JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #87 - March 2014 Special JEC Europe - 97

Multiple operations
Producing a formed part involves several
operations carried out in succession:
clamping, heating, forming, cooling and
machining. Heating appears to be the
critical step. To thermoform a part in
accordance with its design, the material
must be heated to the right temperature.

Heating performance
The "Flash" halogen heating elements
developed by Geiss in collaboration with
Philips are far superior to conventional
heating systems. Their technical characteristics have the following advantages:
- Due to the use of near-infrared radiation,
heating time is reduced and efficiency can

increase by 25-40%.
- The energy saving takes the form of
extremely short start-up times and a short
heating time to reach the desired temperature, and energy consumption for each
mould is reduced by 18-25% compared to
quartz elements (Figures 2a & 2b).
- The machine no longer needs preheating, due to the very short reaction time of
the halogens.
- Starting up new productions is significantly accelerated, due to the halogen's immediate reaction to changes in intensity.
- In the rest position, the heating system is
completely inactive, due to the extremely
rapid reaction time, reducing the thermal
load and wear on the machine and slightly
reducing the cooling time, due to the
lower ambient temperature.
In short, the Flash elements are ideal
for all thermoplastic materials: the low
absorption at a 1-micron wavelength
allows in-depth radiation penetration and
perfect impregnation, even of very thick
materials.

Ease of use

Fig. 1: Preparing a test sandwich panel made of
polyester honeycomb with a layer of non-woven
polyester (mould temperature: 120°C; forming
temperature: ~ 240°C)

Heavy automation of the machines at
different stages in the production process
optimizes the production cycles and
reaps savings in time and money. For
example, based on about 500 tooling
changes per year and for investment costs
of over €44,000, it is possible to save up to

€76,000 per year overall.
With the forming press equipped with a
system for rapid tool attachment, a single
person can change tooling in only minutes
instead of the 30 minutes to 2 hours
which are usually required. The rapid tool
clamping system is also available for plug
assist forming.
The machine can have servo control for
the table's highly precise movements.
Speed, force and position can be selected
and memorized. Servo-controlled plug assist is just as precise as a numerical control
axis.
All position settings can be automated:
e.g. for the clamping frame, for plug assist
and table position, for photocell height,
or for the opening of the plate frame. The
continuously adjustable window plate
system developed and patented by Geiss
consists of four repositionable plates in a
diaphragm-type arrangement. Two axes
(X and Y) can be continuously adjusted
independently one from the other. This
system replaces the fixed window plate
that is usually used, eliminating the need
to invest in, handle and store multiple
plate apertures. The operator no longer
needs to change plates when changing
tooling.
The automatic sheet loader allows automating production early on in the manufacturing process: the sheets of material
can be loaded directly from storage on
pallets that can be placed in the machine's

(a)

(b)

Fig. 2a & 2b: Characteristic performance of a quartz-type heating element and of a halogen-type heating element

No87 March 2014

/ jec composites magazine 97

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #87 - March 2014 Special JEC Europe

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