A true all-rounder: with two apprenticeships to become a turnkey expert

Oliver Fuss has completed not one, but two apprenticeships at Arburg: first an apprenticeship as a mechatronics technician and then as a process mechanic for plastics and rubber technology. Now he works in the turnkey division, where fully automated manufacturing cells are designed and built.

In an interview with K-MAG, Oliver Fuss talks about how exciting, future-proof and diverse the plastics industry is, as well as what a stroke of luck the wide range of training offered by Arburg was for him.

Mr. Fuss, why did you decide on a technical profession and specifically training as a mechatronics engineer?

Oliver Fuss: I generally have a great interest in technology - especially when it comes to electrical things. But mechanical skills are just as important. In this profession, both can be combined: electrical and mechanical skills.

Why did you do a second apprenticeship, as a process mechanic for plastics and rubber technology?

Fuss: Thanks to the additional training, I can also draw on knowledge of the injection molding process - that benefits me myself, but of course it benefits Arburg just as much. You only have one employee who brings electrical, mechanical and process engineering skills. For me, the turnkey business is an exciting area with future potential, as the topic of automation is becoming increasingly important in general and also at Arburg. Turnkey plants in particular require broad knowledge in both mechatronics and process engineering. Thanks to my background, it is easier for me to understand complex plants and to address any problems that may arise – whether during acceptance in Lossburg or during commissioning at the customer's site. The big plus of my "dual training": I can and am allowed to make changes to the electrical wiring, process special signals on the customer's side, and also optimize processes, since I am trained in all of these areas. As a mechatronics engineer, it is quite easy for me to program a signal exchange, for example between an injection molding machine and a robotic system. Since such complex systems are being ordered more and more frequently by customers and the turnkey business is growing dynamically, training must also be tailored to these increased requirements.

What was your training like at Arburg? What did you like best about it?

Fuss: In the total of seven years, I have built up a good network in the company, I am a member of project groups and active in the youth and trainee representation. What I really liked about my apprenticeship was that I was able to take on my own projects, from the initial idea to implementation. And that I was able to work out solutions independently.

The fact that our training center is almost better equipped than some companies was very beneficial to my training. We were allowed to work on milling machines, lathes and CNC systems at an early stage. The PLC lab in electrical training with various models for practicing programming procedures or electrical walls for gaining electrical or pneumatic knowledge was also an advantage. Due to the large variety of Allrounder injection molding machines that we have in our customer center, for example, I was able to get to know and operate the most diverse variants and combinations of machines, robotic systems and peripherals - from fully electric machines with all functions and special codes to hydraulic vertical machines.

This broad technical spectrum prepared me very well for the turnkey business, as there are no off-the-shelf systems here, but rather something new is always developed and implemented on a customer-specific basis. In this context, it was particularly important that I was able to gain experience on robotic systems during my training. I was allowed to operate the entire range of robots, from the integral picker to the linear Multilift Robot System to the six-axis robot. Today, this knowledge is very important for my work in the turnkey sector in order to grasp the overall context.

You work in a company that manufactures injection molding machines for plastics processing - what do you get out of the plastics industry?

Fuss: Plastics are used in all important areas of life, which of course brings advantages for us as a machine manufacturer, but also responsibility. Especially in the turnkey sector, we have customers with a wide variety of requirements, which we can address in detail with our technology and our knowledge. More and more is being demanded of machines, programs and programmers in terms of cycle times, quantities or availability of the systems. But sustainability considerations are also coming more and more into play: Where can energy be saved? How can plastic parts be designed more efficiently? Where and how can recycled material be used? Can sprues be fed directly back into the production process via a mill? These are questions that are increasingly coming to the attention of our customers and thus also of us.

Developments in the field of biobased plastics are also very interesting – there is a lot of potential here.

Your training took quite a long time overall. What is your conclusion now? In your opinion, was the journey worthwhile?

Fuss: Thanks to my training path and the correspondingly broad spectrum of training content, there are very many areas of application for me in the company. This confirms that I made the right decision, even though the training itself was demanding and took a long time.

Plastics are increasingly in demand and being used. And as a "generalist," you can play a very good role when it comes to saving resources and finding alternative materials and using bio-based plastics, for example.