A method is described for operating an injection moulding machine, which has one or more movable machine parts which can be moved by suitable drives along specifiable travelling distances. Movement of a movable machine part is repeated cyclically. In order to reduce the movement times of the movable machine parts to a minimum, provision is made for one or more of the movable machine parts to successively reduce the power reserves of one or more of the drives associated with a movable machine part, until a specifiable minimum of power reserve is reached, wherein the minimum can be zero. In each cycle, the power reserve of the drive or drives is determined and is successively reduced, in particular from cycle to cycle. A movable platen, an ejector, a core puller, a plasticizing screw and/or an injection piston can be provided as movable machine part.

A plastics processing plant and method for avoiding parallel occurrence of load peaks of a plastics processing machine, in particular an injection-molding machine and at least one production resource. The injection-molding machine, which includes a temperature control unit, hot runner system, cooling unit, flow controller, granule dryer, mold dryer, metering device, robot, and automation system, is connected via an electrical line or data line to the at least one production resource directly or indirectly via an external work cell controller. The injection-molding machine or the external work cell controller transmits one or several control signals or internal operating states with increased load requirement, to the production resource so that the production resource performs a load shift, load reduction or load shedding at the times of the increased load requirement of the injection-molding machine.

A method is described for operating an injection moulding machine, which has one or more movable machine parts which can be moved by suitable drives along specifiable travelling distances. Movement of a movable machine part is repeated cyclically. In order to reduce the movement times of the movable machine parts to a minimum, provision is made for one or more of the movable machine parts to successively reduce the power reserves of one or more of the drives associated with a movable machine part, until a specifiable minimum of power reserve is reached, wherein the minimum can be zero. In each cycle, the power reserve of the drive or drives is determined and is successively reduced, in particular from cycle to cycle. A movable platen, an ejector, a core puller, a plasticizing screw and/or an injection piston can be provided as movable machine part.

A heater which is adaptable to an electric energy which permits a power source voltage expected at an arbitrary place of use is selected and is attached to an injection molding machine in advance. When the injection molding machine is installed at the place of use, the power source voltage of a power source is obtained, as an actual power source voltage, directly or indirectly by a molding machine controller provided in the injection molding machine, an energization gradient ratio is calculated, as a conversion factor, on the basis of the ratio of the actual power source voltage to the rated voltage of the heater provided in the injection molding machine, and supply power to the heater is controlled by a power distribution process of multiplying a controlled variable associated with the heater by the conversion factor.