Lightweight, with a glossy surface and a sustainable message, describes the small blue turtle that will be produced on an all-electric PXZ 121-380-180 Multinject press using the sandwich process at the KraussMaffei stand at Fakuma. It has a black core made of mechanically recycled polycarbonate/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (PC/ABS) and a high-quality outer layer made of chemically recycled ABS.

Tooling and dynamic mold temperature control are supplied by partner Contura MTC. Near-contour temperature control optimizes the entire production process and is particularly important in order to achieve the required high-quality surface of the turtle at economical cycle times.

Stephen has been with PlasticsToday and its preceding publications Modern Plastics and Injection Molding since 1992, throughout this time based in the Asia Pacific region, including stints in Japan, Australia, and his current location Singapore. His current beat focuses on automotive. Stephen is an avid folding bicycle rider, often taking his bike on overseas business trips, and is a proud dachshund owner.

The processing and functionalization of thermoplastic continuous fiber-reinforced semi-finished products, such as thermoplastic fabrics or UD tapes, using the Engel organomelt process will be one key focus at Engel's trade fair stand this year at Composites Europe 2018. The world's first large-scale application has been launched in the US. Valeo Front End Modules manufactures front-end carriers with integrated air ducts for a renowned German OEM in Smyrna, Tennessee, believed to be Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In July of this year, the structural components won an Automotive Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) for their innovative production based on organic sheets and its outstanding properties. The parts contain a high organic sheet fraction, resulting in significant weight savings and improved crash performance. In addition, it was possible to integrate the air ducts directly into the support using a double-shell structure.

Two systems are used for the production of the blanks. A pick-and-place tape stacking cell with optical image processing and a consolidation press, which Engel will be presenting for the first time at Composites Europe. "With this new development, we have succeeded in consolidating stacks of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic tapes in the injection moulding cycle," says Dr. Norbert Müller, head of Engel’s center for lightweight composite technologies. "The consolidation press can be seamlessly integrated into the overall process, which significantly increases efficiency in the production of tailor-made tape solutions."

The two half-shells are produced in the same mold in a one-shot process. For this purpose, the two organic sheets are simultaneously heated in the IR oven, inserted into the mold, shaped there and directly “functionalized” by means of an injection molding process taking place in the same mold. The Tepex dynalite type organic sheets provided by Bond Laminates are based on glass fibers in a polypropylene matrix. Glass-fiber reinforced polypropylene is also used for overmolding.

Stephen has been with PlasticsToday and its preceding publications Modern Plastics and Injection Molding since 1992, throughout this time based in the Asia Pacific region, including stints in Japan, Australia, and his current location Singapore. His current beat focuses on automotive. Stephen is an avid folding bicycle rider, often taking his bike on overseas business trips, and a proud dachshund owner.

The consolidation press can be seamlessly integrated into the overall process, which significantly increases efficiency in the production of tailor-made tape solutions.

The Turtle project combines a high-quality mold with a high-performance, all-electric injection molding machine from the PX series and the new LRXplus linear robot. This combination brings clear economic benefits with an early ROI, while at the same time using valuable resources responsibly.

The core material of the durable turtle at Fakuma consists of mechanically recycled PC/ABS E-Loop 5120MR from Elix Polymers. However, a foamed or reinforced core made from recycled material is also feasible and offers further potential for sustainable production. The visible, high-quality outer skin is made of chemically recycled and processed ABS E-Loop P2H-AT CR, which can be supplied in various colors.

To be cost-effective in large-scale production, the stacks must be made and consolidated inline and within the cycle of the injection molding process. As a system supplier, Engel is in a position to offer integrated and fully automated solutions for the entire process – from individual tapes through to functionalisation in the injection moulding process – from a single source.

KraussMaffei claims that its Adaptive Process Control (APCplus) system is the only controller on the market that uses material-specific compression curves for process control. The APCplus database contains all common material types that can be selected by the converter for process control.

At Composites Europe 2018, Engel is setting a further milestone on the road to economical production of thermoplastic composites: The Engel organomelt process is being used for the first time world-wide in the large-scale production of front-end carriers with integrated air ducts.

"The increased use of recyclates has brought sandwich technology back into focus in multi-component technology and offers great potential,” said Manuel von Varchmin, responsible for sales of injection molding technology and automation at KraussMaffei. “Thanks to its precision, efficiency, and flexibility, our all-electric PXZ Multinject version is ideally suited for this. We will be demonstrating this at Fakuma using the example of the Turtle project, which we have implemented with Contura MTC and other partners."

This reproducible thermoplastic approach enables integration of the forming process and functionalization, and to merge the supporting structure and functional elements in an adhesive manner. "The fully automated one-shot process contributes considerably to the low unit costs required by the automotive industry," emphasizes Christian Wolfsberger, Business Development Manager Composite Technologies at Engel's headquarters in Schwertberg, Austria. A further benefit: the exclusive use of thermoplastic polymers simplifies the development of recycling strategies with the aim of returning the components to the material cycles at the end of their service life. "We can see that thermoplastic-based composite lightweight design is increasingly becoming the focus of product developers, both in the automotive and aircraft industries," stresses Wolfsberger.

Numerous features of the PXZ 121 injection press — such as the new sandwich platen, near-contour mold temperature control from partner Contura MTC, and the APCplus machine function, which uses specific property values of different resin grades — make the multi-component process even more efficient and economical, according to KraussMaffei.

The all-electric 1200-kN clamping force PXZ 121 Multinject features a compact, space-saving Z-position configuration for the electric injection units. In addition, the attached, removable sandwich platen offers a high degree of flexibility in production. This means that the PXZ 121 can be used as a single-component, two-component, or sandwich machine without any additional effort.

Part removal, separation from the sprue, separation into the grinder, and depositing on the belt are automated by the new LRXplus linear robot, which is premiering at Fakuma together with the MC7 control system. The LRXplus from KraussMaffei offers numerous new functions that make production even more flexible and economical. Thanks to its compatible interfaces, the LRXplus can be combined with almost any system, whether with KraussMaffei injection molding machines, injection molding machines from other manufacturers, or as a standalone solution for all other automation tasks.

The blue turtle that will be molded at the international plastics processing trade show has a black core made of mechanically recycled PC/ABS and an outer layer made of chemically recycled ABS.

The patented APCplus machine function now incorporates individual grade-specific property data. Image courtesy of KraussMaffei.

The fully automated, large-scale production system solution supplied by injection machine builder Engel consists of a duo 1700 injection moulding machine with 17,000 kN clamping force, three easix articulated robots for the preparation of multiple metal inserts as well as for the handling of the organic sheet, a viper 90 linear take-out robot and a size 5 IR oven. Engel provides this cell as a system solution all from a single source.

The all-electric PXZ 121 Multinject demos a high-quality sandwich application with a high proportion of recycled material at Fakuma. Image courtesy of KraussMaffei.

KraussMaffei is going one step further at Fakuma. All materials for use on the PXZ 121 Multinject come from Elix Polymers, which, like KraussMaffei, is also a Sinochem Group company. With specific material parameters from Elix Polymers integrated into the APCplus database, the machine function is precisely adjusted to the material being processed, making the injection molding process even more precise and efficient overall.

The tape-stacking cell was developed by Engel. In order to achieve the shortest possible cycle times here too, it relies on the pick-and-place principle. This means that tapes can be deposited and spot-welded together at three-second intervals. Since the quality of the stack depends on the accuracy of the tape positioning, Engel has equipped the stacking cell with a measuring system comprising high-resolution camera technology. The measuring system delivers data that is used for actively intervening in the depositing process, thus guaranteeing the greatest possible depositing accuracy.

The tape stacking cell developed by Engel uses high-resolution camera technology to produce precise stacks from tape blanks.

Pick-and-place stacking technology with optical image processing offers highly flexible use. The tapes can have almost arbitrary widths and contours. Because the stacks obtain their shape required for the component during stacking, consolidation can be followed by forming and functionalisation in the injection moulding step without the need for intermediate trimming. Engel is already using this kind of solution for the manufacturing of its own products. The rotation arm of the e-pic robot consists of carbon fiber reinforced tapes.

Another sustainable aspect is removal of the cold runner sprue, which is then shredded and fed directly back into the production process for the core material. This is accomplished with the new mini sprue mill from partner Getecha, which is being used for the first time. This also creates a closed material cycle.

Besides organic sheets, Engel’s organomelt technology is also suitable for unidirectional (UD) glass and/or carbon fiber reinforced tapes with thermoplastic matrixes. Tapes make it possible to design semi-finished products in line with requirements and thus make even better use of the components' lightweight design potential. The components are either partially reinforced with just a few tapes or are produced from tape stacks several millimeters thick.

KraussMaffei will exhibit at stand 7303 in hall A7 at Fakuma, the international plastics processing trade show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, on Oct. 15 to 19.

The consolidation press developed by Engel in cooperation with its partner Fill (Gurten, Austria) can be used to consolidate fiber stacks with deliberate fiber orientation and different wall thicknesses. All process steps are automated. All told, the consolidation process integrates inserting the fiber stack into the mould, transferring the closed mold to the heating press, heating, transferring the mold to the cooling press, consolidation, cooling and transferring to the initial station, where the mold is opened, the consolidated semi-finished product (blank) removed and a new fiber stack inserted so that the cycle can start again.

In terms of machine control, the simple switchover from skin to core melt flow ensures flexibility and quality at the same time. On the one hand, the skin material can be added to seal the sprue point. On the other hand, it is possible to switch between component A and B several times. This also allows marbling effects to be achieved for an individual design, for example.