Send this page / Print this page Home / Composites News / In Brief

18 Jul 2007  -  Austria

Full house at the aquamould / airmould Battenfeld symposium

© Battenfeld

A total of 150 visitors took part in the Aquamould / Airmould symposium staged by Battenfeld injection molding on June 18 and 19, 2007 on the premises of the German sales company in Meinerzhagen. A combination of theoretical presentations with practical examples was complemented by live demonstrations of plastic parts being manufactured using gas and water injection processes on Battenfeld injection molding machines in the technical lab. The program was rounded off with personal meetings and discussions with various specialists and engineers.

The high number of professional visitors underscores the general interest in gas and water injection techniques and their successful application in the manufacturing processes shown at this symposium. Apart from German visitors, who were in the majority, the Meinerzhagen sales company of Battenfeld Injection Molding was able to welcome guests from Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

The informative part of the event was opened by Klaus Ehlig, Managing Director of the German Battenfeld sales and service company based in Meinerzhagen. Ehlig presented the Battenfeld product range and mentioned that the German sales and service company currently employs about 100 people.

This was followed by speeches on various specialized topics.
In his presentation, Helmut Eckardt, Graduate in Civil Engineering and Director of New Technologies at Battenfeld, not only demonstrated the numerous application possibilities and advantages of Airmould with many examples, but also presented sound arguments to show the benefits of Airmould equipment for processors. In the course of his second speech, Eckardt dealt with some characteristic mistakes that occur in processes with internal gas pressure, giving examples and showing ways of how such mistakes can be safely avoided.

In his first contribution, Mr. Roth, Graduate in Civil Engineering and Manager of Application and Process Technology at Battenfeld, pointed out how processors could benefit in particular from the modular concept behind Airmould. In his second speech, Roth highlighted the opportunities and advantages inherent in Aquamould water injection technology and Battenfeld systems engineering.

Mr. Dreyer of Simplast, based in Barr, France, pointed out the advantages of filling simulation for gas and water injection parts in his presentation “Simulation instead of trial and error”. Simplast specializes in gas and water injection technology simulations, so Dreyer demonstrated the great variety of options to save both time and money by simulation.

The series of speeches was rounded off by two contributions from processors who are using the Airmould and Aquamould processes in production.

Mr. Kohake, Managing Partner of Müller Technik, Steinfeld, presented a report about his experience with Airmould gas injection technology as his first contribution. Müller Technik has already applied this process successfully in the production of various types of handles. The result is an improvement in parts quality, in addition to other benefits such as minimized deformation, zero sink marks and a reduction in part weight, all thanks to Airmould.

Kohake’s second speech was given under the heading of “Metal becoming plastic – an idea becomes reality”. Here, Kohake outlined the development of a car seat adjuster, an application which, so far, had seemed feasible only in steel. Aquamould water injection technology has now made it possible to produce such parts bend-proof, with a good surface and within a short cycle time from 30% fiberglass-reinforced PA 6. In the afternoon, this part was also demonstrated to the guests in live production at the technical lab.

Andreas Wolff, process technology specialist at Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg, reported about the development of a clutch pedal made from 30% fiberglass-reinforced PA 6. The objective was to develop a clutch pedal consisting of 100% plastic.

Conventional models have a steel core completely surrounded by an insert-molded PA encasement. By this new development, the weight of the pedal - a vital factor in automotive engineering - was halved. With the help of water injection technology, the cycle time was also significantly reduced.

Wolff also took this opportunity to emphasize that the close partnership between VW and Battenfeld was the crucial factor in getting this ambitious project off the ground and seeing it through to the stage of commercial production.
Extremely narrow tolerances in wall thickness are of paramount importance for the functional safety of such clutch pedals. Each unit is checked and measured individually by an online ultrasound device. The clutch pedals are built into the VW Touran. Their production was shown in a video.

In the afternoon, visitors to the symposium were able to gather first-hand experience of the functionality and advantages of these processes. 3 injection molding machines equipped with Airmould and Aquamould were shown in production in Battenfeld’s technical lab.

The guests were able to witness the production of the car seat adjuster described by Mr. Kohake on an HM 210/1000 Unilog B6. The machine’s Aquamould equipment consisted of a WE 100 compressor unit combined with a mobile control cabinet, a pressure control module and an in-mold water injection unit. On this occasion, the professional visitors could see for themselves that water injection is actually a safe, dry process.

The Airmould process was demonstrated on an HM 130/525, also equipped with a B6 control system. The ABS faceplates produced here in a 2-cavity mold had previously been compact-molded. Without any changes, parts were produced in this mold within a much shorter cycle time and without deformation. The machine was equipped with a mobile control cabinet and a pressure control module. Visitors were shown first-hand that Airmould is an excellent solution even for parts that present considerable problems in a conventional injection molding process.

Handles were manufactured on a TM 50/210 toggle machine in a 2-cavity mold using Airmould. The gas was injected via a mono-module into each cavity through a separate injection unit incorporated in the mold.

A combined SEDE 11 nitrogen generator and compressor unit took care of supplying both Airmould machines with nitrogen.

The visitors made use of the opportunity for extensive professional talk with Battenfeld’s gas and water injection specialists. No question remained unanswered. Technical ideas were exchanged, new contacts made and interesting topics discovered for future in-depth discussions. 

Source : Battenfeld