ARBURG has provided the Süddeutsche Kunststoff-Zentrum (SKZ) in Würzburg with an injection moulding machine for the newly opened students’ laboratory. Since July 5, students can experience the world of plastics technology “live” in one-day courses. This also includes producing moulded parts themselves on an electric ALLROUNDER 470 A.

“From the idea to the finished product” is the SKZ’s motto for awakening the interest of young people for natural sciences and specifically plastics technology. “The students spend a day with us and get to experience a normal day in plastics production,” explains Helmut Hofmann, contact partner for the project at SKZ. “They can try out machines and technologies here that are not normally available in a school”.

The concept behind the students’ laboratory is for the students to acquire knowledge, identify relationships and take on responsibility independently. A “customer order” is processed by five teams: Research, Design, Engineering, Communications and Finance. In the laboratory, the students learn how to handle machines and moulds, prepare cost calculations, check the product quality and work on improvements.
 
The Engineering team, for example, starts the electric ALLROUNDER 470 A with 1,000 kN clamping force and produces the desired moulded parts, a plastic spoon for example, on their own. The day in the SKZ-Lab ends with a presentation of what the students have learned by the Communications team. Each student receives a certificate and the product they have produced.