Smart Molding International 1-2020

machinery 19 www.smart-molding.com system and are not prone to residence ti me sca tt er. This in turn prevents ther- mal damage to the material. A further bene fi t of ENGEL's system comes into play in tes ti ng and technol- ogy centre opera ti ons with frequent recipe and batch changes: the residual material can be quickly removed from the systemwithout the systemneeding to be fl ushed. The magne ti cally coupled screw con- veyors for feeding the solid reac ti ve components are a new feature. They ensure reliable and process-assured feeding of the solids. The magnetic couplings are contact-free and provide a wear-free sealing to ensure that the en ti re material feed is evacuated. Within the user-de fi ned limits, the solids are con ti nuously dosed and plas- ti cised using an approach that is largely independent of the injec ti on process. Up to the moment when the material is fed in, storage and conveying of the solids remain strictly separated ther- mally and spa ti ally from the mel ti ng zone underneath. The vacuum above the moltenmaterial is maintained even when topping up the storage hoppers material, and this further boosts both process stability and product quality. Compa ti ble with all ENGEL injec ti on moulding machines Both sizes of the ENGEL reac ti ve unit can be combined with ENGEL injec ti on moulding machines from all series. A retro fi tti ng op ti on is available for injec- ti onmouldingmachines with the CC300 control unit. Complete control integra- ti on ensures that the en ti re process can be managed centrally on the machine display. Op ti onally, the reac ti ve unit can be operated as a stand-alone system with its own CC300 control unit. The range of applications for in- situ polymerisation extends from small parts with thin wall thickness- es through to large, highly stressed structural elements in lightweight automo ti ve engineering, automo ti ve electronics, technical moulding and sports equipment manufacturing. When overmoulding metal inserts or cables in very small structures, in-situ polymerisa ti on can o ff er advantages over other processes – even without fi bre reinforcement. Trend to thermoplas ti c composites The new reac ti ve unit is available for customer trials at ENGEL's Center for Lightweight Composite Technologies in Austria. At the Center, ENGEL is collabo- ra ti ng with the Johannes Kepler Univer- sity in Linz, Austria, and mould maker Schöfer, on the further development of the in-situ polymerisa ti on process. On account of the trend towards thermoplas ti c composites, this tech- nology is increasingly shi ft ing into the focus of lightweight engineering devel- opers. The con ti nuous thermoplas ti c material base enhances processing ef- fi ciency while at the same ti me paving the way for recycling composite parts. In the form of in-situ polymerisa ti on and the ENGEL organomelt technol- ogy, system supplier ENGEL has two production-ready processes for the manufacture of thermoplas ti c compos- ite parts in its product range. ENGEL www.engelglobal.com ENGEL's solution for in-situ polymerisation for the production of fibre-reinforced thermoplastic components is characterised by particularly compact system technology (All pictures: ENGEL) CC300 control unit.