Negri Bossi (U.S. office in New Castle, Delaware) unveiled its fourth‑generation all‑electric packaging machines, the Nova eT series, at NPE 2018 in Orlando, Florida. The flagship 180‑metric‑ton unit demonstrates the company’s capability to mold four food‑container lids with in‑mold labeling in just

Boy Machines showcased a full spectrum of its injection‑molding technology, from the compact Boy XXS micromolder to the powerful Boy 100 E. The lineup highlighted advanced control systems, energy‑efficient designs, and the company’s new robotic solutions. The Boy XXS, introduced at K 2016, is a 7‑t

U.S. molders have a unique opportunity at NPE to explore Campetella Robotic Center, a leading Italian robotics manufacturer with over 120 years of automation expertise, originally rooted in agricultural applications. Campetella, a family‑owned enterprise, was founded in the late 19th century and has

Collaborative robots, or cobots, are increasingly adopted in the plastics sector thanks to their ability to work safely alongside human operators. Rethink Robotics, a pioneer in this field, is enhancing its flagship one‑armed Sawyer cobot with two game‑changing features. 1. ClickSmart Quick‑Change G

Ranger Automation’s TR Series robots are engineered to elevate productivity on thermoforming lines and packaging operations. Leveraging ultra‑high‑speed servo drives, the robots can extract and stack parts in as little as 3 seconds per cycle, a performance that translates into significant time savin

AGS Automation of Germany, a leader in precision automation solutions, introduces a new gripper‑arm clamping element for its modular system. This component allows users to adjust the gripper arm’s angle across three axes with unprecedented ease. To address adhesion challenges, AGS now offers a PTFE‑

Midwest Molding Inc., a family‑owned custom injection‑mold manufacturer in Bartlett, Ill., began operations in 2007. By 2015, rapid growth prompted a need for smarter use of limited floor space. The company turned to Wittmann Battenfeld, Inc. of Torrington, Conn., which has a tech center in South El

During NPE2018, Absolute Robot Inc. (ARI) showcased its first in‑mold labeling (IML) solution—a side‑entry system from Well‑Lih, China—designed for a four‑cavity polypropylene yogurt‑cup mold. ARI’s IML platforms match the performance of industry leaders while cutting costs by 20–30%. The company of

The Allrounder 1120H is Arburg’s largest press yet and the first model of its new design family. It debuted at NPE2018 in the United States, featuring a 650‑metric‑ton clamp (730 U.S. tons) – a 30 % increase over previous models – and 1120‑mm tie‑bar spacing, 20 % larger than other Allrounders. The

Beck Automation of Switzerland has debuted an In‑Line Molding (IML) system for single‑serve coffee capsules across the Americas, marking a first for the region. Both the capsules and their labels—manufactured by Verstraete in Belgium—are crafted from polylactic acid (PLA), a renewable biopolymer tha

Sepro America marks a new milestone in the U.S. market by unveiling its first robot manufactured domestically. This initiative follows a recent expansion that doubled the size of its Warrendale, Pennsylvania facility, positioning the company to produce large Cartesian robots across the continent – a

Wittmann Battenfeld has expanded its robot portfolio with two distinct lines: the premium X Series and the cost‑effective Primus 14. The X Series, built on the proven Pro line, now features the updated R9 controller launched last fall. The R9 maintains the familiar programming interface of the R8, b

Flexicell, Inc., a leading system integrator and automation equipment manufacturer based in Ashland, Virginia, showcased its cutting‑edge robotic palletizing and case‑packing solutions at NPE2018. The company’s portfolio of standard palletizers is designed to deliver simplicity, reliability, user‑fr

Yushin America’s entry into the collaborative‑robot (cobot) market marks a pivotal moment for plastics manufacturing. In a newly signed exclusive distribution partnership with Productive Robotics in Carpenteria, California, Yushin is delivering the OB‑7—a seven‑axis cobot that debuted last year and

At the Fakuma show in Germany, Wittmann Group’s U.S. office in Torrington, Conn., introduced two new linear robots. The first is a second model in the cost‑effective Primus line for less demanding pick‑and‑place tasks. The Primus 16, debuted at K2016, offers three servo axes and a pneumatic wrist, t

A new half‑cube palletizer from Proco Machinery Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario, combines a six‑axis Universal Robots UR‑10 arm with a fully integrated conveyor and pallet‑lift system to automate the palletizing of blow‑molded PET containers. The robot’s collaborative design eliminates the need for saf

On December 12, the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) released a comprehensive report detailing North American automation sales for the first nine months of 2017. The data show record‑breaking performance across robotics, machine vision, motion control, and motor technologies. Two days late

At the recent Fakuma show in Germany, Sepro of France unveiled two groundbreaking software applications designed to elevate the performance of its injection‑molding robots. The company, with its U.S. office in Warrendale, Pa., highlighted that the apps can be deployed on both new and existing robot

While many think the future is far away, the Plastics Technology team is already preparing for NPE2018, the world’s largest plastics trade show in Orlando, Fla. (May 7‑11). Our early research shows one thing is clear: the biggest buzz will come from the wave of technological innovation known as Indu

Recent acquisitions signal a consolidation wave in the in‑mold labeling (IML) and packaging automation sectors. CBW Automation, headquartered in Ft. Collins, Colo., has joined forces with H. Müller‑Fabrique de Moules SA as part of the newly formed Mold & Robotics Group in Switzerland. CBW is renown