High-performance fiber composite components from the injection-molding machine A process kit for innovative component developments

摘要

In the continuing debate about climate automobile manufacturers are more than ever required to produce vehicles in a sustainable and resource-saving manner. A important contribution to this can be made by reducing the weight of the vehicle, which can, for example, be achieved by using high-performance fiber-reinforced composite plastics. Fabrication processes for highly stressable fiber composite components, which are frequently based on thermoset matrix systems, are generally not suitable for high-volume production on account of the long cycle times (10 minutes and more) involved. The processing methods established with thermosets, which are enormously powerful as regards design freedom and production quality, are for this reason used predominantly for lower production quantities. On the other hand, by using thermoplastic matrix systems and processing them in injection-molding machines or transfer molding presses, it is possible to achieve very short cycle times of around one minute and thus suitability for large-scale production. In recent years Neue Materialien Furth GmbH and the Faculty of Plastic Technologies in collaboration with companies from the automotive industry have developed a variety of new methods, which represent a kind of process kit with which innovative components can be produced economically efficiently in numbers suitable for high-volume production.