TPT July 2014

Technology News

High-pressure resin transfer moulding from KraussMaffei ‘LIGHTWEIGHT design’ is changing automotive manufacturing with reinforced plastic components with cycle times of just three minutes.

interest in lightweight components from OEMs and expect to start to use these in series production, step by step.” The HP-RTM process allows fibre content of up to 70 per cent, and enables the use of polyurethane, epoxy resin or base polyamide as a matrix material. To make the production of fibre- composite components for the automotive sector suitable for series production, KraussMaffei has carried out work in many areas, for mould carriers, in mixing and dosing technology, and in energy-efficient pumps. Erich Fries, head of the composites and surfaces business unit, commented, “To shorten the cycle times in the RTM process and to increase the quality of the parts, we have developed new self- cleaning, high-pressure RTM mixing heads to ensure excellent mixing of the matrix components and short response times. One important advantage for the customers is the development of a precise metered addition of release agents directly via the mixing head, which means that the manual release agent procedure is no longer required.” KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH – Germany Website: www.kraussmaffei.com

NBHX expects that lightweight construction will see above-average growth, and has therefore invested in the high-pressure RTM technology from KraussMaffei. A high-pressure RimStar Compact 8/4 RTM machine was commissioned for manufacturing epoxy resin parts, and a second RimStar Compact 8/8 RTM machine was commissioned for manufacturing parts with a polyurethane matrix. Added to these are an MX mould carrier with a mould fixing area of 3,000 x 2,000mm

increasing speed. Components that were traditionally manufactured from steel or aluminium are giving way to fibre-reinforced plastic parts: sidewall panels, base pans, entire roofs, front- end carriers, carbon design parts and more. KraussMaffei is playing a role in ensuring that these parts can also be mass-produced economically. The Chinese automotive supplier NBHX is now also taking advantage of the opportunity to manufacture fibre-

and a clamping force of 600 tonnes, and a prototype mould. The general manager of NBHX’s R&D department, Dr-Ing Karsten Brast, attaches strategic importance to the investment in the new machines and systems from KraussMaffei: “Based on the feedback from several customers, we are confident that, with the HP-RTM technology, we are on the right path. We have already noticed great

The RimStar Compact 8/4 RTM and RimStar Compact 8/8 RTM metering machines Tool equipment manufacturing

from India ATLAS Knives (DB Engg) was formed 60 years ago and has evolved to become one of India’s largest tool equipment manufacturers. It currently has a staff of over 600 people with specialists in the field of manufacturing, metallurgy, engineering and management. The company’s product portfolio includes a wide range of knives and tools for the metal, paper, printing, packaging, plastic, wood, rubber and recycling industries. The company is headquartered in New Delhi, India and has five manu- facturing units, which cover an area of over 150,000ft 2 .

Atlas Knives is capable of manu- facturing rolls for tube sizes ranging from 0.5" to 12". Only high quality forged bars are used in the manufacturing of rolls. This combined with a great emphasis on quality standards and assurance and a design team with over 25 years of experience has helped establish the Atlas Knives brand all over the world, with the company currently exporting to over 65 countries worldwide.

The company boasts an ISO certified heat treatment plant with over 25 furnaces and an in-house cryogenic facility along with a state-of-the art CNC manufacturing setup. The design team at Atlas has extensive production experience in the tube mill industry, which helps ensure that it meets all customer requirements from design all the way through to production. The company uses special custom software for the designing of rolls for both closed and open section profiles, and has over 27 years of experience in the manufacturing of rolls.

DB Engineering – India Email: sales@atlasknives.com Website: www.atlasknives.com

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J uly 2014