JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #53 - November/December 2009 - 14

EQUIPMENT Mould EQUIPMENT EQUIPMENT EQUIPMENT EQUIPMENT The induction heating specialist turns to injection moulding Cage System® technology from RocTool is capable of heating and cooling the surface of a mould – and only its surface – almost instantaneously. The mould is cooled by means of a hydraulic system close to the tool’s surface. This process was initially used for thermoset and thermoplastic composites. RocTool now offers the benefits of its technology to the injection moulding market. - High surface finish parts for the following applications: motor vehicle interiors; bodywork parts; multimedia markets (in particular, mobile phones, laptop PCs and TV screens); the cosmetics and bottling markets; and home appliances, where the perceived quality is increasingly important (coffee machines, bread machines, washing machines, etc.). System modifies the rheology of the resin, does this mean that it enables the use of short-fibre compounds in shapes that were hitherto difficult to produce? A. G.: Indeed. We have been able to fill 30%-glass fibre reinforced PP parts for unparalleled results. For example, without induction the part may only be partially filled but with induction it is filled completely. In terms of surface quality, without induction the part is not "paintable"; with induction, the surface quality is significantly improved and the part is ready for the paint shop. JCM: In their efforts to continually push the envelope, certain thermoplastic manufacturers are researching into the production of RTM parts. What do you think of this idea? A. G.: We see great potential for RTM TP, and we did initiate a project in this regard several months ago. The problem with RTM TP is simple: not only do you have to heat up the tool as rapidly as possible in order to obtain an acceptable cycle time, you also need to cool it down. You therefore need a "heat & cool" process in a closed mould, otherwise it is impossible to produce a part within an acceptable cycle time. More information: www.roctool.com AN INTERVIEW WITH ALEXANDRE GUICHARD, PRESIDENT & CEO, ROCTOOL JEC Composites Magazine: RocTool has until now concentrated solely on composites. How did the notion of exploiting the injection moulding market come about? ALEXANDRE GUICHARD: We have been aware of the potential for this practically since the Cage System® was created. It could not be launched earlier since we needed to find a way of heating up the tool in just a few seconds, bearing in mind the extremely short cycle times involved in plastics processing technologies, and some fine-tuning was required. JCM: According to you, the injection moulding market is 20 times larger than the composites market. What proportion of this market could be interested in the RocTool solution? With which polymers in particular? And in which sectors (you mention the automotive industry)? A. G.: The markets concerned are those in which improving material flows (improved rheology) has a direct impact on the manufacturing of parts. We have targeted three major markets: Laptop cover - Technical and high-temperature materials (in particular, PEI, PEEK, PPS), as induction can be used to heat up the mould to 300 or 400°C and therefore fill parts that could not be filled using conventional processes. The applications targeted here are principally aerospace parts and engineered automotive parts. - High-viscosity (elastomer-type) materials. JCM: If we can return to the subject of composites given that the Cage jec composites magazine / No53 November - December 2009

http://www.roctool.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #53 - November/December 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #53 - November/December 2009