Kistler Upgrades Process Monitoring and Production Platform to Meet Medical Injection Molding Needs

In response to feedback from the medical device manufacturing industry, Kistler has announced a functional upgrade to its injection molding quality inspection software, aimed at enhancing software usability and standardizing configuration options.

This specialized enterprise in the field of measurement technology has introduced standardized, multi-factory-compatible process templates in its ComoNeo 9.0 process monitoring software. Additionally, the AkvisIO 9.0 process and production management platform has undergone an iterative upgrade. Following the upgrade, the platform can rapidly aggregate core production data, facilitating data-driven fault troubleshooting in daily production. Furthermore, the ComoNeo hardware features a significantly upgraded processor, better supporting AI applications such as ComoNeoPREDICT and enhancing analytical capabilities for multi-cavity injection molding.

Kistler, headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland, stated that usability is one of the key factors determining the practical value of production data management software. Daniel Kormann, Head of the Medical Business Unit, explained: "The new features in AkvisIO 9.0 and ComoNeo 9.0 were developed based on user requirements, particularly addressing the specific needs of the medical technology industry. At the same time, users across all industries will benefit from these enhancements. The new versions offer an improved user experience, combining versatile customization options with standardized functions, specifically designed to lower the learning curve for new users."

Centralized management of production data

New features of the AkvisIO 9.0 platform, including a customizable home dashboard and diverse data visualization modules.

The all-new control panel allows production and quality management personnel to have a real-time overview of all networked ComoNeo process monitoring systems. The system uses color grading to intuitively display key metrics such as equipment utilization, production yield, and scrap rate. If the operating parameters of the injection molding equipment exceed the preset quality thresholds, the platform will automatically trigger an alarm. Operators can directly access production history records, filter by shift handover periods and production batches, and quickly pinpoint the root cause of faults.

Kistler has also comprehensively optimized the data visualization functionality. AkvisIO 9.0 supports the overlay display of multiple production trend curves for multi-cavity injection molding, enabling rapid assessment of the operational status of individual cavities through color coding. The system includes pre-configured trend templates based on core process parameters, allowing for quick generation of analytical results; moreover, the template parameters can be adjusted on-demand at any time.

A new comparative visualization feature has been added, enabling synchronized comparison of process control differences for the same mold across different machines. Kistler emphasizes that the system provides process engineers with a dedicated visualization analysis path for fault troubleshooting, and offers quality managers an OEM report generation and product traceability workflow—both of which are critical for quality control in the medical device injection molding sector. Users can freely zoom in and out of data charts and flexibly switch between product view and molding cycle view.

ComoNeo 9.0 Process Monitoring Software: Focusing on Practical Ease of Use

To meet the needs of standardized production management across different plants, ComoNeo software now supports the centralized and personalized creation of trend templates and Evaluation Object (EO) templates. Various templates can be universally applied across different plants and multiple production lines in the ComoNeo monitoring system, ensuring full traceability of the production process. The new Balance View function instantly presents the operational differences among each cavity, accurately capturing subtle parameter deviations in the process. ComoNeoMULTIFLOW continues to provide single-cavity automatic adjustment and balance optimization services for multi-cavity injection molding scenarios.

The custom control panel allows users to independently filter core monitoring parameters, enabling one-click access to key data. The trend table view can centrally display on a single page all the actual deviation values, standard target values, and evaluation object thresholds for each cavity. The system supports saving baseline parameters, ensuring that the entire team uses a uniform standard for process evaluation.

At present, all firmware upgrades for the ComoNeo process monitoring system are now centrally managed for the first time through the AkvisIO 9.0 platform. Management can centrally plan upgrades, selecting individual or all devices as needed, and initiate the update process with a single click. The platform automatically identifies the production status of the devices, performing seamless upgrades during machine downtime, without disrupting the normal production schedule.

New processor upgrade enhances computing power, empowering AI quality control.

Kistler has launched high-performance hardware equipment simultaneously, providing stronger computing power support for current and future artificial intelligence applications. The equipment is compatible with the multi-cavity injection molding production scenarios commonly used in medical device manufacturing. The brand stated that the high-speed processor ensures smooth loading and display of multi-cavity pressure curves, and even when running multiple programs in the background, it will not affect the efficiency of data viewing and analysis.

For users with additional load acquisition requirements, ComoNeo can be flexibly expanded with new expansion components. Kistler added that the new hardware and updated software are launched at the same time, but hardware upgrades are not a necessary condition for the normal use of the software.