FOAM | TECHNOLOGY
involved in a lightweighting project. It said in its presentation that the earlier the decision is made in the project regarding the technology, then the more efficient the process will be. For example, component design and mould design can be adapted to the chosen process. Arburg also recommends qualifying processes with pre-trials and test moulds. At the Technology Days event, the company demonstrated Profoam on a hybrid Allrounder 630H machine producing a backup battery cover weighing 80 g on a two-cavity mould in a 30% glass reinforced PP on a 28 s cycle. A weight saving of nearly 10% was achieved. Arburg also offers customers Trexel’s Mucell physical foaming technology. The Profoam system differs from the Mucell technique in that gas is introduced into a special pressurised hopper before it enters the screw, where it is dissolved into the polymer during plasticising. This means that a relatively standard – and therefore lower cost – plasticising system can be used. Arburg says that Profoam plasticising is also more gentle than the Mucell system (which introduces gas into a modified plasticising unit) so it is highly effective with materials such as LFTs that are susceptible to shear damage. Mucell technol- ogy does allow higher levels of gas to be intro- duced, however. Wittmann Battenfeld’s proprietary CellMould physical foaming process was one of the exhibits at the event held in its facility in Kottingbrunn, Austria, in June last year, to mark the tenth anniversary of Wittmann Group’s acquisition of Battenfeld. The CellMould technology was demonstrat- ed on a MacroPower 1100 machine, making a side part for a drum cable. In the CellMould process, pressurised nitrogen gas in supercritical liquid form is injected into the polymer melt inside the barrel
during the metering process, where it dissolves and is finely distributed in the melt. Following injection into the mould cavity, the pressure drops and the nitrogen fluid returns to its gaseous state and separates from the polymer again, forming a compact outer layer and foamed core. The demonstration was one part of an “Expert Corner” at the event, with Battenfeld also demonstrating its AirMould gas-assisted moulding process on an EcoPower 160 machine making a coat hanger. Lehmann & Voss makes blowing agents in masterbatch form for foam injection moulding under the Luvobatch brand name. At Fakuma 2018, the company launched the Luvobatch PA BA 1001/1002 blowing agent system for foam moulding with reinforced polyamides. The new product enables weight reductions of up to 30% for glass or carbon fibre-filled PA materials. “As an example, foamed components produced with this system exhibited a performance factor for bending stress in the range from 1 to 1.3. Consequently, the change in flexural strength is smaller than the reduction in weight,” said Lehmann & Voss.
CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION: �
www.linde-gas.com
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www.kunststoff-institut-luedenscheid.de
Above and left: At NPE 2018, Trexel demon- strated its new MuCell P-Series system
moulding a yogurt cup with in-mould label
www.injectionworld.com
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www.sp-protec.com �
www.bockatech.com �
www.borealisgroup.com �
www.nmbgmbh.de �
www.ikv-aachen.de �
www.trexel.com �
www.arburg.com �
www.wittmann-group.com �
www.lehvoss.de
March 2019 | INJECTION WORLD 35
Above: Arburg’s Profoam process can be used for automotive parts, such as the one pictured which the company moulded at K 2016
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