D-LFT TECHNOLOGY I
Press pilot plant dedicated at Fraunhofer ICT / LFT direct processing plant from Dieffenbacher
In the presence of more than 160 industry representatives, the Fraunhofer Institut für Chemische Technologie (ICT, D-76327 Pfinztal; www.ict.fhg.de) recently dedicated a new press pilot plant that features a thermoplastic press (630 t) and a direct processing plant for long fibre reinforced thermoplastics (D-LFT) from Dieffenbacher GmbH & Co (D-75031 Eppingen; www.dieffenbacher.de). A big future is predicted for this inline compounding technology, particularly in the automotive segment. The investment in Pfinztal amounts to EUR 2m.
Dieffenbacher´s sales manager Heinrich Ernst told guests at the dedication ceremony that the company´s direct processing units (D-LFT) were the most modern and most flexible facilities in the world. In the past two years, the company had already delivered 17 units. As a rule, the orders were for 2,500 – 3,000 t presses for manufacturing very large production-line parts for the automotive industry. The facilities could also be used for the production of thermoset and plastic foam parts. A facility with a 630 t press like the one installed at ICT, which was also entirely suitable for the series production of smaller parts, costs around EUR 2.5m.
The main advantage of the LFT direct processing method is the elimination of the cost-intensive step with a semi-finished product, for example GMT-PP. This not only brings significant cost reductions, but also much greater flexibility. It means, for example, that all kinds of different engineering thermoplastics with different reinforcing fibres can be processed into large-area parts in a single operation. According to Ernst, the cycle times for manufacturing car underbody shields is only 20 sec. In reply to a question from PIE, he confirmed that this process and the relevant equipment had also met with enormous interest among leading injection moulding suppliers to the automotive industry, because the process could provide more economical alternatives and interesting synergies with injection moulding. Pioneering developments in conjunction with the film insert moulding technique for the production of coating-free exterior car parts were also in progress.
• Plasteurope.com Service: ICT brochures ( German) “Faserverbundwerkstoffe” and “Ihr Partner in der Kunststofftechnik”: PIE-No. 45832.
Dieffenbacher´s sales manager Heinrich Ernst told guests at the dedication ceremony that the company´s direct processing units (D-LFT) were the most modern and most flexible facilities in the world. In the past two years, the company had already delivered 17 units. As a rule, the orders were for 2,500 – 3,000 t presses for manufacturing very large production-line parts for the automotive industry. The facilities could also be used for the production of thermoset and plastic foam parts. A facility with a 630 t press like the one installed at ICT, which was also entirely suitable for the series production of smaller parts, costs around EUR 2.5m.
The main advantage of the LFT direct processing method is the elimination of the cost-intensive step with a semi-finished product, for example GMT-PP. This not only brings significant cost reductions, but also much greater flexibility. It means, for example, that all kinds of different engineering thermoplastics with different reinforcing fibres can be processed into large-area parts in a single operation. According to Ernst, the cycle times for manufacturing car underbody shields is only 20 sec. In reply to a question from PIE, he confirmed that this process and the relevant equipment had also met with enormous interest among leading injection moulding suppliers to the automotive industry, because the process could provide more economical alternatives and interesting synergies with injection moulding. Pioneering developments in conjunction with the film insert moulding technique for the production of coating-free exterior car parts were also in progress.
• Plasteurope.com Service: ICT brochures ( German) “Faserverbundwerkstoffe” and “Ihr Partner in der Kunststofftechnik”: PIE-No. 45832.
 | |
D-LFT unit from Dieffenbacher in ICT´s new press pilot plant in Pfinztal (Photo: Fraunhofer ICT)
27.12.2002 Plasteurope.com [15230]
Published on 27.12.2002