MATERIALS | THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES
Right: Seat back demonstrator produced in the MoPaHyb project in Germany
properties, as well as producing economi- cally and sustainably. That means not only the use of recycled material, but also manufacturing products designed for recycling. Material substitution is primarily driven by demand from customers. However, we also actively cooperate with universities and industry partners with the common aim to develop new possibilities for design and to meet the technical requirements.” The automotive industry is
Below: The vertical transfer moulding presses from Dieffenbacher are available with FDC
injection units from Arburg
increasingly demanding a digital solution for components. “Starting with product development and FEM calculations through to the produc- tion of sample parts, it has to be proofed in advance so that everything fits properly,” adds Wöhrle. “However, currently complex material combinations, for exam- ple with organosheets, cannot be simulated satisfactorily, so work continues in this area. Nevertheless, our FDC process is a relatively new technology, which offers significant opportunities for new material combinations. In addition, the combination of FDC and continuous reinforced materials will have great potential in the future.” One recent example of the FDC lightweight construction process used in combination with transfer moulding is the MoPaHyb (Modular Production Systems for Hybrid Components) project. At present, large structural parts in auto- motive engineering are often only used in the form of thermoset fibre composites. However, thermo- plastics offer clear advantages, for example with regard to processing and recyclability. Sports car manufacturer Porsche has already
taken the first step towards thermoplastic hybrid parts, with the brake pedal for the Porsche 918 super sports car. In order to produce hybrid parts economically, even in smaller production volumes, modular production systems are required, which is what the MoPaHyb project involved. Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), contributors to the project included Dieffenbacher, Adient, Arburg, ARaymont, Kuka, Porsche, Schmalz, Siemens, Trumpf, Vitronic as well as Fraunhofer ICT, the WBK Institute for Production Technology of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the VDMA (German Engineering Federation).
The aim of the project was to develop a modular system consisting of
different machine concepts and lightweight construction technologies that would allow rapid configuration and implementation of individual, OPC UA networked systems for the series produc- tion of thermoplastic hybrid parts. The pilot system – jointly developed by the partners – combines a specially developed size 4600 FDC injection unit with a vertically operated 3,600-tonne transfer moulding press from Dieffenbacher. To prove the system’s performance and flexibility, two complex CFRP (carbon fibre reinforced plastic) products were manufactured as demonstrators – a seat back and an underbody. Arburg’s FDC process played an important role in manufacturing the seat back. The process is started by placing the metal inserts into the mould of the transfer moulding press. At the same time, a tape consisting of several layers is heated up, pre-formed in the gripper of the robotic system and then inserted into the mould, where it is given its final shape. With the mould closed, the FDC injection unit injects the polypropylene melt, to which inline cut glass fibres have been directly added during the cycle. In this way, the FDC process offers decisive advantages over the processing of long-fibre granules, says Arburg. It results in longer fibres in the component and thus improved mechanical properties, more flexibility in material selection, high material availability and reduced material costs. By combining transfer moulding with the FDC process, component dimensions and com- plexities that were previously impossible to produce can now be realised. In addition, new opportunities have emerged for the cost-effective production of locally continuous-fibre reinforced
28 INJECTION WORLD | January/February 2021
www.injectionworld.com
IMAGE: ARBURG
IMAGE: ARBURG
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