KraussMaffei and Roctool sign global collaboration agreement

Germany-based injection molding machine maker KraussMaffei has strengthened its cooperation with injection and compression molding technology provider Roctool S.A.

Under the terms of a new global collaboration agreement, KraussMaffei will be able to offer injection molding machines with Roctool’s “HD Plastics” inductive mold heating technology within their DMH technology (Dynamic Mold Heating) and can also supply this directly if required.

A surface effect created with Roctool’s inductive mold heating technology HD plastics on a KraussMaffei PX 160-540 injection molding machine.

“The decisive benefits of HD Plastics/DMH are the options that allow for design and construction while remaining highly cost-efficient,” said Mathieu Boulanger, CEO of Roctool. “The one-shot process produces components with premium-quality surfaces, entirely without the technical and financial expenditure of decorated films or painting. As a result, additional in-mold decoration steps such as preforming, punching and feeding have been omitted.

The two companies have been “cooperating intensively for the last three years”, Boulanger continued, and “now we want to expand our cooperation further and offer KraussMaffei customers added value with the additional option of Roctools HD Plastics technology.”

The two companies will be showcasing the advantages of the technology, live as part of the KraussMaffei Open House on July 6, 2017 in Queretaro, Mexico. A PX 160-540 of the new all-electric injection molding machine series equipped with a Roctool 50 kw generator will be demonstrating the design options of inductive mold heating using a box cover as an example. “Different colour shading, hologram, gloss or matt effects – everything can be realized with the one-shot process without the need for additional post-mold processing,” said Nadine Despineux, vice president, sales of the KraussMaffei brand for injection molding. “The design options of the inductive DMH technology are enormous and open up entirely new markets and applications. For example, we see great potential in the entertainment and communications industry, in the automotive industry, and in the sport and leisure sector. The technology brings also other key advantages such as elimination of weld lines, flow length extension, quick cycle time and no temperature limitation for any plastic materials.”

Founded in 2000, Roctool is headquartered in Le Bourget du Lac, France, and has offices in North America, Japan, Taiwan, and Germany.