JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #111 - March 2017 - Special JEC World - 67

JEC WORLD 2017
Process

Hybrid Moulding plus IMD technology for the
mass production of thermoplastic composites

JOCHEN BAUDER, Managing Director
Bond-Laminates GmbH
MARTIN HAHN, Head of Integrated
Technology & Technical Competence
Center
Leonhard Kurz Stiftung & Co. KG
PETER EGGER, Division Manager,
Center for Lightweight Composite
Technologies
Engel Austria GmbH

Thermoplastics are ideally suited for mass production. However, composite
reinforcements and surface treatments add extra processing steps, process
time as well as potential scrap parts. A live demonstration of the innovative Hybrid Moulding plus IMD process is planned during the JEC World
2017 in Paris.

his processing innovation combines
three major core processing technologies that had to be performed separately so far into a one-shot process, which is
suitable for the mass production of functionally-integrated thermoplastic composite parts
with defined surface aesthetics.
The three core processing technologies are:
1) forming of a continuous fibre-reinforced
thermoplastic composite, 2) over-injection of
a short fibre-reinforced thermoplastic granulate, and 3) In-Mould-Decoration (IMD)
based on a dry-paint transferred from a foil
carrier. This one-shot processing technology
with cycle times of 60 to 90 seconds is called
Hybrid Moulding plus IMD.
Process description
A net-shaped thermoplastic composite sheet
is heated in an IR oven above the material-specific softening temperature in order to
soften the composite sheet for the forming
process. At the same time, the decorative foil
is placed in the mould and, using a vacuum,
the foil is transferred to the surface of the
mould. Simultaneously, the mould is heated to the activation temperature of the paint
on the decorative foil using a rapid-heating/
cooling method.
As soon as the temperature of the composite sheet is reached, a robot picks up the hot
sheet and transfers it into the mould. The

transfer takes less than 5 seconds, so that the
composite sheet does not cool below the softening temperature. The mould closes and the
composite sheet is formed into the shape of the
mould. As soon as the mould is fully closed,
the injection moulding of the thermoplastic
resin starts. The injected thermoplastic fills up
the edges and the functional components of
the part. In the same process step, the dry paint
of the decorative foil is transferred onto the surface of the composite part by the forming pressure, the pressure of the injected melt as well as
the activation temperature of the mould.

After the activation time, the finalized part
starts cooling until the withdrawal temperature is reached. Due to the parallel process
steps, the total cycle time is only 60-90 seconds, depending on the part geometry, the
polymer type and the paint system of the
decorative foil.
Major technical challenges had to be solved
to make this processing innovation ready for
mass production:
- Full automation of three core processing
technologies into a controllable one-shot

Principle of
injection molding +
in mold decoration of
Tepex® thermoplastic
composites

No111 March 2017

/ jec composites magazine

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