By Bruce Adams
Dr. Boy expanded its line of injection molding machines with the launch this spring of the Boy 35 E Pro, which has 39 tons of clamping force. Based on the Boy 35 E, the Boy 35 E Pro uses an older controller, and is smaller and more energy-efficient.
The new model is available only with the SP 96 injection unit and a limited number of screw diameters. Basic equipment on the machine includes a highly wear-resistant thermoplastic screw with a 24mm, 28mm or 32mm diameter; a Procan Alpha 2 controller; and either a 35mm nozzle or 0.5-inch nozzle for the U.S. market. The mold installation height on the new machine was reduced to 5.9 feet, compared to the 7.9-foot height of the Boy 35 E machine, which Boy will continue to offer.
“The 35 E Pro is a specced-down version of the Boy 35 E machine,” said Marko Koorneef, president of Boy Machines, the U.S. business unit of Dr. Boy. “The quality of the machine is just as good, but not as many options are available, which limits what can be done on the machine.”
Seven additional options are available on the new machine, including a handling interface that’s compatible with Euromap 67 standards, a core-pull control and four programmable inputs/outputs for connecting auxiliary equipment.
One key difference between the new model and the Boy 35 E is that the new model has the older Procan Alpha 2 controller and the 35 E has the Alpha 4 controller, Koorneef said. “If you want to do special molding applications, we won’t develop that for the 35 E Pro because it has the older controller,” he said. “We will customize applications for the 35 E machine because it has our latest controller, the Alpha 4.”
The 35 E Pro has a compact footprint of about 21 square feet, which is just 60 percent of the size of comparable machines, the company said.
It features an energy-efficient servo-motor pump drive. In typical applications, a model E series with a servo-motor drive would use 8,700 fewer kilowatts annually based on 6,000 operating hours per year, the company said. This savings is compared to a similar machine with a continuous pump drive. The reduced energy usage translates into 4.67 tons of carbon dioxide that are not being emitted per year, the company said.
The Boy 35 E Pro is designed to process recycled materials and difficult-to-process resins.
The press is available through traditional sales channels in the U.S. It’s also the first machine that Dr. Boy is selling online, but that option is available only in Germany and Austria.
Koorneef said the press was selected as the first Dr. Boy machine to be sold online because it’s a new machine and the company wanted to be able to market it differently. Because it has fewer a la carte options, it was a good fit for online ordering. Companies that can sell their machines online rather than through a dedicated sales force or a sales rep reduce their costs. Offering machines with fewer options for online sales reduces the complexity of the transaction for the customer.
Dr. Boy is the second injection molding machine manufacturer to offer a press for sale through online ordering. Arburg announced at K 2019 that its Allrounder 270S compact is available via online ordering, which is a first for the company.
Bruce Adams, senior staff reporter
Contact:
Boy Machines Inc., Exton, Pa., 610-363-9121, www.boymachines.com