KraussMaffei Group reports that a South Korean automotive supplier, LG Hausys, is using KM's high-pressure resin transfer molding system (HP-RTM) to produce components made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastics for high-end visible car parts.
At the heart of the system is KraussMaffei RimStar Compact 8/4/8 metering unit. It offers accurate temperature control and precise metering of the release agent. It can run both polyurethane and epoxy as the matrix material. The system includes two mixing heads — MK 10-2K-RTM — to provide exact material discharge, even when there are pressure changes in the mold.
The HP-RTM system allows LG Hausys to run the HP-RTM process, but also the compression resin transfer molding process (C-RTM) developed by KraussMaffei.
In C-RTM, the matrix material gets fed into the mold while it is slightly open instead of closed, so the preform is already partially saturated by resin. The feeding is followed by a compression stroke, which presses the resin through the perform, causing it to become completely saturated,
“Interest in solutions for processing fiber-reinforced plastics that are ready for series production is rapidly increasing also in southeastern Asia,” said Erich Fries, KM's manager of the Composites and Surfaces Business unit. “Particularly in Korea, we are seeing great interest in HP-RTM systems.
Fries said KraussMaffei has more than 70 HP-RTM systems on the market around the world.
In other news, KM's compounding extruder business, KraussMaffei Berstorff, hosted 160 people for its ZE BluePower TecDay in Hannover, Germany, on Feb. 24.
KraussMaffei Berstorff ran demonstrations on its newest twin-screw extruder development, the ZE BluePower Torque. The extruder ran 30-percent glass filled nylon 6 at a rate of 5,510 pounds an hour, at about 90 percent torque and a screw speed of 1,200 revolutions per minute.
“Such a performance level is simply unique for this machine size,” said Ralf Dahl, head of the Twin-Screw Extruder Division at KraussMaffei Berstorff.
KraussMaffei is based in Munich. The machinery maker's U.S. headquarters, KraussMaffei Corp., is in Florence, Ky.
Tel. 859-283-0200.
