SAMPE Journal - November/December 2020 - 32

FEATURE / THERMOPL ASTIC COMPOSITE BL ANKS
This was done by heating the hybrid blank in an
infrared oven and shaping/overmoulding it in injection moulding mould.
Scale-Up to larger Stack Dimensions
The current maximum outer dimension of a blank,
which is 860 x 340 mm, fits to an infrared oven that
has irradiator arrays of 1.000 x 500 mm. On the one
hand larger parts are seen, e.g. for automotive seating applications, on the other hand, the benefits
from the approach are as more effective, as larger
the stack's dimensions are.
With large stack dimensions, the duration of a
single stacking operations might increase slightly,
but when the area or weight of tape placed at once
increases by several times, the overall output rate
increases tremendously, expressed in square-meters or kilograms per hour. Therefore, larger equipment is requested. The current investigations focus
on a proof-of-concept for 1.100 x 600 mm maximum stack dimension.
The challenges are not only scale-up of magazines, robots, end-of-arm-tools, and the stacking
table. In particular, parallel utilization of at least two
cameras for the precise optical measurement is a
major change that is associated with the scale-up.
The framework of the consolidation unit is already
set up for the larger stack dimension, but adjustments with respect to compressive force capabilities, control, and dimensioning of the heating devices are amongst the current development aspects.
CONCLUSIONS
The conversion of thermoplastic composite tapes
into a rigid blank that might be processed subsequently with infrared heating, shaping, and overmoulding requires additional processing modules
for the stacking and the consolidation. A two-stepapproach where the stacking follows a pick-andplace concept whilst the consolidation is done in a
heating-and-cooling unit between thin sheet metal
dies offers both, outstanding precision and superior consolidation quality.
Furthermore, since the modules operate at
a typical cycle time in the range of one minute, a
productivity is achieved that fits to the conditions
typically in presence in injection moulding. The
utilization of an optical measurement system allows precise control over gaps and overlaps within
the stacks. The stacking as well as the consolidation
can be carried out net-shape, i.e. the outer contour
is already final during stacking and is maintained
during consolidation. Therefore, an extra cutting
operation after the consolidation is not necessary
in many cases.

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Finally, the technology allows desired thickness variations, which enable utmost utilization
of weight-saving potential with thermoplastic
composites. The industries and products primarily
addressed are automotive medium-sized components, sports goods and parts for health-care applications. Nevertheless, as thermoplastic composites
rise in importance for the aviation industry and
the technology allows advanced process control
and parameter documentation, the concept also
suits very well for the production of future medium-sized aircraft components.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The laboratory capabilities for the processing
of thermoplastic composite tapes were established in close cooperation with FILL Gesellschaft
m.b.H., Gurten (A) and the LIT-Factory of the Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz (A). The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of
the partners.
REFERENCES
1. Thermoplastische Composites für die Großserien Engel Austria erhält JEC Innovation Award 2020. Plastverarbeiter Onlineausgabe, Hüthig Verlag, Heidelberg,
14.05.2020,

https://www.plastverarbeiter.de/99019/en-

gel-austria-erhaelt-jec-innovation-award-2020/ (2020)
2. Müller, N.: Converging Technologies - Manufacturing
of Thermoplastic Composites and Injection Molding of
Structural Parts. In: 18th Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (SPE ACCE), Conference Proceedings,
Society of Plastics Engineers, Novi, USA (2018).
3. Müller, N.; Egger, P.; Zwicklhuber, P.; Steinbichler, G.:
Layer-for-Layer Precision plus High Performance. Kunststoffe International 10/2016, Carl Hanser, Munich, 6-9
(2017).

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SAMPE Journal - November/December 2020

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