Maximum productivity, minimum unit costs

Transcription

1 ENGEL to set more milestones in composite technologies at K 2013 Maximum productivity, minimum unit costs Schwertberg, Austria October Orientated fibre systems have become a research priority in the plastics industry. The climate and environmentally friendly mobility of tomorrow will be based on a number of new technologies and materials. At the moment, the biggest challenge is developing economic processes for the mass production of innovative composite parts. With this in mind, ENGEL AUSTRIA is focusing on composite development and will be presenting more new milestones in conjunction with system partners at K "Lightweight construction and injection moulding are inseparable key concepts for meeting the increasing demands of the transport and mobility sectors," stresses Peter Egger, director of ENGEL AUSTRIA's technology centre for lightweight composites, at the beginning of the world's largest plastics trade fair, which takes place in Düsseldorf in mid-october. "Aircraft construction has been given the direction, but the well established processes used in that industry to make lightweight components cannot be transferred to car manufacture, which is dominated by high unit quantities." The objective of the technology centre opened in 2012 at ENGEL's large-scale machine factory in St. Valentin, Austria, is therefore to develop new processes often in connection with new material systems that achieve the productivity and cost efficiency levels demanded in the car industry. One important necessity here is perfect coordination between the material, designing and manufacturing process, i.e. the companies along the value chain are challenged to cooperate with each other and combine their expertise. "It's only interdisciplinary competence that makes fibre composite projects successful," says Mr Egger. "Composite technologies need composite development, this means development has to occur in an alliance with others." ENGEL has already been collaborating with partner companies, universities and other research institutes in the field of 1

2 lightweight technologies for many years. At its technology centre for lightweight composites, this network is now being expanded on a consistent basis. The fact that ENGEL has chosen the right path by opening this technology centre is not just confirmed by the ever increasing number of requests, but also by the competence headquarters project that the company is carrying out over several years in cooperation with Johannes Kepler University in Linz. This is the biggest project to be financed by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) in ENGEL's history. There are currently 15 ENGEL employees working in development, application technology and project management at the technology centre for lightweight composites, and this team is expected to grow in the next few years. The last person to be taken on was a chemist, the aim being to strengthen ENGEL's own internal interdisciplinary competence in addition to that with other companies. At the moment, the technology centre is focusing on the processing of semi-finished thermoplastic products (thermoplastic composite fabrics and tapes) and on reactive technologies that use thermosetting and thermoplastic systems, such as HP-RTM and in-situ polymerisation. Mr Egger says, "At this point, it's impossible to say which technology will be the preferred choice for specific applications on a regular basis in the future, but overall we believe that all four of these technologies have great potential." Innovative lightweight solutions at K 2013 ENGEL's wide range of technologies will also be reflected by its exhibits at K Both at its own stand in hall 15 and at the stands of its partners, ENGEL will be offering an insight into ongoing research projects and presenting close-to-production solutions. 2

3 ENGEL organomelt: lowest unit costs prepare the way for mass production Together with ZF-Friedrichshafen, ENGEL will be setting another new milestone in automotive lightweight construction at its stand in the form of a geometrically optimised and stress-resistant composite brake pedal manufactured using a one-shot process. The ENGEL organomelt method employed here involves composite fabrics (semi-finished thermoplastic products reinforced with continuous fibres) being heated in an infrared oven, preformed in the mould of an injection moulding machine and immediately overmoulded with polyamide. The highly automated system produces ready-to-install parts that don't require any extra cutting at all, meaning organomelt achieves unprecedented productivity levels. Traditional metal brake pedals cannot be made in a one-step process. Thanks to material substitution, the component weight is also reduced by about 30% without impairing the load-bearing capacity. ENGEL is presenting a very compact and highly automated production cell at the K fair. It has been optimised for the manufacture of composite brake pedals and combines a vertical ENGEL insert 200 single injection moulding machine with an ENGEL easix multi-axis robot and an infrared oven with a shuttle system. Mr Egger says: "As well horizontal as vertical injection moulding machines can be used for ENGEL's organomelt technology. We customise every system solution so that it is adapted perfectly to the application, the manufacturing environment and the degree of flexibility desired by the respective customer. The solution's overall efficiency is always the most important thing." One advantage of vertical machines is that insert parts are inserted in the direction of gravity, which makes them easier to handle and fix in the mould in many cases. The infrared oven, which was developed by ENGEL itself, allows a very sensitive and timeoptimized heating process for such composite fabrics, including thick-walled types like those used to manufacture brake pedals. Both the oven and the ENGEL easix multi-axis robot are fully integrated into the control unit of the injection moulding machine. As a result, all the system's components access the same database, which doesn't just guarantee high process 3

4 reliability levels, but also shortens cycle times even further. The machine and peripheral units automatically coordinate their movement sequences with each other, which cuts out unnecessary waiting time. Another benefit of the control unit integration is the fact that the machine and peripheral units all follow the same operating principles. The aim is to make all processes safe and easy to control for the machine operator including those that are complex and highly integrated. ENGEL v-duo: a powerhouse with sensitivity Another exhibit at ENGEL's K stand will be demonstrating the company's high degree of system solution expertise in high-pressure resin transfer moulding (HP-RTM) applications for automotive lightweight parts. Latch covers for KTM's X-Bow sports car will be produced on an ENGEL v-duo injection moulding machine, gaining higher productivity levels by ENGEL automation. It is the first time, that ENGEL shows the ENGEL v-duo, a new large-scale vertical machine, on a fair. It was developed specifically for fibre composite applications, but is also flexible enough to be used for processes involving high cavity pressures, such as those employed in conventional injection moulding. The large-scale vertical machine is characterised by a very high degree of rigidity and excellent platen parallelism. Platen parallelism control for the compression sequence is already included on the standard version of the machine. The ENGEL v-duo enables very compact production cells to be used at low costs. "Compared to conventional presses, the ENGEL v-duo is about 60% lighter in weight and has only 50% in terms of height," stresses Bernhard Lettner, the product manager for the ENGEL duo series. He adds: "This reduces the efforts and costs involved in laying a base for the machine. In many cases, existing building structures can be used." The clamping unit can be accessed from all four sides instead of just two, which speeds up maintenance work and also simplifies automation. In addition, handling devices can be integrated in a space saving 4

5 way to move straight into the mould area. By using sliding tables, insertion tasks can be carried out outside the clamping unit, which reduces the cycle time even further for many applications. The standard version of the ENGEL v-duo also comes with the servo-hydraulic system, ecodrive. The substitution of the usual conventional hydraulic accumulators allows the ENGEL v-duo to set new standards in energy efficiency as well. The ENGEL v-duo is available since the middle of 2012, but it is not a completely new product. "We actually installed the first ENGEL v-duo at the technical center of our development partner Neue Materialien Bayreuth at the start of 2011," explains Mr Lettner. "We were able to collect plenty of information there, and the machine has been used continuously right from the start for various development projects, some in cooperation with ENGEL." Development live in-situ polymerisation in a new process combination At its symposium in the summer of 2012, ENGEL presented the first prototype of a production cell for manufacturing thermoplastic fibre composite materials using in-situ polymerisation. Since then, the method, which combines the polymerisation and shaping stages in the injection moulding machine, has undergone further development on a continuous basis. At K 2013, ENGEL will be showcasing a new process combination in conjunction with the Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) at RWTH Aachen University. A horizontal ENGEL e-victory 120 combi machine will be used for this. "Due to the extremely low viscosity of the monomeric raw materials, even the finest fibre filaments can be infiltrated without being damaged, and therefore tailored fibre structures can be integrated to improve mechanics," says Mr Egger, stating one of the main benefits of in-situ polymerisation technology. The advantages of reactive systems are united with those of the thermoplastic world. The semi-finished fibre product which has been impregnated and polymerised can then be functionalised by undergoing a subsequent injection moulding process. 5

6 System and automation competence as success factors Combined with process integration and automation, innovative processing technologies guarantee a high degree of economy and efficiency in the manufacture of fibre composite components, and in doing so, lay the platform for them to be used in mass production. With its system and automation expertise, ENGEL adds the crucial success factor for highly efficient production concepts to the world of composites, which is still heavily dominated by manual methods. At K 2013, ENGEL will be able to further confirm its position as a leader in this area. ENGEL at K 2013: hall 15, stand B42/C58 ENGEL with IKV at K 2013: hall 14, stand C16 "Interdisciplinary competence plays a crucial role in the success of fibre composite projects. That's why it's so important to work with other companies and research institutes, and in our technology centre for lightweight composites, we've created the ideal platform for this." Peter Egger, director of ENGEL AUSTRIA's technology centre for lightweight composites 6

7 "The ENGEL v-duo is a very efficient alternative to conventional presses for fibre composite applications. It is significantly smaller and lighter, and the clamping unit can also be accessed from all four sides." Bernhard Lettner, ENGEL AUSTRIA's product manager for the ENGEL duo series At ENGEL's technology centre for lightweight composites in St. Valentin, Austria, there are various production machines available for joint research projects, mould trials and contract work. All the machines have been tailored to the demands of manufacturing fibre-reinforced plastic components. Images: ENGEL 7

8 ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH ENGEL is one of the global leaders in the manufacture of plastics processing machines. Today, the ENGEL Group offers a full range of technology modules for plastics processing as a single source supplier: Injection moulding machines for thermoplastics and elastomers, and automation, with the assurance that individual components are also competitive and successful in world markets. With eight production plants in Europe, North America and Asia (China and Korea), as well as subsidiaries and representatives in over 85 countries, ENGEL offers its customers the optimal global support they need to compete and succeed with new technologies and leading-edge production systems. Contact for journalists: Gerd Liebig, Group Marketing Director, ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH, Ludwig-Engel-Strasse 1, A-4311 Schwertberg, Austria, Tel.: +43 (0) , fax: -3009, gerd.liebig@engel.at Susanne Zinckgraf, Public Relations Manager, ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH, Ludwig-Engel-Strasse 1, A-4311 Schwertberg, Austria PR Office: Theodor-Heuss-Strasse 85, D Neustadt, Germany, Tel.: +49 (0) , fax: -03, susanne.zinckgraf@engel.at Contact for readers: ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH, Ludwig-Engel-Strasse 1, A-4311 Schwertberg, Austria, Tel.: +43 (0) , fax: -3009, sales@engel.at, 8