out, the main quality factor of interior parts, will be signifi- cantly reduced to a range of 10 to 15 %. The remaining constant foil thickness and the overall soft-touch of TBL parts offer another quality advantage of the parts pro- duced by TBL-Technology. This allows repeatable and pre-determined gap conditions to neighboring parts. Sharp corners and sharp flanges are also possible based to the exact alignment of the foil before vacuum lamina- tion process. Main Benefits at a glance: • Improvement of product quality • Reduced foil consumption • Reduced machine footprint • Full flexibility • High level of automation • Integrated robot automation • Smart and better alternative to In-Mold-Graining KIEFEL GmbH Sudetenstr. 3, 83395 Freilassing, Germany www.kiefel.com Tailored-Blank precision cut blank in the new Tailored-Blank-3D servo gripper frame Forming station with robots for lamination process and parts handling of the vacuum lamination system