KraussMaffei Group will show several composites technologies at the JEC World conference in Paris, March 6-8, including for both thermosets and thermoplastics.
A new, fully automatic system makes it possible to do wet molding, a cost-efficient alternative to manufacture lightweight components. KraussMaffei is debuting a turnkey system at JEC. “It cuts cycle times in half compared to manual solutions and simultaneously increases process reliability,” said Phillip Zimmermann, head of the composites/surfaces business unit.
Low cavity pressures when wetting fibers eliminates the entire preforming process. Wet molding is one of a few composites manufacturing processes that permit the use of recycled materials, the company said.
KraussMaffei also will show its iPul pultrusion system, which boasts production speeds more than twice as fast as conventional pultrusion processes.
Also at JEC, KraussMaffei will show a new nozzle-changing component for its SCS mixing head. Flat-fan and air-assisted circular jet nozzles that are required for spraying various sections of the component can be installed on a single mixing head and used in alternation. The hydraulic switchover unit is no longer needed, Zimmermann said.
KraussMaffei officials also will discuss a breakthrough for the FiberForm process in large-scale production. FiberForm is the thermoforming and over-molding of organic sheets, platen-shaped semifinished products that are heated and reshaped in the injection mold and then back-injected with a fiber-reinforced polymer.
KraussMaffei is based in Munich.
For information, www.kraussmaffeigroup.com.