Injection Molding of High-Performance Hybrid Composites in Series-Production

摘要

In-mold forming (IMF) is a new injection molding technique to produce high-performance light-weight parts. Unlike the conventional process, the novel molding technology is particularly suitable for mass production, because its cycle times are short, cost-effective and efficient. In this process, a pre-heated fiber-reinforced thermoplastic sheet is formed in the injection molding machine, followed by instantaneous overmolding, thus forming short glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic ribs to reinforce the structure. To show the manufacturing procedure as well as the new molding devices required, the system was implemented for the example of a steering column connection.