Smart Molding International 1-2020

machinery 18 smart_molding interna ti onal 1/2020 N ow o ff ering two sizes, ENGEL covers an even wider range of applica ti ons and supports its customers from product and process development, through scale-up to series produc ti on. The new smaller reac ti ve unit can handle matrix vol- umes between 10 and 600 cm³, of- fering great fl exibility, especially for tes ti ng facili ti es, in the produc ti on of test parts, specimens and parts up to a weight of 1.5 kilograms. The second, larger unit can process matrix vol- umes of up to 1500 cm³. Both units are very compact. They integrate the complete media supply and reduce the footprint required for the en ti re system. In in-situ polymerisa ti on, the ther- moplas ti c RTMprocess, pre-shaped dry fi bre preforms are in fi ltrated directly in the mould cavity with the reac ti ve matrix. Thanks to ε Caprolactam's low viscosity in molten state, the dry fi bres can be we tt ed par ti cularly well. Com- pared to duroplas ti c RTM, longer fl ow paths and a higher fi bre content are possible. When the ε Caprolactam is polymerised to create polyamide 6, a composite with par ti cularly high load- bearing capacity is formed that can be func ti onalised by injec ti on moulding immediately a ft er manufacture in the same process. Gentle prepara ti on of material Servo-electric injec ti on pistons are a proven solution for injecting the reactive components. They support par ti cularly precise adjustment of the injec ti on volume and absolutely syn- chronous injec ti on of the two compo- nents. The recircula ti on common in re- ac ti ve systems is deliberately avoided. The volume of monomer melted is limited to what can be processed di- rectly. The reac ti ve components have a par ti cularly short residence ti me in the In-situ polymerisa ti on opens up great opportuni ti es in the produc ti on of fi bre-reinforced plas ti c components with a thermoplas ti c polyamide matrix. Based on dry reinforcement tex ti les, polymerisa ti on and moulding are combined, enabling par ti cularly e ffi cient and automated processes in series produc ti on, for example, in lightweight automo ti ve engineering. The decisive factor for processing e ffi ciency and product quality is the reac ti ve unit developed by ENGEL speci fi cally for the prepara ti on and injec ti on of ε Caprolactam. ENGEL has systema ti cally further op ti mised its solu ti on with a new, smaller size. For even gentler plasticising