Smart Molding International 4-2021

molding technologies 39 www.smart-molding.com expand plastically like sheet metal but undergoes deformation in response to the movement (draping) of the fibrous material, which means that the com - posite material has to be supplied from outside continuously during the form - ing process. If the movement is too great, the fibers can inhibit the form - ing process, breaking as a result and impacting the rest of the process. Integrative simulation saves development costs LANXESS employs a range of calcu - lation models, allowing it to precisely simulate the draping process and so predict and analyze the forming effects and respond accordingly. Not only can LANXESS determine the optimum 2D cutting geometries of the blank, but the forming behavior of the blank can be analyzed virtually and in line with the customer’s tooling concept so that weaknesses can be identified and eliminated early on. This generates huge savings potential in the design of these processes. “For the load com - partment well, we also determined when the critical shearing angle of the fabric is reached during forming, where wrinkles form and when fibers start to break,” says Vonberg. “Our cal - culations and simulations also helped to ensure that the rounded corners of the component can withstand the expected loads.” The local orientation of the continuous fibers themselves in component areas with a pronounced 3D contour (e.g. in the rounded cor - ners) was also simulated. This is a pre - requisite for precisely predicting me - chanical component behavior in terms of integrative simulation. “All this is part of our service offering under the HiAnt brand with which we supported our customers’ development experts in designing the load compartment well,” says Vonberg. Further series applications In the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Tepex dynalite is now also used for manu - facturing load compartment wells de - signed to accommodate the on-board power supply battery. “We also see huge potential in electric vehicles – so for safety devices, complete battery system housings or components for the stowage space now available under the ‘hood’ – because our lightweight structural material is much lighter than metal and so helps to extend the range of electric vehicles,” says Vonberg, looking to the future. LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.1 billion in 2020. The company cur - rently has about 14,800 employees in 33 countries. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufac - turing and marketing of chemical inter - mediates, additives, specialty chemi - cals and plastics. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World and Europe) and FTSE4Good. LANXESS www.lanxess.com The load compartment well can withstand high mechanical stresses and is around 30% lighter than comparable sheet metal designs (all photos: LANXESS)