Artificial Intelligence-based Smart Injection System from only LS Mtron,

which takes a step closer to implementing the smart factory of injection molding

LS Mtron Co., Ltd.(hereinafter referred to as LS Mtron) has been shed light on from the relevant industries by holding a ‘Demonstration of Artificial Intelligence(AI)-based Smart Injection System of LS Mtron’ at the Korea Molding Center in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, on January 7(Friday).

In this demonstration, LS Mtron has been especially spotlighted by launching two systems, the AI Molding Assistant(M-GA), which is an Artificial Intelligence Condition Derivation System, and the AI Weight Control(M-QA), which is an Artificial Intelligence Weight Control System. M-GA dramatically reduces the time for stabilizing the initial process by learning and imitating the behavior of highly skilled molding specialists through artificial intelligence technology and M-QA detects any weight change of products using the software of injection molding machine and alters the conditions to make it to be a normal weight by the machine itself.

Let"s learn more about the Smart Factory, which is emerging as a measure to accomplish quality improvement, cost reduction, productivity enhancement, and shortening of delivery dates.  This is a new technology developed by LS Mtron that always does its best for customers to accept it easier and more familiar.

■ A practical and realistic Smart Factory being proposed by LS Mtron

Smart Factory indicates the innovative changes in manufacturing plants being entailed with Industry 4.0. It also refers to an intelligent manufacturing plant that improves productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction by applying the information and communication technology(ICT) that combines digital automation solutions to manufacturing processes such as design, development, manufacturing, distribution, and logistics.

In other words, it is a factory that can collect and analyze the process data in real-time by implementing the Internet of Things(IoT) in facilities and machines of the factory, thereby controlling the data on its own as desired. Recently, the smart factory has been highlighted as a manufacturing innovation plan because a light and flexible manufacturing system is required.

However, the plastic manufacturing industry still often sticks to a traditional way in which humans have been leading the way, the smart factory still has a long way to go for implementation in actual factory environments.

In this situation, LS Mtron has focused on the development of a practical and realistic technology to approach customers more easily and intimately, and has recently been highlighted by launching an AI-based system to present true smart injection solutions.

■ Even a novice to be a specialist thanks to an AI condition derivation system(M-GA)!

The very first task of injection molding begins with setting up an initial molding process, which is typically led by a skilled molding professional engineer. Since the time required to establish the environment for an initial process and the manufacturing quality depend on proficiency, it is evaluated as a very difficult task to set the process conditions optimized for manufacturing the good products rather than the defective ones.

Therefore, when setting the initial molding process of new molded products, the importance of AI technology that can reduce the deviation has been greatly emphasized in injection molding, which occurs the deviations in manufacturing efficiency according to the proficiency of molding professional engineers.

The artificial intelligence condition derivation system (M-GA) of LS Mtron is a system that can derive optimal conditions through AI technology when setting the initial molding process for new molded products. The system is expected to have highly positive responses from the industry as it can set the most optimized molding process only with simple and intuitive operation of workers even in complex and diverse processes.

An official from LS Mtron explained, "Because the system learns and imitates the molding methods of high-skilled specialists to build injection conditions, it can implement consistent processes regardless of work proficiency as well as reduce time." In addition, he added, “As the evaluation results of a Lab test, the low-skilled group with applying the M-GA system was able to set up the conditions for good products 23% faster on average than the high-skilled group.”

"In a situation where it is not also easy to hire high-skilled engineers, the AI M-GA system of LS Mtron will be of great help in the field," he stressed.

■ The drastically reduced defect ratio! AI Weight Control System (M-QA)

Once the production of good products has been carried out by deriving the optimal conditions for the initial molding process, it is also important to maintain them as good products after that because the repeated injection of molded products can cause defects due to certain variables.

Since the most fundamental factor in the quality of injection-molded products is to maintain the weight of the molded products constant, LS Mtron proposes an artificial intelligence weight control system (M-QA). In addition, when a change in the weight of the product occurs, this system alters the conditions to be a normal weight on its own using artificial intelligence technology.

The defects occur sometimes due to changes in the temperature and humidity of the manufacturing environment as well as changes in the physical properties of raw materials, and the AI weight control system prevents those defects in advance by compensating the changes.

An official from LS Mtron explained, "Although the actual target weight of the molded product has been set at 10g, the defects that alter in weight to 12g or 8g due to changes in surrounding temperature and humidity or physical properties of the material may occur. In the event of such a weight change, our system automatically derives new conditions as accurate as of the target weight and delivers them to the injection machine, thereby enabling to maintain the weight of the good molded products." He also said, "Customers will be able to use it more easily and conveniently."

By calibrating the product weight fluctuations using the AI weight control system, it is possible to lower the product defects by changing the process automatically in real-time. Therefore, it is believed that customer satisfaction will become higher in terms of the injection pressure fluctuations or the problems such as the manufacturing of different products under the same process conditions when mixing the grinding materials in particular.

■ We will do our best to present a true smart injection solution that is desired by customers!

LS Mtron is constantly exerting to develop a true smart injection solution that customers want. As an example of this, LS Mtron has demonstrated Artificial Intelligence Condition Derivation System(M-GA) and Artificial Intelligence Weight Control System(M-QA), which were introduced earlier, by holding the Artificial Intelligence Smart Injection System Demonstration at the Korea Mold Center in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, on January 7(Friday).

The researchers of LS Mtron and Park Chan-sung, the head of LS Mtron"s business division as well as officials from LG Electronics took part in the demonstration. This demonstration was prepared to suggest the ways to overcome the existing manufacturing methods that have realistically encountered limitations as various changes are progressed, for instance, the industries are becoming more advanced and diversified, manpower is socially reduced, and labor costs are rising.

An official from LS Mtron said that "Smartification" is not a matter of choice, but an issue that must be promoted faster for survival in the market if possible, and that this system development is aimed at enhancing the competitiveness through improvement of productivity and quality while using injection machines. He also stressed, “The system is still in the introduction stage although being officially released in January 2022, it is thought that such an AI technology will take time to be applied to the current injection site. However, we will help customers understand and access the system without any difficulty, and will promote it to the public through various promotional events.”

LS Mtron, which is leading the way to realize a true smart factory in the injection field, is doing its best to provide a smarter injection molding system to customers through technology development, demonstrations, and promotion.

■ Inquiry: LS Mtron"s Molding Machine Division’s Website www.lsinjection.com