ENGEL, headquartered in Austria, offers one-stop tailor-made manufacturing cells for the efficient and cost-effective mass production of fiber composite parts. At the China International Composites Industry Technology Exhibition in Shanghai from September 3rd to 5th, 2019, the injection molding machine manufacturer and system solution provider will use the example of the automotive industry to showcase a wide range of technologies: from organic Sheet and UD strip processing to HP-RTM and SMC compression molding.
“For many years, the Chinese government has been vigorously promoting the development of electric vehicles.” Christian Wolfsberger, Business Development Manager for ENGEL Composites Technology, explained the particularity of the Chinese market. “Therefore, the theme of lightweighting has a unique momentum throughout Asia. ENGEL actively participates in it. For a long time, ENGEL has been one of the preferred partners of the local automotive industry. "In 2012, ENGEL established a lightweight composite technology center in Austria to work with other companies and universities to develop high cost performance New process for mass production of fiber-reinforced composite lightweight components. At the China International Composites Industry Technology Exhibition, the company will introduce a series of projects currently being implemented and ongoing development work.
Fully automatic one-time injection molding with ENGEL organomelt
The processing and functionalization of thermoplastic continuous fiber-reinforced semi-finished products (such as organic sheet or UD strip) using the ENGEL organomelt process will be a major focus of the ENGEL booth. Last year, the world's first mass-produced application was launched in the United States: starting with organic sheets, Valeo produced a front-end bracket with integrated air ducts for a well-known German OEM in Smyrna, Tennessee. ) Award of Car Award. This part has a very high proportion of organic sheet material, which can significantly reduce weight and improve crash performance. In addition, thanks to the double-shell structure, the air duct can be integrated directly into the support structure.
ENGEL provides one-stop highly integrated fully automated manufacturing cells for the production of composite parts. The organomelt technology equipment includes a duo injection molding machine, a viper linear robot and an easix multi-joint robot, an infrared oven, as well as conveyor belts and other processing units.
ENGEL's system solutions for fully automated mass production include a duo 1700 injection molding machine, three easix multi-joint robots for the preparation of a large number of metal inserts and organic sheet processing, a viper 90 linear robot, and an ENGEL infrared oven . ENGEL provides one-stop manufacturing cells as a system solution. Two half-shells are injection molded in the same mold at one time. For this purpose, two organic sheets will be heated in an infrared oven at the same time, however, they will be inserted into a mold, formed there, and then immediately functionalized by injection molding in the same mold.
The organic sheet is a glass fiber based on a polypropylene matrix. Similarly, glass fiber reinforced polypropylene is used for injection molding. Only this continuous thermoplastic method can combine the molding process with functionalization and firmly connect the support structure and functional elements. "The fully automatic one-shot injection process plays an important role in reducing unit costs. Another advantage is that the use of thermoplastic polymers simplifies the development of recycling options, and parts can be returned to the material cycle at the end of their useful life." Wolfsberger emphasized Say. "We see that lightweighting of thermoplastic composites is more and more a concern for product developers." If you want to learn more about this topic, at 11 o'clock on the first day of the show, Simon Liu, the head of the process department at Engel Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. And Valeo at the Automotive Innovation Conference (AIC) in the meeting area next to Hall 4 to introduce this project and UD strips.
Placement and consolidation of the strip during the injection cycle
ENGEL organomelt technology is suitable for organic tapes and unidirectional (UD) glass and / or carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic matrix tapes. With strips, semi-finished products can be designed as needed to better utilize the lightweight potential of components. Parts can be partially reinforced with a small amount of tape or made from a variety of fabric tapes (laminates) with a thickness of a few millimeters.
In order to achieve economic mass production, the placement and consolidation of the stacks must be completed in a timely manner during the injection molding process. As a system supplier, ENGEL can provide a one-stop integrated and fully automated solution for the entire process from a single strip to the functionalization of injection molding. The strip placement unit with optical image processing and consolidation presses is seamlessly integrated into the entire process, significantly increasing the production efficiency of tailor-made strip solutions.
ENGEL's strip placement unit can lay strips and weld them point by point within 3 seconds. Since the stack already has the desired shape of the part when placed, it can be injection molded and functionalized after consolidation without the need for an intermediate trimming process.
HP-RTM and SMC: More efficient thermoset plastic systems
Through two examples in the field of lightweight thermoset plastics, ENGEL will demonstrate that for technologies that have been used for a long time, production efficiency can be further improved. On the one hand, the CRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic) rear wall of the Audi A8, these large components with complex carbon fiber structure and local reinforced materials, will be displayed in Garching, Germany by Voith using a fully automatic HP-RTM process in an ENGEL v-duo 1700 Manufactured on an injection molding machine; on the other hand, ENGEL will showcase a transmission stand based on C-SMC (sheet molding compound). In a development project, ENGEL further developed the production process for this dynamic high-stress vehicle component in cooperation with the Institute of Polymer Materials and Products (IPPE) of the University of Linz, Johannes Kepler, Hexcel, and Alpex, Austria. The initial material is a flat carbon fiber semi-finished product with a fiber length of 50mm and a matrix of epoxy resin. Analysis of the first batch of parts showed significant weight savings and improved part performance compared to the original aluminum parts. From demanding appearance components to functionally integrated structural components, SMC compression molding can be used to produce a wide range of fiber composite components. With powerful measurement and control technology, flexible molding processes and integrated parallelism control, the ENGEL v-duo injection molding machine is the best choice for SMC processing. The processing parameters can be adjusted according to the requirements of the components in order to achieve higher quality.
In short cycles, complex geometries can be achieved with C-SMC, and ENGEL demonstrates the potential of this process with the help of a transmission bracket.