KraussMaffei Group is now offering its APC Plus (APC) Adaptive Process Control for thermoset molding.
APC Plus controls weight consistency, despite batch fluctuations and filler content of up to 80 percent in thermoset molding, used to make automotive parts such as brake pistons and components for oil pumps and have to withstand high stress and high temperatures.
To run fiber-reinforced thermosets, processing must take place without a check valve, because curing partially takes place in the screw, KM said. Also, batch fluctuations in thermosets are more pronounced than they are in thermoplastics. Shot consistency becomes a challenge.
Baumgarten Automotive Technics GmbH, a KraussMaffei customer, helped the Munich-based machinery maker develop APC Plus by producing oil-pump adjusting rings on continuous three-shift operation for the past year.
www.kraussmaffei.com.
