With the theme “Our passion – Your success”, the Austria-based automation specialist KEBA presented the full range of KePlast systems for controlling injection molding machines.

As introduced by Günther Weilguny, Product Manager, Industrial Automation, Plastics of KEBA, the major exhibit this year was the new KePlast i3000. It was launched to the Chinese market for the first time at CHINAPLAS.

The new control generation KePlast i3000 stands out with the latest multi-touch technology and a powerful controller with a future-proof software platform which enables several communication protocol and interface standards, such as OPC UA and EUROMAP 77, 79, 82, etc.

In addition, the 12”, 15” and 18” multi-touch screen panels of the OP 500 series sets new standards in operation and fulfills the needs of end users. “A smooth workflow with intuitive multi-touch gestures allows process values to be set extremely quickly and reduces the time required for sampling and service,” he said.

He also mentioned that, with the high-performance control system and innovative multi-touch operating panel, KePlast i3000 is an ideal solution for hydraulic, hybrid, all-electric, and multi-component injection molding machines.

Commenting on the development of Industry 4.0, Weilguny stated: “Industry 4.0 represents the future and we are well prepared for it with our wide range of controllers and platforms. Now, many Chinese customers are working towards the concept of Industry 4.0 and in my opinion, they have done huge investments already."

“We see that multi-touch is a big trend now. Every customer is used to work with smartphone. Now, users can control the machine just like they use a smartphone. This is an irreversible trend in the industry,” he said.

Customization is another key advantage of KEBA, according to Weilguny. “Depending on the machine requirement, customers are offered with various opportunities of modular or compact control solutions in combination with high individualization in software. More importantly, customized software adaptations to process control optimization can be done quickly and easily.”