The Customer:
Customers with technically demanding products
The Task:
Making golfballs
The Problem:
Combining different materials and technologies
The Solution:
SkinForm technology combining injection moulding, reaction moulding
and automation
The Outcome:
The new SkinForm technology is a joint development by the three
KraussMaffei divisions. Golfball production using this technology
was shown at the K2004 The golfball cores are supplied to a KR15
industrial robot, installed on the floor on the non-operator side
which picks one up and places it in one cavity of a 4-cavity mould.
The integrated vacuum system holds the cores exactly in position.
The mould is mounted in the clamp of a KM 65 KraussMaffei's C
series. In the next two process steps, the golfball cores are
coated with polyurethane, one side at a time. A second robot on the
operator side picks out the finished ball and brush cleans the
empty cavity. The gripper then hands the ball to a separate station
for sprue cutting. Next the balls are handed to a deflashing
station where the seam between the two halves of the PUR skin is
smoothed. Finally the two-colour logo is printed on the ball in a
third station. This is a fully-automated production cell for
applying and finishing the PUR SkinForm coating.