Switzerland-based moulding machine maker Netstal Maschinen AG says it has received accreditation from the Swiss Accreditation Service (SAS) as a calibration laboratory for injection moulding machines in accordance with the international standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017. This entitles Netstal to perform risk-based machine calibrations at customers facilities and to issue standard-compliant documentation. The new service offering opens up additional competitive advantages for users from the medical technology sector in particular, as they produce within minimum tolerance limits and have to prove this on a regular basis.

The ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited calibration is for the measuring temperature, force, pressure, clamping force, length and speed. The accreditation number of the Swiss Accreditation Service SAS is SCS 0165.

"With the ISO 17025 accreditation, we have reached a significant milestone in the history of Netstal. It makes us the first and only manufacturer of medical injection moulding machines to receive accreditation as a calibration laboratory," emphasises Renzo Davatz, CEO at Netstal and member of the Executive Committee of the KraussMaffei Group.

Calibration in accordance with ISO 17025:2017 is available immediately and can be performed on-site at the customers premises. "Our new service offering is primarily aimed at our customers in the medical technology sector. With risk-based calibration by our qualified calibration personnel and the use of metrological traceable and calibrated measuring devices, we ensure verifiable measurement accuracy of the relevant sensor signals within a defined measurement uncertainty range," explains Daniel Wipfli, Product Manager Controls and Digital Products at Netstal.

Netstals medical technology customers gain a competitive advantage in terms of quality and accuracy. "In the course of the calibrations, our technical experts create standard-compliant documentation that our customers can use in the audit," Daniel Wipfli emphasises.

Of interest to users with high quality requirements outside the field of medical technology: With the calibration "Netstal based on VDMA 24470", quality-relevant parameters are checked with their associated typical tolerances. The tolerance ranges has been defined with reference to commercially available injection moulding machines. If the tolerances are adhered to, the machine is considered capable without mould and material. The VDMA parameters of barrel temperature, injection pressure, screw speed, clamping force build-up, clamping force reduction and parallelism of the clamping platen are supplemented by Netstal with the parameters of screw position and force distribution of the columns.

"By checking the injection position, we ensure that this quality requirement, which is important from our point of view, can also be met. The symmetrical distribution of the column forces is an important basic requirement for the longevity of any machine," Wipfli. With accredited calibration in accordance with ISO 17025 and calibration based on VDMA 24470, Netstal offers its customers from all application fields the ideal service.