All SmartPower machines except one are designed as Insider cells, which means that they come with a WITTMANN robot and a conveyor belt integrated in the production cell. This variant offers a number of advantages, ranging from an enormous amount of space saved compared to systems with conventional automation solutions, all the way to cost advantages from the fact that all hazardous areas are already secured and certified ex works. Moreover, the robot cycle time can be minimised due to shorter travel distances and direct parts depositing on the conveyor belt.

The company makes a point of supplying technical plastic parts and assemblies to a solid, mixed industrial customer base. The various sectors served by FUSO include the automotive and railway industries, as well as consumer goods, electronics, medical technology, building construction, telecommunication, mechanical engineering and renewable energy generation.

In addition to a good price-performance ratio, FUSO requires from injection moulding machines above all stability, as well as easy access for servicing and cleaning, a smooth, easy-to-clean surface, user-friendliness in operation and a high standard of repeatability. Other factors gaining increasingly in significance are the machines’ energy efficiency, their networkability with robots and auxiliaries and availability of assistance systems.

When AC equipment became available, the US stuck with 110VAC. The 110VDC light bulbs and other appliances could run on 110VAC easily enough.

As in many things, the US was ahead of the times. The solutions were suboptimal, but were kept because switching to a better system would have cost too much. The rest of the world followed, but learned from the mistakes made in the US.

With the rising demands from customers on the parts and assemblies produced, FUSO’s own demands on the injection moulding equipment used are also increasing. The company’s machinery is state-of-the-art, with a high level of automation on its production floor. All systems are fitted with matching robots to ensure careful parts handling.

110V is somewhat safer than 230V. The US had to much invested in 110V by the time 230V was available to make a switch over economical.

The machines delivered in 2023 also come already equipped with the new B8X control system and the HiQ Flow assistance system. The B8X control system includes several control components developed in-house. These allow a higher internal clock frequency with shorter response times to sensor signals and consequently a higher standard of parts reproducibility, with user-friendliness and familiar visualisation remaining unchanged.

Last, but not least, the quality of the after-sales service including the possibility of using an online service also play an important part in the purchasing decision according to Klaus Großtesner. In the acquisition of robots, easy programmability is a top priority in addition to all other criteria which are also applicable to the machines.

“The Insider cells based on the servo-hydraulic SmartPower and WITTMANN linear robots meet our requirements in every respect”, Maximilian Högn confirms. “The equipment is space-saving, highly energy-efficient, easily accessible and easy to operate.”

The family-owned company managed by its CEO Maximilian Högn and its CSO Klaus Großtesner makes highly sophisticated plastic parts from a great variety of materials, including high-temperature plastics, for many different sectors of industry, with about 80 workers on a production floor of just under 3,000 m².

In this first installment, [Michael] cleaned up the machine and restored it to a working state. In the next part injection molding will be attempted again, which should give some idea of the feasibility of turning scraps of PLA and failed 3D prints into smooth injection molded parts, assuming you have the CNC machine or patience to carve out the requisite molds, of course.

Joh. Fuchs & Sohn – FUSO – was established in 1947 in Waidhofen on the river Ybbs in Lower Austria. In 1964, it started off into plastic injection moulding by producing the orange-coloured lids for Ovomaltine cans.

Although [Michael] had discussed using the machine for PLA with the seller to confirm that this would work, a user error meant that the now defective unit had been sitting idly for many years, until recently.

From the left: Martin Stammhammer, Int. sales manager Robots, WITTMANN Technology, Maximilian Högn, CEO of FUSO, Klaus Großtesner, CSO of FUSO, Andreas Högn, majority shareholder and advisor, FUSO, Roland Pechtl, area sales manager WITTMANN BATTENFELD

The cooperation between FUSO and WITTMANN BATTENFELD has already been in existence for four decades. The machines most recently supplied by WITTMANN BATTENFELD are exclusively models from the SmartPower series. The machines from the SmartPower series are hydraulic machines equipped with fast-responding servo motors and powerful constant displacement pumps. This technology, combined with the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) to recover the deceleration energy within the machine, which is included as standard, provides the SmartPower’s high level of energy efficiency. Further characteristics of the SmartPower are its small footprint and its pivotable injection unit, which ensures easy access to the barrel for quick and comfortable barrel change.

To make all these parts, a number of injection moulding machines ranging from 450 to 5,200 kN in clamping force are in operation, 17 of which have come from WITTMANN BATTENFELD. Moreover, FUSO is also a long-standing customer of the WITTMANN Group for automation equipment, using more than 40 handling devices with load capacities from 5 to 30 kg, including No. 7 robots as well as latest No. 9 series models with R9 control systems.

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3D prints for rapid prototyping are also possible. Injection moulding tools and automation systems are planned, designed and manufactured in-house at the company’s own mould-making shop. For ecological purposes, the company has made a special point of installing tool-friendly cooling water systems. Further evidence of FUSO’s commitment to protecting the environment are waste heat utilisation and a photovoltaic system.

The HiQ Flow assistance system is an injection regulation function by which viscosity fluctuations in the material used can be compensated. This function enables automatic process automation and compensates even minimal fluctuations in the material quality. FUSO is so completely satisfied with this system that all of the company’s other machines have been retrofitted with it, too, wherever technically feasible and economically advisable.

Aus was always 240V – indeed I often measure my power at 250V or so…. a while ago they theoretically changed it to ” 230 V (+10% to -6%), therefore providing an allowable voltage supply range between 253 V to 216 V” but I’m yet to ever see anything under 240..

When [Michael] over at the Teaching Tech YouTube channel bought a hobby injection molding machine a long time ago, one of the plans he had with it was to use it for grinding up waste bits of PLA filament for injection molding. Since the machine was bought from a US shop and [Michael] is based in Australia it required some modifications to adapt it to the local 220+ VAC mains, followed by adding a PID temperature controller and a small compressor to provide the compressed air rather than from a large shop compressor.

We are still very firmly stuck at the barely useable (for workshop and large appliance use) 100V here in Japan. You can get 200V split phase if you need more power, but that’s still significantly less than what my toaster ran on back in Australia…

The items produced range from micro parts weighing just 0.03 g right up to large parts weighing 2 kg. In addition to manufacturing complex plastic parts by 1- or 2-component injection moulding, the company offers insert moulding for functional parts, mounting of complete assemblies, as well as gluing and welding, plus decoration by 4-colour pad printing and laser printing, and 3D scanning for reverse engineering.

I suspect the cost of not doing the change has been much much higher than the cost of doing it would have been.. The same with metric. I remember when Aus changed, and yes it was a lot of work. But it was done, and after 50 years nobody would think any different – the US should have done it inthe same time frame.. But yes, I agree, voltage is different, but if you look around the world the US is the only major economy with the low voltage..

Requirements from the customer base concerning quality standards and attributes of the parts in terms of tolerances, outward appearance and materials used are constantly becoming more and more stringent. FUSO scores with purchasers by its extensive technical know-how and many years of experience in making high-quality parts and assemblies. This wealth of expertise enables the company to offer top-quality solutions which are both sustainable and cost-efficient. FUSO also stands out on the market by its high supply availability and reliability towards its customers.

The first major electrical power plant in the US (and probably the world) was 110VDC. That was partially a limitation of the equipment and partially a safety limit – 110V was considered low enough to not be immediately deadly if you touched it.

With the split-phase system, the US has 220 availabe for all major appliances. You can even get 220 outlets installed for larger window AC units.

Since the machine had been gathering dust and rust in the garage, fixing the machine up took a complete teardown to remove corrosion and resolve other issues. After this the original fault was identified, which turned out to be a shorted wire near the heater which had been turned up to a too high temperature, leading to the release of magic smoke and banishment of the machine to the Pit of Despair, AKA the shadowy depths of one’s garage.