thermoplastic composites | Innovation
for trials commissioned by customers. The Coperion Protec cooperative systems are based on Coperion’s ZSK Mc18 ers. The ZSK Mc18
or STS Mc11 twin screw extrud- series is used in particular for
products with a high torque demand (typically engineer- ing plastics), while the STS Mc11
series is typically used
Above: The 3,600tonne v-Duo machine for the Open Hybrid LabFactory project under construction at Engel’s St Valentin facility in Austria
company’s Production to Functional Specifications (PtFS) technology for multi-zone temperature control in the mould; this allows molten materials to be chan- nelled and cooled very precisely throughout the process. Surface Generation has recently completed a number of trials for large consumer electronics and automotive manufacturers using PtFS with an Engel injection moulding machine. “These thin and thick section tests demonstrated significant process improve- ments,” a spokesperson says. Injection pressures are said to have been reduced by 75%, making it possible to encapsulate a sensitive electronics within reinforced casings and to achieve enhanced resin-rich Class A sur- faces even with high fibre reinforcement. According to Graeme Herlihy, managing director of Engel UK, the Surface Generation technology “turned a standard mould into an intelligent moulding environ- ment and achieved significant process improvements during the trials. They were able to inject materials at significantly lower pressures and yielded exciting strength and quality improvements in the components produced.”
Right: Surface Generation claims its PtFS multi-zone moulding
technology can ease process- ing of compos- ite parts
New sources for LFTs Compounding systems specialist Coperion is expanding its offering in the area of long fibre technology for the European and Asian regions. In cooperation with ProTec Polymer Processing of Bensheim, Germany, it now offers complete installations for the production of long fibre reinforced thermoplastics (LFTs) using pultrusion. Glass, carbon, metal or natural fibres can be mixed into a polymer matrix. ProTec builds plants for plastics materials handling,
recycling and solid-phase post-condensation, as well as complete installations for the production of pultruded LFTs. Last year it acquired PolymersNet, based at Lampertheim in Germany, which has its own LFT plant
26 INJECTION WORLD | January/February 2016
www.injectionworld.com
for polypropylene. Coperion K-Tron equipment is used for feeding, while a Coperion Pelletizing Technology pel- letizer equipped with a special chopping rotor is used for producing the pellets, with lengths normally between 5 and 12 mm. Line speeds are up to 50 meters per minute, depending upon the used polymer. Protec supplies the impregnation die head, which is designed so that it cannot clog with filler material. “Moreover, roving unwinding with rotating coils, as well as roving pre-warming with individual fibre spreading, enables the best possible fibre impregnation,” Coperion says. Different polymers in combination with special additives can be used in the same production line. Coperion and ProTec are currently working on their first joint client project in Europe. At Composites Europe last September, SGL Group
- which calls itself The Carbon Company owing to its strength in various carbon-based products - launched a line of LFTs of its own. They are available as both glass fibre-reinforced and carbon fibre-reinforced semi- finished products in a variety of plastic types and are said to provide significant inherent benefits, including short moulding cycle times, weldability, good recycla- bility, and ease of combination with other thermoplastic semi-finished products. The new thermoplastic materials were shown at the exhibition in an automotive front end in long glass fibre-reinforced polyamide 6 with directly integrated unidirectional (UD) tapes and carbon fibre-based organic sheets. Long fibre compounder PlastiComp has continued to
expand its line of hybrid long glass and carbon fibre composites to include polypropylene and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) grades. It says that combining long
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