APC (Adaptive Process Control)

Stabilize your processes and

maximize profits

Engineering Passion
2 APC (Adaptive Process Control)
Title

External factors impede end product quality

APC protects systems from unwanted factors
Numerous external factors can impede component quality. Factors that unfortunately cannot
be prevented include environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, fluctuations in
material quality and flow resistance and human factors.

Possible external factors

Changing environmental Fluctuating flow Safety reserves Material quality

conditions resistance for settings fluctuation
– Seasons – Hot runner mold – Back pressure –B atch fluctuations
– Day and night – Mold cooling and heat- – Barrel temperature – Additives (recyclate
– Temperature and balancing of hot runner – Mold temperature amount, masterbatch)
fluctuations in – Shut-off nozzle of – Cycle time – Contamination
humidity non-return valve
Human factors
– Availability
– Qualifications
– Start-up after standstill
– Intervention into process
deviations
 3

Cruise control for your injection molding processes

APC keeps processes stable
APC operates in a similar way to cruise control for vehicles. Cruise control systems automati­
cally control the supply of fuel to the engine so that the vehicle does not drop below or exceed a
speed defined by the driver, even in changing road and wind conditions. The speed of the vehicle
remains constant, even if outside conditions change.

Similarly, APC keeps the weight of the Consistent speed = robust process
finished part specified by the mold
setter consistent during ongoing pro­
duction if parameters change due to
outside factors. Therefore, you and the
entire process benefit from consistent
component quality. Process Control

APC
by
Consistent speed on a horizontal segment

APC = cruise control for the machine

The mold setter configures the ideal process.
APC detects deviations and repeatedly changes
the actual status back to the target status. All
faults are eliminated and you retain consistently
Consistent speed on a slope high end product quality.

APC – your path to zero-defect production

Material change

WITHOUT APC:
Significant fluctuations in component quality after material change

WITH APC:
No fluctuations in component quality after material change
4 APC (Adaptive Process Control)
Title

Quality assurance by the machine

Intelligent control of critical process parameters
Thanks to years of experience and intensive research, KraussMaffei has reached the next level in
consistent component quality. The patented APC technology analyzes and continuously regulates
the injection molding process, and can be used for all thermoplastic series.

Just two steps to consistent component quality

Step 1: Analysis
APC analyzes the current process status. changes are detected by recording spe­
This enables the machine to keep a con­ cific key parameters, such as the melt
figured process consistently stable if the pressure curve of the machine.
external factors (such as batch fluctua­
tions) change the viscosity of the material
or the flow resistance in the mold. These
Process Control

APC
by

Melt pressure curve over time:

APC records the behavior of the non-return valve, the flow characteristics and the viscosity of
the melt during injection.

600

Fill index Viscosity index (CI) Changeover point 60

is calculated and
500 activated
Viscosity is measured
50
400 Compression is
complete
40
300
Screw position (mm)
Melt pressure (bar)

30
200
Non-return valve
is closed 20
100
10

Time (s) 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
 5

Weight of finished part (g) Step 2: Control

150.4
Through clever evaluation of the process
150.3 Weight of finished part without APC Weight of finished part with APC
150.2 data gathered in step 1, the machine
150.1 TOL + can respond to the current process state
150.0
149.9 TOL + within the specified limits. APC adjusts
149.8 the changeover point and the holding
149.7
TOL - pressure profile to the existing melt vis­
149.6
149.5 cosity and current flow resistance in the
149.4 mold. This makes it possible to compen­
149.3 TOL -
149.2 sate for deviations online and in the same
shot. Among other benefits, this results
CpKvalue = 0.57 CpKvalue = 1.46
in a significantly more robust production
Time (s) process.
06:00
07:00
08:00
09:00
10:00
11:00
12:00
13:00
14:00
15:00
16:00
17:00
18:00
19:00
20:00
21:00
22:00
23:00
00:00
01:00
02:00
03:00
04:00
05:00
06:00

This graphic illustrates fluctuations in component weight, which are greatly diminished when APC
is used. This improves the Cpk value (process capability index) significantly and reduces the expected
scrap rate substantially.

Shot weight consistency: the best results with KraussMaffei Consistent part quality
As a result, APC produces uniform shot
Shot weight Changeover weights within a very small tolerance.
(g) point (mm) This leads to the consistent component
quality that can already be seen in vari­
181 13
ous customer projects. In this process,
the Cpk value was measured before and
TOL + after activation of APC. In each case, sig­
179 12
nificant improvements were made.

177 TOL -
11

175 10

173 9

Competition: KraussMaffei
 with APC: 
KraussMaffei with APC:
2 hydraulic injection pistons 1 hydraulic injection piston 1 hydraulic injection piston
6 APC (Adaptive Process Control)
Title

Revolutionize your manufacturing process

Advantages that speak for themselves
Zero-defect production
Efficient manufacturing is vital to attaining
the highest possible margins, particularly
when manufacturing a high volume of
units. Thanks to APC, production proces­
ses are significantly more stable, ensuring
more consistent component quality. Scrap
rates are drastically reduced, eliminating
unnecessary material losses.

Your benefits:
– Substantially lower scrap rates
– Consistently high component quality
– Lower quality assurance costs

Consistently high quality is a vital factor in maintaining good customer relations. With APC,
you can protect this important commitment!

Cutting costs with APC

kg/h kg/h kg/h

Material
throughput Reject Reject Saving

Good parts Good parts Good parts

€/ton
Material price Material price Material price
with recyclate with recyclate with recyclate

Material price Material price Material price

virgin material virgin material virgin material

Costs without APC Cutting material costs Reduce scrap with APC
Cutting costs and boosting margins presents With APC you can increase the proportion of You will waste substantially less scrap material
operational challenges to every business. recyclate used much more easily, and thus and have completely new opportunies to save
reduce material costs. further costs.

Your benefits:
– Enormous cost reduction potential
– Easy use of a significantly higher proportion of recyclate
 7

Users bear great responsibility in the manufacturing process – APC supports them in this process and simplifies operation.

Easy handling Saving energy and shortening

Your benefits:
The demands placed on modern manu­ cycle times
– Lower standstill costs
facturing are constantly increasing: it To produce as little scrap as possible, it
– Lower setup costs
must be flexible and as cost-effective as is normal practice to configure process
– Simplified operation and quicker
possible. Therefore, downtimes, lengthy settings with process reserves. This is
machine start-up
start-ups and fluctuations in production actually not necessary. Unnecessary
– Significantly lower energy costs
must be reduced to a minimum. The increases in cycle times and excessive
– Increased production output
APC system enables the user to start temperatures are a waste of resources.
up machines faster and rely on a stable With APC, you can always execute opti­
process-regardless of potential interfe­ mum processes with optimum energy
rence factors. consumption and optimum cycle times.
Less scrap – more productivity
Adaptive Process Control (APC)
The newly developed APC machine function from
KraussMaffei immediately compensates for fluctu­
ations in the injection molding manufacturing pro­
cess. Processors will benefit from a uniformly high
component quality, lower scrap and material costs
and the simplified use of recyclate. Furthermore,
the implementation of APC increases energy effici­

0.0 WE . 1st edition 10/14. IMM 306 FL 10/2014 EN ··· Subject to technical changes ··· Printed in the Federal Republic of Germany.
ency in injection molding production.

APC is offered for all series from KraussMaffei.

www.kraussmaffei.com