THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITES | INNOVATION
Thermoplastic composite materials and new machinery developments can provide injection moulders with the means to compete with metals and make complex structural components in high volumes. Mark Holmes reports
Composites open new doors for injection moulders
Thermoplastic composites continue to increase in importance as high-strength, lightweight construction materials in a number of industries, in particular the automotive sector. To make these innovative plastics a production reality, injection moulding machinery manufacturers have found new ways to use these complex materials suitable in series production. Not only are thermoplastic composites replacing tradi- tional construction materials of choice, such as steel and aluminium, but also offer significant advantages over thermoset composites due to shorter produc- tion cycle times and improved recyclability. Thermoplastic composites are central to sustainable lightweighting in industries ranging from transport to sport and leisure. Engel’s Lightweight Future Day 2021 highlighted a number of initiatives where thermoplastic composites were meeting lightweighting requirements while also accelerating series production. For example, automotive supplier Brose reported developments in door solutions. The company’s Michael Thienel said that through an intelligent mix of materials, Brose had succeeded in developing a door system providing new standards in lightweight, functional
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and flexible design. Compared to steel-based products, weight savings of 5 kg – 40% of the total weight – were achieved while maintaining the same crash safety standards. This is possible with a wall thickness of just 0.6 mm. One million door mod- ules made of fibre-reinforced thermoplastics (thermoplastic sheet) have been supplied to Ford annually since 2018. Brose has also developed the next generation of door modules with a new structural element that saves a further kilogramme of weight per car door. FACC is a specialist in lightweight components
for aircraft construction, also using thermoplastic composites. The company manufactures manned air cabs and unmanned drones in urban air traffic, with production volumes of 5,000-30,000 compo- nents per year. These are significantly higher figures compared to parts production for larger aircraft, which is around 1,000 units per year. Due to their long curing times, the thermosets primarily used in aircraft construction to date would be unable to meet the short cycle times required in this application. The recycling capability of thermoplastics also
Main image: Door module carriers
manufactured with Krauss- Maffei’s FiberForm process. Due to the use of continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic organic sheets, reduced wall thicknesses and an integral design, the module saves 1.6 kg in weight per vehicle
January/February 2022 | INJECTION WORLD 15
IMAGE: KRAUSSMAFFEI
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