Extrusion International USA 4-2022

48 Extrusion International 4/2022 K 2022 W e all know it: waste plastics are actually raw materials. Howev- er, this does not change the fact that far too little of this waste is recycled and returned into the material cycle. At K 2022 KraussMaffei will not only exhibit the necessary machinery, but also new digital solutions that enable maximum savings to be achieved in terms of energy consumption and car- bon footprint. Especially in the healthcare sector, theworldwide demand for disposables is enormous. Very often the products are only used for a short time and ex- hibit minor contamination. These are ideal conditions for subsequently using them as raw materials for components designed for a longer service life. At the KraussMaffei booth, visitors will be able to see for themselves how insulin pen caps are converted into door mod- ules for cars, for example. Material cycle at K 2022: from insulin pen caps to automotive door modules Interested visitors can get a live ex- perience of the entire process: A fully electric PX 200-1400 produces 96 in- sulin pen caps per shot from medical polypropylene virgin material. After shredding, these caps serve as basema- terial for the up-cycling process carried out on the ZE28 BluePower twin-screw extruder. Here, various additives such as bonding agents and liquid pigments are added, mixed and homogenized. The resulting re-compound is trans- ferred to the downstream injection molding machine – more precisely to the new powerMolding 1300-11900. This newly developed series is based on the proven two-platen technology that stands out for a range of highly standardized options and is designed as cost-effective variant in particular for nearly standard applications. Reduced carbon footprint and lower energy costs in line with a strong environmental conscience With the application shown at the KraussMaffei booth at K 2022, all sus- tainability-relevant process data are recorded and displayed, so that the amount of CO 2 saved by the recycling process as compared to the use of vir- gin material is evident at any time. Circular Economy: Digitalization Makes the Decisive Difference At K2022KraussMaffeiwill demonstrate the completematerial cycle fromthe insulinpen capup to the doormoduleusingawide rangeof innovativedigital solutions (Photos: KraussMaffei) The socialProduction family enables location and time-independent monitoring of machinery and production processes