Are full hydraulic injection molding machines yesterday's news?

That was the first reaction from some of the injection molders and molding machine manufacturers when asked the questions posed above. Some said that they were sick and tired of seeing the hydraulic vs. all-electric story in the trade press, and that the issue has been beaten to death. Others were equally fatigued from tossing the questions around in their own heads.Get more news about vacuum hydraulic machine,you can vist our website!
Nevertheless, once they calmed down we got some very fresh and thought-provoking comments from the field. Before presenting what they had to say, some definitions are in order. Our questions concerned full hydraulic presses?those with a hydraulically powered shooter and a straight hydraulic clamp, not hydraulically powered toggle-clamp machines or hybrids.
After reviewing the responses, we stretched things a bit to include the hydromechanicals, which may use a little juice to power a mechanical clamp-locking mechanism, and hydraulically powered twin-platen machines.

Table 1 (left) lists all the machinery OEMs actively selling their full hydraulic iron in North America that we could find. If we overlooked anyone, we'll probably be hearing from them soon, and we'll pass the info along. Meanwhile, are full hydraulics yesterday's news? Some say yes, indeed. You'll hear from them in the next issue of PA&M. But first we'll hear from those who just say no.
Like many other injection molders responding to our questions, Curt Watkins, president of Alltrista Unimark (Rye, NY), says full hydraulics are here to stay, at least for now. "From a president's perspective, I would, in response, ask you a question: Is the internal combustion engine yesterday's news?"

"I feel that current hydraulic technology will continue to be driven to higher levels of performance and economy by the growth of the electric technology, in the same manner that internal combustion engines are being driven to new levels by the hybrid and total electric technology offerings," Watkins says.

Still, he shifts gears a bit in his conclusions. "However, I would like to clarify that I do firmly believe that the electric technologies are the wave of the future, just as the PC eventually outpaced the mainframe. That's outpaced, by the way, not replaced."

Trevor Spika of micromolder Makuta Technics (Columbus, IN) also believes that although it may be too soon to sound the death knell for full hydraulics, it could be sounding soon. "Our hydraulic machines are not quite as precise as our electric, but they are still a more robust machine in the same tonnage range," he says.
Dale Smith of Technical Industries Inc. (Canton, CT) is another full hydraulics micromolder who's giving all-electrics a go. Smith agrees that hydraulic presses are still a viable alternative, especially when it comes to reliability. "We have excellent-performing hydraulic machines with over 25 million cycles. For us, this makes our all-electric an unproven machine.

"The mold protection capabilities of a hydraulic machine also is a known factor for us." Smith says there are still unknowns surrounding the electrics and adds, "We are familiar with the setup of a hydraulic, which makes us less prone to making mistakes."