Hybrid production chains have been increasingly in the spotlight in recent years. This also applies to the combination of conventional manufacturing and additive processes in tool construction. With the example of an injection molding tool, it is shown how mold inserts produced by additive manufacturing can greatly shorten cycle times, and thereby significantly reduce unit costs. The important thing is to find a suitable combination of processes from the variety available.

Additive Manufacturing and Hybrid Molds in Combination with Conventional Machining

Spritzgießen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

HSC- / HPC-Bearbeitung

Spanende Verfahren

Werkzeugkonstruktion

Dienstleistungen

Werkzeug-, Formen- und Modellbau

Spritzgießwerkzeuge

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Werkzeuge für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Additive Fertigung

Anlagen Additive Fertigung / 3D-Druck, Metall

Anlagen für die Additive Fertigung

The Potential of Redesign and  Part Consolidation

The toolmaker Siebenwurst uses injection molding simulation to optimize part design and production processes in its routine workflows. Among other things, Simcon’s software ensures the quality and dimensional accuracy of the plastic frame for the first series-produced injection molded e-bike.

Controlling Complex Development and Manufacturing Processes, Using Simulation

Composite-Halbzeuge

Halbzeuge und Zwischenprodukte

Kunststoff-Halbzeuge

Verbundwerkstoffe / Werkstoffverbunde

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Spritzgießsimulation

Software

Simulation

A Bike Frame from an Injection  Molding Machine

At the 2019 K fair, Arburg and Simcon showcased a filling process proceeding in real-time, as a 3D animation, on the display of a machine control panel, for an example of sunglasses, made of PA12. All that was needed to prepare this, was to load the simulation model, as well as the geometry of the part, directly onto the machine controls. This sounds almost too easy to be true. Right?

Interview with Eberhard Duffner and Paul F. Filz by the Magazine Kunststoffe

Doriat, Clemens, Dr.

Interview

The consumables required for In-vitro diagnostics are manufactured in a production process that is subject to high requirements in terms of precision and quality, but also the complex cleanroom manufacturing environment. This has implications for the entire plant technology – especially toolmaking.

Strategic Approach through Classification according to Product Groups

Werkzeug- und Formenbau

Medizinprodukte

Medizintechnik

Mold Platforms for IVD Consumables

In plastics processing, efficient production methods are required, especially for articles with high volumes and exacting quality requirements, and these must be constantly optimized. The container specialist Walther Faltsysteme has been successfully working together with the Austrian moldmaker Haidlmair for many years.

Walther Faltsysteme Combines Three Mold Technologies from the Haidlmair Group

Industrie 4.0 für die Qualitätssicherung

Industrie 4.0

Condition Monitoring / Prozessüberwachung

Instandhaltung

Paletten und Behälter

Logistik

Verpackungstechnik

Industrie 4.0 für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

Heißkanalsysteme

Komponenten für die Kunststoffverarbeitung

With Broad Sword and Data Collector

Plastics processors have a wide range of colors at their disposal to color their products. Choosing the right color can ultimately be the key to success. But colors are just as subject to trends as materials and designs. Kunststoffe asked manufacturers of pigments, masterbatches, and colorants which colors would be particularly popular in the coming year.

Trend Report on the Coloration of Plastics

Pigmente

Additive

Pigmente, bunt

Masterbatches

Farbstoffe und Pigmente

Kunststoffe

Photonik

Optik

Streifinger, Florian

Recycling

Umweltmanagement

Farbkonzentrate (Batches)

Farbstoffe

Effektpigmente

Kunststoff-Recycling

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Farben, flüssig

What Will Be the Color of 2021?

Susanne Schröder will become editor-in-chief of the magazines Kunststoffe and Kunststoffe international on December 1, 2020. The current editor-in-chief Dr. Karlhorst Klotz will leave the company by mutual agreement.

Werkzeuge für Leichtbauwerkstoffe

Präzisionswerkzeuge

Tiefziehwerkzeug

Werkzeugüberwachung

Toolmanagement

Werkzeugwechselsysteme, Spritzgieß

Modulare Werkzeugsysteme

Absaugungen für Werkzeugmaschinen

Betriebsausrüstung / Betriebsmittel

Absaugvorrichtungen

Fluorkunststoffe

Thermoplaste

Werkzeugverwaltungssoftware

Prüfen von Kunststoffen

Messtechnik

Biokunststoffe

Presswerkzeuge, Kunststoff

Werkzeugreinigung, Kunststoffe

Standardkunststoffe

Kunststoffverarbeitung

Lohnfertigung

Technische Kunststoffe

Füllstoffe für Kunststoffe

Kunststoff

Bauwesen

Baustoffe

Kunststoffhandel

Handel

Betriebstechnik für Kunststoffverarbeitung (Peripherie)

Kunststofffasern

Verstärkungsstoffe

Hochleistungskunststoffe

Qualitätssicherung Kunststoff

Qualitätssicherung

Change in the Chief Editorial Office of Kunststoffe

A tool logbook on paper is often not to hand just when you need it most. Or it is incomplete, since it is time consuming to keep the information up to date. A cloud-independent, electronic tool log, which is directly integrated into the tool could make all the relevant data available directly.

The Electronic Tool Logbook as a Combination of Operating Manual and Check List

Werkzeuginnendrucksensoren

Sensoren / Messwertaufnehmer

Messdatenerfassung und -verarbeitung

Papierlose QM-Dokumentation

Qualitätsmanagement

Dokumentationsmanagement

Mobile Datenerfassung

Lagertechnik

Digitale Transformation

Wirtschaft

Innovationen und neue Technologie

Fernwartung / Ferndiagnose

Dokumentenmanagement, CAQ

Data Management at the Tool

Increasing demands on component functionality and the need for efficient manufacturing processes are keeping multi-component injection molding squarely in the focus of plastics processing. Not all materials can be processed reliably in the desired combination. The new InMould-Plasma process, which is fully integrated into the injection molding process, facilitates more-efficient production and paves the way for completely new material combinations.

More Material Combinations,  Lower Costs

Thermoplastische Elastomere

Mehrkomponenten-Spritzgießen

Plasmabehandlung

Oberflächentechnik

Reinigen und Vorbehandeln

Dichtungsschäumen

Schäumen / Reaktive Verarbeitung

InMould-Plasma Streamlines the 2-Component Process and Expands  the Material Spectrum

Mold breathing provides useful information about the processes that occur in the mold and the cavity. Mold-maker Schneider Form and injection molding machine-maker Engel have recognized the potential which this process variable offers and have worked intensively on it for several years, albeit by adopting different approaches. They recently carried out joint tests on bumper molds using a two-platen injection molding machine with a clamping force of 40,000 kN and then swapped experiences.

Comparative Methods for Determining Mold Breathing

Energiemanagement / Smart Home

Installationstechnik

Druck- / Kraftsensoren

Spritzgießmaschinen

Using Breathing Signals for  Process Optimization

The newly developed Compactcube mold system from Foboha can be used on slightly modified standard machines in the low to medium clamping force range. This means that the advantages of cube mold technology are now also available for applications with smaller production volumes.

Compactcube Reduces Initial Capital Outlay and Maintenance Requirements

New Application Areas for Cube Molds on Standard Machines

Ambient lighting has captured the car interior – and facilitated orientation for the passengers. There is no need for anyone to fumble for the seat belt buckle in the dark in the Audi A7, as an integrated light guide shows the way. Kunststoff Helmbrechts produces the 3-component part and also developed the tool concept. The trick:  a so-called twin-turn tool which rotates on both sides. The company was awarded the GKV TecPart Innovation Prize for it at the K 2019.

Twin-Turn Tool Provides Solution to Production Problem with a Double Turn

Polycarbonat

KFZ-Zulieferer

Runway Lights for the Seat Belt

Anyone seeking to replace a metal component by a plastic one, to reduce the number of component parts from eight to three and simultaneously cut both the weight and manufacturing costs needs to take great care to ensure that all specifications are met – especially if the component is used in a hot gearbox and is subject to high mechanical stress.

Production-Ready Plastic Shifter Fork Offers a Maximum of Functional Integration

Kohlenstofffasern / -matten

Produktentwicklung (F+E)

Innovationsentwicklung

Inserttechnik

Hybrid-Spritzgießen (Metall / Kunststoff)

Replacing Metal in the Gearbox

Harmoniously integrating displays into the lines of a vehicle cockpit has always been a real challenge. Continental now uses a combination of film insert molding, in-mold decoration and injection-compression molding to produce large, three-dimensionally formed plastic panels.

Large-Area Curved Plastic Panels with Integrated Displays

Automotive

Elektronik

HMI, Bedienelemente, Displays

Display im Automobil

Thermoformanlagen

Warmformen / Thermoformen

Automotive Display: A Matter of Form

Starting with the systematic design of manufacturing processes and the precise simulation of part manufacture, through smart tooling technology and sophisticated melt guidance, to efficient mold temperature control, numerous exhibitors have many innovations in the field of tooling technology on offer at K 2019.The current debates concerning marine pollution as well as anthropogenic climate change and its consequences seem to be having an effect at this world-leading trade show for plastics processing in Düsseldorf, Germany. A number of companies are noting the growing customer interest in sustainable, carbon-neutral and resource-efficient modes of production, and offering products and services intended to satisfy this interest.

Resource-Efficient and Environmentally Friendly Products Are the Trend in  Tooling Technology

Temperiergeräte

Gießanlagen

Temperiertechnik

Normalien für die Kunststofffertigung

Normalien

Kaltkanalsysteme

Exhibitors See Green

Exciting Design instead of  Exciting Manufacturing

A 3D-Printed Nozzle and Modified Dosing Method Deliver Reproducible Marbling  in a Robust Process

Marbling is often a real eye-catcher in plastic components. However, the effect is difficult to create and there are some pitfalls when it comes to reproducibility. Novel nozzles for injection molding machines in combination with a special dosing technology allow marbled molded parts to be produced far more easily in a much more robust process.

Marbled molded parts have been around since the early days of plastics when, for example, combs or buttons bearing a marbled pattern were produced. In some cases, the marbling happened unintentionally because homogenization in the plunger injection molding machine had still not been perfected.

With the advent of screw injection molding machines, not only plasticizing capacity has increased, but above all significantly better melt homogenization has become possible, paving the way for colored molded parts without any color streaks on their surfaces. In addition, mixing elements are sometimes deliberately installed in injection units in order that mixtures of uncolored pellets and masterbatches may be converted into streak-free molded parts.

Now, marbling effects are created either mechanically with the aid of special marbling screws or by means of two-component injection molding machines. In the latter, two molding compounds of different color are injected into one cavity, usually by sequentially opening and closing valves which are located either inside the mold or between the machine nozzle and the mold. However, the production of reproducibly marbled parts in two-component injection molding machines is relatively costly, as two injection units are required and have to be operated.

Since parts with marbled surfaces often look very attractive and unique, they are still in demand, even though the manufacturing process is complex. A process by which they might be produced reliably and reproducibly without major technical outlay would therefore appear desirable. An ability to specifically influence the marbling patterns would also give designers additional freedom over the visual design. BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany, has developed one such process that allows marbled molded parts to be produced with little outlay.

Marbled molded parts typically have patterned visible surfaces bearing such effects as color shading, color streaks, lines and texture. The formation of the effect varies with the proportions of the different colors and the base color of the part. Although marbled molded parts manufactured in a production run are not absolutely identical, they look essentially very similar. Some of the patterns achieved with this technology are reminiscent of the appearance of natural materials, such as marble or wood. For high-contrast, clearly defined marbling patterns to be achieved, the admixed color batch must not be completely homogenized. At the same time, though, all the pellets must be completely melted and homogenized in order that the finished molded parts may possess the specified properties.

Initial trials conducted by BASF on molded parts revealed that the patterns differed according to whether they were produced with a needle-valve or an open nozzle. The number of flights of a screw tip was even discernible on the parts’ surfaces. The patterns arise from the separating and merging of melt flows in the channels of the plasticizing unit. This insight prompted a decision to rethink the nozzle of the injection molding machine and to employ different melt channel geometries in the nozzle cap. For this purpose, a recess for accommodating interchangeable inserts was created in a standard nozzle cap. As a result, the channel geometry in the nozzle can be changed to create all manner of patterns (Fig. 1). A symmetrical arrangement of straight channels, for example, results in symmetrical patterns.

Marbling proves to be particularly effective in the case of flat molded parts. But it is also possible to create three-dimensional articles that possess highly attractive marbled surfaces (Fig. 2). The marbling pattern is determined by the nozzle design and the mold’s gating system and the subsequent spreading of the melt. Thus, it is also influenced by the location of the injection point and the filling behavior of the melt in the direction of flow during injection into the cavity. Figure 1 shows the many possibilities for symmetrical parts that are gated centrally. Attractive patterns may also be achieved by using molds equipped with hot runners and tunnel gates (Fig. 3). The resulting molded parts are not centrally gated and so the pattern of marbling streaks is completely different from those shown in Figure 1.

Additive manufacturing processes offer a very high degree of design freedom over the production of nozzle inserts. In particular, they can be used to create channel geometries that cause the melt to swirl as it flows into the mold (Fig. 4). This affords a way of producing mirror-image patterns and rotationally symmetrical patterns. The swirling of the melt is clearly visible in the pattern shown in the Title figure and Figure 1. Such patterns were previously not feasible with conventional processes.

The nozzles can be produced by additive processes such as laser welding and layer fusion processes, such as fused deposition modeling (FDM) and fused filament fabrication (FFF). Catamold pellets from BASF, for example, can be used to manufacture the nozzle and nozzle inserts. Here, a filament made of Ultraform, a polyoxymethylene (POM) from BASF that contains metal powder, is printed by the FFF method, followed by debinding and sintering. The final step of the process entails adjustment work such as fitting the printed insert into the nozzle cap.

The marbled parts can be produced on standard injection molding machines fitted with just one plasticizing unit. All that is necessary is to synchronize the dosing of the material with the injection molding cycle. The materials are fed as usual into the existing feed opening in the hopper area of the plasticizing barrel. Conventional, only slightly modified dosing devices fitted with two hoppers are used (supplied, e. g., by motan GmbH, Konstanz, Germany). The base material, which is usually mixed with a color batch, is supplied in the conventional way, while a further high-contrast color batch, e. g. black, is fed into the plasticizing unit separately with great precision.

As mentioned, the process can be carried out on commercial injection molding machines without the need for specialized equipment. Ideally, the sole requirement on the injection unit is that it meets certain specifications, e. g. a low ratio of shot volume to barrel size. The injection molding process itself is not different from usual, and the process parameters are normally the same. The various influencing factors on marbling are summarized in Table 1.

Correct dosing and the combination of “contrast” batches and coloring component are also important in the production of marbled molded parts. The choice of color combination is key to a successful marbling outcome. If the contrast batch is overdosed, the coloring component very soon loses its brilliance.

Ultimately, mold design, part geometry and the nozzle used in the machine and in the hot runner determine the resulting pattern. In the course of conducting its development work, BASF tested molds fitted with conventional sprues as well as with hot runners. In both cases, attractive patterns were obtained. The finish of the mold cavity’s surface has an additional influence on the patterns’ appearance. Whereas highly polished surfaces accentuate the contrasts intensely, textured surfaces lead to an unobtrusive, matt appearance (Fig. 5), as is also the case when glass fiber-reinforced materials are processed.

Marbled molded parts are chiefly used for decorative purposes in the consumer goods sector. They serve as household objects, e.  g. bowls, plates, cups, handles, and covers, as well as laptop lids and smartphone covers, as fashion accessories, e. g. buttons, as decorative elements in vehicle interiors, e. g. caps and covers, and as parts for toys. For many of these applications, the polymers should at least have a food contact (FC) classification, as is the case for Ultradur B4520 FC, a polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) supplied by BASF. In contrast, various polyamides (PA) such as the Ultramid Deep Gloss or Ultramid Vision family from BASF are suitable for automotive interiors.

With the aid of the process presented here, it is possible to reproducibly manufacture marbled molded parts in different patterns on standard injection molding machines fitted with novel nozzle inserts and special dosing technology. Aside from PBT and PA, the process lends itself to other thermoplastics that are currently undergoing testing. BASF offers its customers not only suitability tests on existing molds and machines, but also support with nozzle design and 3D printing of pilot series, with the selection of materials and colorants and process control, as well as assistance with implementation into mass production. Mold provings can be carried out on the converter’s premises or at any time in BASF SE’s pilot plant on the customer’s own molds.