Perfected by Milacron globally, circularity and sustainability to drive the penetration of the Monosandwich technology in India; an industry first!

Monosandwich – a technology that the Indian industry was waiting for…developed in the 1990s and patented by Milacron, this technology has been a global hit for Milacron. It is a variant of the multi-injection and co-injection technology that significantly reduces the cost of manufacturing when compared to conventional sandwich moulding technologies. Furthermore, it’s customer-friendly, easy to operate, low cost and extremely flexible to adapt across applications. Simply put, it is designed to have two plasticising strokes, one for the core and the other for the skin…so, reduce your product cost confidently, while maintaining / or infact in some cases, enhancing the functionality of the part produced well keeping in mind your crucial goal of substantially, increasing your contribution towards circularity of business. So much so that depending on the recycled material, its quality and compatibility with the skin material, the product produced can further be recycled.

Simplifying the MSW Operation

To simplify the process, the Milacron Monosandwich solution uses an innovative extruder coupling device. As soon as the core material is plasticised, the secondary extruder introduces the skin material directly into the barrel of the injection unit. The core to the success lies in the regulation of the correct quantities; the measuring systems of the main injection unit are optimised to handle the same. The melt components are now situated one behind the other in the injection procedure. This allows the core material to continue flowing through the middle of the flow channel, while the skin component is deposited evenly on the outer wall of the cavity.

Technology With an Edge

“From an operational perspective, a big contributor to the success of the Monosandwich technology is that you can use your existing cold runner moulds; especially as many a times the cost of the mould is almost equivalent to that of the equipment!” explains Jigish Shah, Vice President – Technology & Product Development, Global Plastics Machinery, Milacron India. In this technology, thickness is not a restriction – a diverse range of thickness can be achieved. Also, welding lines can be improved, something which always poses a challenge.

This easy to maintain machine, is a cost-effective, license-free solution that implements a simple process which ensures fast material change and a high productivity. Unique extruder design and efficient control systems are its distinguishing attributes.

Big Benefits

Furthermore, as regards the core material, it is not just about recycled products; it could be a case of  reinforced core material giving the component greater rigidity or a foamed core material that provides good sound and vibration damping properties, or for that matter simply contributing towards a low component weight; most certainly, it is about reducing cost without compromising on the quality and the part requirement. On a broader basis, depending on the application and the process, upto 50% reduction in material cost is certainly possible by using upto 70% material as the recycled core. Based on the application, can be selected the recycled mix for the core material. To top it, it’s the virgin material for the skin for parts with perfect, unblemished surfaces; extremely economical, especially for larger parts!

Typical applications cover a wide variety of geometries; some include, automotive parts, electronic parts, pails and buckets, consumer goods as toy boat, dog basket, video camera body, toy building blocks, multicolour products, hospital beds; for benefits such as material saving, shock absorption, abrasion resistance, process repeatability and more.

With trials underway, and showing good success, the big processors in India are already excited and eagerly looking forward to adding this technology to their repertoire; reducing the cost of their produce and, at the same time, contributing positively to environment care.

Addressing Concerns

Looking at the availability of solutions, the industry rightfully had some valid concerns:

• Confidence in the Technology Available: Well realising that finesse of technology (core control and skin control) has a big role to play in the quality of the part being produced, the customers were sceptical and wary of taking this trial. With Milacron, however, the enormous success met in a quality market as Europe with its patented technology for many years now, more than addresses this concern.
• Inflexibility of Using the Machine as a Standard Product: For the best ROI, the customers desired the flexibility of using the machine as a standard injection moulding machine. The Milacron confirmation that the Monosandwich machine also be used as a standard injection moulding machine, more than addresses this concern.
• Lack of Market Experience: The market hesitancy to adopt such solutions was amplified due to the lack of experience possessed by the Indian market. Milacron again rose to the occasion; the in-house team comes fully experienced to build, maintain and operate such solutions. Furthermore, the possibility of customers leveraging from the years of application experience garnered by the Milacron Team in Europe, more than addresses this concern.

The Best Buy

“The technology is sensitive; the timing and control are parameters of paramount importance. With the expertise of Milacron India in understanding the technology and material, coupled with the application support of Milacron global, we have been able to master this nuance and give it our best. The end product, else, shall keep varying and will have no consistency,” emphasises Shirish V. Divgi, Managing Director, Milacron India.

Adds Shirish V. Divgi, “This consistency is the prime USP of Milacron, since we understand the technology to the ‘core’, literally!”