XMold: The system solution for high precision in injection molding



Beckhoff is presenting its extensive range of PC and EtherCAT-based control solutions for the entire plastics machine manufacturing industry at K 2013. In XMold, Beckhoff is bringing an integrated solution for the automation of complex injection molding machines onto the market that meets the highest requirements for precision, speed and energy efficiency. Based on the extremely fast control technology XFC (eXtreme Fast Control), XMold bundles the injection-molding know-how gained by Beckhoff from many years of experience in the industry.
Mold offers an integrated control solution for demanding applications of hydraulic, servo-electric or hybrid injection molding machines and is primarily designed for complex machines with multi-component injection units or extensive core-pulling programs. High-speed applications and complete production cells can also be implemented with XMold.
The XMold system solution consists of a CP6216-1004 Panel PC with 2nd generation Intel® Celeron®, a 15.6-inch widescreen display in portrait mode, Beckhoff I/Os and technology software as well as drive components for servo-electric machines as an option. eXtreme Fast Control technology , which is based on the EtherCAT high-speed communication system, enables the sampling of rapidly changing input signals with a temporal resolution of 50 µs, allowing the injection process to be controlled with high precision.
Standard functions of injection molding machines such as the complete procedure of switching over to holding pressure are included in the TwinCAT Injection Molding PLC Framework technology software. This saves users valuable development time, without limiting the possibilities for customer-specific technology development.
The key arrangement of the XMold panel is optimised for the injection molding process. The 15.6-inch panel in portrait mode offers the optimum in ergonomic operating quality. Both standard applications and complex processes can be controlled via the XMold user interface. The large screen area with touch function enables aclear process visualisation. Permanent status display and active operating screens are arranged in a clear and transparent overview.
Thanks to the attractive, ergonomic design of the operator interface and the programming of the actual operating logic independently of it, machine manufacturers are able to create customer-specific HMIs quickly and flexibly. With the icon editor Beckhoff has created a simple graphic programming interface that requires no specific programming knowledge and minimises the effort required for adapting certain machine sequences.
With XMold, manufacturers of plastics machines also benefit from the very widespread use of EtherCAT, since – in addition to the extensive Beckhoff portfolio – they have a virtually unlimited selection of third-party components at their disposal which they can easily integrate into their control architecture.