Shibaura launching IMMs into the UK market at Interplas

Shibaura Machine, formerly known as Toshiba Machine, is launching its new injection moulding offering at the show. Interplas is the first UK trade fair for Shibaura Machine since UK distributor, TM Robotics, agreed an exclusive distribution partnership with the manufacturer last year. TM Robotics now handles all industrial robot and injection moulding distribution for Shibaura Machine in the UK and Ireland.

TM Robotics has long been a prominent distributor in industrial robotics and automation and has been supplying Shibaura Machine robots to the market for over two decades. At Interplas 2023, TM Robotics will launch its new product offering from the Japanese manufacturer — the full all-electric injection moulding machine range, plus service and maintenance.

TM Robotics says Interplas presents an excellent opportunity to introduce this offering to the market and meet with potential customers in the plastic parts manufacturing sector. From stand H41, the TM Robotics team will be available to discuss the full range of technologies from Shibaura Machine, including injection moulding machines, industrial robots and integrated solutions that use both technologies.

“The new offering includes the all-electric SXIII injection moulding machine series from Shibaura Machine,” explained Nigel Smith, managing director of TM Robotics. “The range of machines feature enhanced versatility and performance and streamlined design, providing significantly faster injection speeds than traditional moulding equipment. The series is available in 17 different injection capacities and dimensions and can be used for virtually any moulding application.”

In addition to the supply of the all-electric series, TM Robotics can also obtain parts and perform maintenance for hydraulic Shibaura Machine equipment — and legacy Toshiba Machine-branded moulding equipment that is still in operation in the field.

“Our strength is in our ability to integrate injection moulding machines and robots from Shibaura Machine — we are the absolute experts in this technology for the UK and Ireland,” continued Smith. “We encourage those interested in automated solutions for injection moulding to arrange a meeting with our experts at Interplas. The team has impressive knowledge of Shibaura Machine technologies, and we have recently expanded the team with two new injection moulding experts to further support this sales area.”

Peter Coltman and Jakub Urbanek joined the TM Robotics team as injection moulding machine service manager and technical support, last year. Having worked exclusively with Shibaura Machine’s injection moulding equipment since 2018, the engineers can provide expert consultation and advice on any injection moulding query.

Interplas follows a significant new robot launch for TM Robotics. The organisation launched its THE SCARA series for the European market at the Automatica trade fair held in Germany in June 2023. The launch saw TM Robotics introduce two new larger robots to the existing series.

“The THE800 and THE1000 robots are newly available in Europe,” continued Smith. “The THE series is widely recognised as the price-to-performance leader in SCARA robots and is ideal for pick-and-place applications. Alongside these models are a number of six-axis robot options, many of which are compatible with the Shibaura Machine injection moulding machines for loading and unloading. At Interplas 2023, we will have a video demonstrating this robot integration.”