Injection moulding: electric vs. hydraulic

Speed meets precision

An early pioneer of electric injection moulding, FANUC launched the world’s first CNC-controlled all-electric injection moulding machine in 1983. Since then FANUC all electric injection moulding machines have become increasingly popular. This is because all electric machines offer manufacturers higher productivity for lower running costs versus hydraulic machines. Not only are all electric machines faster and more precise than their hydraulic counterparts but, because they do not need to constantly maintain hydraulic pressure, they only consume electricity when they are running. This makes them much cheaper to run. And because there is no oil to warm, start-up times are also much faster.

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FANUC ROBOSHOT – the ultimate all electric CNC injection moulding machine

lowest energy consumption worldwide
uses 50-70% less energy than hydraulic machines
uses 10-15% less energy than other all electric machines
lowest total cost of ownership on the market

To illustrate the benefits of all electric over hydraulic we ran a FANUC 300 t 56 mm screw all electric machine head-to-head against a 200-t hydraulic 50 mm screw machine for 230 days producing sweet boxes from a 24-cavity mould.

The results?

The all electric machine produced 112,418,743 units vs. 84,314,057 for the hydraulic
The all electric machine consumed 120,597 kWh of electricity vs. 300,611 for the hydraulic

Easier than hydraulic

Low maintenance

Free from the risk of leakage, or the need to replace consumables such as oil and filters, all electric injection moulding machines require much less maintenance than hydraulic machines.

Unrivalled repeatability

Unlike hydraulic machines which rely on hoses, valves and pumps, all electric machines are equipped with digitally-controlled servomotors that precisely control every process from injecting, extruding, clamping and ejecting to an extremely high degree of accuracy. As a result, the repeatability offered by all electric machines is second to none.

No cooling required

Unlike hydraulic injection moulding machines that run hot and require cooling, electrical injection moulding machines run cool by nature. There’s no messy oil to change, no oil recycling costs and almost no risk to the environment or of fire

Low heat emission

Because they emit very little heat, all electric injection moulding machines are perfectly suited to sensitive environments such as clean rooms and temperature-controlled production facilities.

Smart control for more speed and precision

Fast controlled acceleration

Offering CNC precision and through-put times that hydraulic machines can’t match, all electric machines deliver wait-free faster processing and closed-loop control in real time.

Higher precision

Thanks to electrically driven axes, a servomotor on every axis, direct inertia-free control, separate parallel movements and high rigidity, all electric machines are ideally suited to producing high-precision parts.

Parallel movements as standard

Because each axis is equipped with a separate servo drive, FANUC all electric injection moulding machines come with parallel movements as standard. Offering huge flexibility, this makes it possible to run simultaneous processes such as metering during mould opening and ejection, injecting during mould closing and ejecting during mould opening.

Precise pressure & plasticise control

Ideally suited to low viscosity material such as LCP and PA, the precise digital pressure and plasticising control on all electric machines makes achieving extremely consistent part weights relatively straightforward, even when viscosities vary.

More information on FANUC Roboshot