news Hybrid moulding of module racks


Composites company Bond- Laminates, a subsidiary of Lanxess, has been involved in making a 1 mm thick module rack for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class convertible with various controllers mounted on it. Lanxess is now working with other system suppliers and automotive OEMs on making different large-area


module racks in a similar composite design. The rack was a demonstra-


tion project to prove that structural parts with a large surface area can be designed to be very thin when using continuous fibre-reinforced, thermoplastic composites. It was made using a hybrid moulding process by Pöppel-


mann Kunststofftechnik in a mould supplied by Georg Kaufmann Formenbau out of Tepex Dynalite 102- RG600(2)/47%, a PA 6 compos- ite supplied by Bond-Lami- nates. This was overmoulded with Durethan BKV 30 H2.0, Lanxess’s glass fibre-rein- forced PA 6.


Measuring 0.5 x 0.5 metres, Keter acquires Stewart Plastics


The Keter Group, an Israel-based supplier of plastic home and garden consumer products, is to acquire Stewart Plastics of the UK. Stewart Plastics leads the UK in the gardening grow- your-own market and also makes catering products for the commercial kitchens, food retail and hospitality sectors. Its products are distributed in over 1,600 garden centres across the UK. There are no plans for any leadership changes following the acquisition. Keter operates 18 factories across nine


countries, with over 4,000 employees around the world. Its products are sold in some 25,000 retail outlets across the world The company already owns Curver and Allibert, which both also make plastic consumer products of many kinds. A majority stake in Keter was acquired from the founding Sagol family last year by private equity firm BC Partners and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board of Canada. ❙ www.keter.com


The compound derives from waste materials generated during the processing of Tenax thermoplastics and recycled PEEK


the rack weighed about 50% less than its aluminium predecessor. Together with the integrated functions, this helped to make assembly quicker. The hybrid moulding process enabled the rack to be made even lighter than would have been possible with injection moulding. ❙ www.lanxess.com


BevTech invests in Netstal line


Toho Tenax recycles PEEK composite


Toho Tenax Europe, part of the Teijin Group’s carbon fibres and composites business, has developed a new compound based on recycled thermoplas- tic carbon fibre material and PEEK thermoplastic. In partnership with an OEM and Sintex NP, it also made a serial aircraft wing access panel as a demonstration part.


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The project won the Recycling category award at JEC Asia in November 2016. The compound, Tenax E-Compound rPEEK CF30 is a combination of waste materials generated during the process- ing of Tenax thermoplastics and recycled semi-crystalline PEEK polymer, which contains 30 wt% carbon fibre. It costs


INJECTION WORLD | March/April 2017


only 40-60% as much as virgin carbon fibre-reinforced PEEK compounds but has an almost identical performance in terms of tensile modulus and strength, elongation, viscosity, chemical resistance and abrasion resistance, plus a very low moisture to absorption ratio. ❙ www.teijin.com


BevTech, a subsidiary of the Thai Beverage Public Company, has invested in a PET-Line injection mould- ing system from Netstal for preform production. An official contract signing ceremony took place in Bangkok in April. “After careful examina- tion of all options, we decid- ed to set up our own preform production with the Netstal systems,” explained Thapana Sirivadhanabhak- di, President and CEO of Thai Beverage. Thai Beverage is the


largest beverage bottler in Thailand, with production including bottles for beer, liquor, soft drink and water brands. It is also one of the largest beverage companies in the wider ASEAN region. PET-Line is a production system for PET preforms which is claimed to offer the best cost-performance ratio on the market. ❙ www.netstal.com


www.injectionworld.com


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