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Swiss injection molding machine manufacturer Netstal Maschinen AG received accreditation from the Swiss Accreditation Service (SAS) to be a calibration laboratory for injection molding machines in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025:2017. The official accreditation entitles Netstal to perform regular calibrations of injection molding machines for its customers. A Netstal representative told Plastics Technology that the service is available to customers globally, including the U.S.

Netstal says the risk-based machine calibrations at customers’ facilities and issuing of standard-compliant documentation open up competitive advantages for medical molders in particular, since these facilities are required to not only produce within minimum tolerance limits but also prove they are doing so, on a regular basis.

Beginning, Dec. 2, 2021, Netstal has been an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited calibration laboratory for the measurements of temperature, pressure, clamping force, length and speed.

The calibration is available immediately and can be performed on-site at the customer. Netstal says over the course of the calibrations, its technical experts create standard-compliant documentation that its customers can use in subsequent audits.

For customers outside the medical sector, Netstal provides machine calibration based on VDMA 24470. Under this standard, quality-relevant parameters are checked with their associated typical tolerances, which are defined with reference to commercially available injection molding machines. Using this standard gives machine manufacturers the possibility to guarantee a capability independent of material and mold. VDMA’s parameters include barrel temperature, injection pressure, screw speed, clamping force build-up, clamping force reduction and parallelism of the clamping platen. Netstal says it supplements these with screw position and force distribution of the columns.