The new generation of the successful Elion series for medical technology applications will celebrate its world premiere at K 2025 in Düsseldorf (October 8 - 15, Hall 15, Stand D24). Thanks to numerous optimizations, users can produce even more efficiently than before on a smaller footprint. Interested parties will be able to experience this live at the Netstal stand with the production of an autoinjector housing. The new all-electric Elion 1200 MED will be at the center of the high-performance system solution.
With the new Elion MED, Netstal will bring a highlight in the field of injection molding machines to Düsseldorf. The newly developed generation builds on proven technology and supplements it with significant optimizations to further increase production efficiency. The significantly shortened and compact design of the new machine is particularly striking. Thanks to an optimized geometry of the toggle lever for the fastest drying cycles, a new injection gearbox with a compact metering drive, a two-part control cabinet and a modified protective cover, Netstal has been able to significantly reduce the length of the machine compared to its predecessor models with identical clamping force. The clamping unit area also offers better accessibility for maintenance work. The conversion of the entire Elion portfolio is taking place in stages. To start with, four variants with 1200 and 1750 kN clamping force are available. The target portfolio consists of further variants and will cover the clamping force range from 800 to 4200 kN.
Genuine Netstal: Fast, precise, reliable
With the new Elion MED, customers receive the leading injection precision and shot-to-shot consistency that Netstal has stood for for decades. This is achieved by high-precision sensors and the extremely high sampling rate of 2 kHz. Injection control is based on the principle of direct injection force measurement RFC (Responsive Filling Control), which is used exclusively at Netstal. The newly revised quality monitoring system also ensures seamless monitoring and assurance of production quality.
Netstal machines are designed for many years of continuous operation under high loads. This also applies to the new Elion MED. Netstal has designed the machine to be extremely robust and only uses materials and components of the highest quality from leading specialist suppliers. The stable mold plates and the generously dimensioned guides ensure maximum precision with minimal deformation in the clamping unit. The newly designed toggle lever with a so-called double connecting rod distributes the closing force over two bearing points and has also been separated from the axis for the electric ejector. With these improvements, the new Elion MED offers users even greater reliability and availability. At the same time, it is particularly powerful compared to the competition and enables outstanding efficiency in day-to-day production. Netstal has trimmed all drive components such as motors and gearboxes for maximum performance and a broad performance profile. This means that the new Elion MED can maintain consistently high speeds at high pressure in 24-hour continuous operation for many years. To significantly increase energy efficiency compared to the predecessor model, Netstal has designed a new type of direct drive for the unit movement and the application of the nozzle contact pressure.
Maximized efficiency in the clean room
Thanks to fully encapsulated and water-cooled drive motors and the hermetically sealed control cabinet, the new Elion MED is virtually emission-free. In addition, the protective cladding has been redesigned for optimum cleanability with smooth surfaces and screws that are not visible from the outside. Despite the very compact design, the new protective housing offers full flexibility for the integration of system and peripheral components. The new Elion MED can be used in clean rooms up to class ISO 7 without any additional precautions. With additional equipment options, higher requirements can be achieved individually according to customer requirements.
To integrate the injection molding machine barrier-free into the customer’s own production environment, the new Elion MED offers a wide range of OPC-UA-based interfaces, such as Euromap 77 for networking with a central control system and Euromap 82 for the various peripheral components. Thanks to HTML 5 integration, more complex system components such as automation can also be integrated into the Axos 9 machine control system as required. Depending on the application, the optional four-button Smart Operation control provides the user with a wide range of options for automating process sequences and thus further improving production efficiency.
Exhibit with a focus on 100% manufacturing quality
For the market launch, Netstal will produce housing for autoinjectors with the new Elion MED at its stand in Hall 15 at the K 2025. The machine, which is equipped for use in clean rooms and has a clamping force of 1200 kN, uses a 4-cavity mold from Zahoransky with innovative index technology and a cycle time of 12 seconds. The modern mold features individual, servo-electrically controlled valve gate nozzles and has a rotary unit with a fully integrated servo motor. Thanks to innovative index technology, the cycle time can be significantly reduced compared to conventional mold concepts. The 6-axis robot mounted on the injection molding machine removes the finished housing parts with the mold closed. The ultra-compact automation solution from Saxe includes optical quality control and a fully production-ready solution for automatically changing the containers. The highly efficient handling system is also fully integrated into the Axos control system of the injection molding machine. Thermal parameters such as flow and return temperatures and the water flow rate in the mold are recorded and monitored in real time via the Mouldflo water distributors integrated into the mold mounting platen. Other partners involved in the exhibit are Petek (cleanroom technology), HB Therm (temperature control units), Piovan (material feed), Sabic (material), SAX Polymers (masterbatch) and bfa solutions (MES).
