ENGEL Mobility Days continues its quest to boost future mobility

The strong two-platen machine duo tech 12060/1700 was producing foammelt (decompression foaming) demo plates with high quality structured surfaces by physical foaming with nitrogen. The machine has a clamping force of 17,000 kN and an injection unit 12060. It is equipped with viper 60 linear robot, and it features iQ weight control and iQ flow control digital solutions.

The material used was Borealis PP M15 Brocycle EE1300SY with 30% PCR content. The cycle time of production is 57.4s. Other partners include Eschmann Textures, Forvia, Kistler, Oerlikon, Piovan, etc.  

To reprocess shredded fiber-reinforced plastic composite parts to create vehicle parts capable of withstanding high mechanical loads, ENGEL is now integrating a glass fiber feed into the production cell solution in addition to the melt filter of the new Two-stage process. The fresh long glass fibers are admixed before injecting the melt. The production process is in the trial phase with promising results.

The duo tech 12060H/80Z/900 injection molding machine was demonstrating the above trial production at the Technical Center. With a clamping force of 9,000 kN, the hydraulic two-platen machine is large but has compact and flexible machine layout. It is also customizable from basic requirements to turnkey solutions.

Thanks to the efficient ENGEL ecodrive servo-hydraulics, demand-based pump output, the machine offers energy-saving production of large components. Besides, motors do not consume any energy when machine is in idle mode. 

The production of megacastings, ultra large structural castings in aluminum, is revolutionizing body-in-white manufacturing because one large part can now replace what used to be 70 parts. In addition to remarkably reducing assembly complexity, the body-in-white can be produced in a more sustainable and cost-effective way.

As the trend of megacastings is continuously developing, the demand of producing larger parts will grow. It consequently required die-casting machines with higher locking forces and bigger shot weights. One of these large solutions, the Carat 840 from Bühler AG, was also on display at the ENGEL site in St. Valentin.

In the morning conference session, experts from different sectors continued their sharing. Jochen Werner, Vice President Airbus Industrial Design, Airbus Operations GmbH talked about design and sustainability. He mentioned that Airbus is striving to implement sustainable applications through five ‘RE’: REcycling, RE-use, REduce, REthink, and REpair.

Jochen Werner also introduced the Airbus’s AIRSPACE C Suite concept which adopts using sustainable materials for different structural parts for suite. For example, lightweight recycled thermoplastics for the shell, carbon fiber waste reinforced thermoplastics for stiffener, biobased plastics for tray table for shell inserts.

As introduced, the Airbus C Suite will offer 10% more efficient layout with reduced CO2 emissions density (RPK) on A350 and A320. Besides, 30% weight savings can be achieved overall by simplification and application of new technologies. It is also circular as it is designed with circular design approach as well as use of circular materials and manufacturing processes.

In his presentation, Rene Adam, Director Research and Technology, FACC Operations GmbH, focused on the application of thermoplastic composites in aerospace industry.

He introduced the established production methods in the aerospace industry and discussed the necessary transformation in terms of sustainable material and process technologies for lightweight components production.

Are thermoplastic composites the holy grail? Rene Adam’s answer is “It depends”. He explained that there is a business case for smaller parts in high volume production right now, and a robust welding operation is essential for large scale thermoplastic composites. Besides, injection over-molding including the use of recycled materials enables circular economy.

FACC is a global aerospace specialist in designing, developing, and manufacturing advanced aircraft components and systems.

Peter Laichinger, Director Business Development, ElringKlinger AG, talked about how thermoplastic composite hybrids enables sustainable lightweighting. High level of component integration into injection molding process reduces energy consumption due to eliminated post-assembly process steps.

By one shot injection molding process, pre-cut organo sheets are inserted and formed in the injection molding tool combined with multiple additional inserts which are overmolded together to a complex composite hybrid.

Peter Laichinger pointed out that draping is the core challenge. Advantages of in mold draping are no additional process, improved processing quality, and best adhesion. However, in mold draping requires complex tool and automation, and short cycle times has to be ensured.   

Lightweight design and the demand for sustainable and recyclable materials for mass production have created opportunities for organo sheets in the automotive industry. Dr. Dirk Bonefeld, Head of Global Product Management and Marketing Tepex, Bond-Laminates GmbH, introduced some new applications for organo sheets.

One of the examples is the trunk well developed for Mercedes-Benz S class. It hosts 48V battery and is lightweight with high stiffness. It must secure the battery in case of a crash and is tight towards liquids from inside (battery electrolytes) and from outside (splash water, etc.).

Dr. Dirk Bonefeld explained that the tightness towards liquids is the core challenge during the development process. For complex geometrics and extremely deep drawn corners, the formed organo sheet thickness can deviate due to draped fabrics and wrinkles. It is also hard to adjust mold gap precisely.

To overcoming the challenge, the tailored solution TEPEX Dynalite with polymer rich surface is developed. It consists of two layers of roving glass fabrics in twill weave 600 g/m2, which is fully impregnated and consolidated in a homogenous PA6 polymer matrix.