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Injection Molding Process for Lightweight Plastic Parts
Warpage and Weight Reduction of your plastic parts
Would you like to reduce the weight of your injection molded products and also contribute to CO2 savings? With ENGEL's injection molding processes, you can produce high-quality lightweight plastic parts. You save up to 20% in weight.
Requirements for plastic products are becoming more complex. Warpage and weight reduction of cars and of plastic parts are an important thing. Mechanical properties such as stability and crash performance should remain similar. In weight-sensitive areas such as automotive manufacturing, the total weight of the product contributes significantly to energy savings. We offer the right injection molding processes to produce lightweight plastic parts: Like different foaming technologies, the organomelt process, forming and back injection of fiber-reinforced semi-finished products.
In foam injection molding, plastic is foamed in the mold. Part of the material is replaced by gas. This enables a material saving of over 20% for lightweight plastic parts compared to a compact component. Less material means lower part costs. The mechanical properties of the component, such as resistance, remain the same.
Since foamed lightweight plastic parts are partly made of gas, small gas streaks can appear on the part surface during foaming. If you use the right material and additional injection molding processes, the surface of foamed parts can be visually improved: The variotherm hot-cooling process gives parts more gloss and an attractive appearance. Foil back molding enables high-quality component surfaces.
Foaming reduces the viscosity of the injected material. The injection process therefore requires a lower injection pressure, which results in lower clamping force requirements. Our tie-bar-less machine series is perfect for the injection molding production of large lightweight parts. Thanks to the larger mold area, a smaller clamping unit is sufficient even for large molds.
Requirements for plastic products are becoming more complex. Warpage and weight reduction of cars and of plastic parts are an important thing. Mechanical properties such as stability and crash performance should remain similar. In weight-sensitive areas such as automotive manufacturing, the total weight of the product contributes significantly to energy savings. We offer the right injection molding processes to produce lightweight plastic parts: Like different foaming technologies, the organomelt process, forming and back injection of fiber-reinforced semi-finished products.
In foam injection molding, plastic is foamed in the mold. Part of the material is replaced by gas. This enables a material saving of over 20% for lightweight plastic parts compared to a compact component. Less material means lower part costs. The mechanical properties of the component, such as resistance, remain the same.
Since foamed lightweight plastic parts are partly made of gas, small gas streaks can appear on the part surface during foaming. If you use the right material and additional injection molding processes, the surface of foamed parts can be visually improved: The variotherm hot-cooling process gives parts more gloss and an attractive appearance. Foil back molding enables high-quality component surfaces.
Foaming reduces the viscosity of the injected material. The injection process therefore requires a lower injection pressure, which results in lower clamping force requirements. Our tie-bar-less machine series is perfect for the injection molding production of large lightweight parts. Thanks to the larger mold area, a smaller clamping unit is sufficient even for large molds.
We provide you with our knowledge for the design of lightweight components. Reduce your costs and save energy. We will be happy to work on a project together.
Injection Molding Processes for Lightweight Plastic Parts - An Overview
| Process | Product name | Industry | Application | Procedure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foam injection molding, MuCell | foammelt | Automotive & transport, technical injection molding, electronics | Interior, structure, logistics, connector, housing | Produce injection molded parts with foam structure |
| Internal Gas Pressure Technology (GIT) Water Injection Technology (WIT) | fluidmelt | Automotive & transport, technical injection molding, electronics | Oil dipstick, furniture, logistics | Producing hollow areas by injection molding |
| Composite / lightweight construction | organomelt, UD-Tapes, In-situ, SMC, HP-RTM | Automotive & transport, electronics | Structure, engine bay cover, cover for electronic components | Producing thermoplastic composite components |
| Injection compression/coining | coinmelt | Automotive & transport, electronics | Headlights, light guides, glazing, television housings, covers for electronic components | Produce precise components with low residual stresses via injection compression/coining |
| Multi-component injection molding | combimelt | Automotive & transport, technical injection molding, electronics | Trim interior/exterior | Combining different types of plastics or thermosets in one part |
Thermoplastic composites pave the way for lightweight plastic components to enter the circular economy. With ENGEL injection molding processes, regranulates can be processed from organic sheet metal trimmings while keeping the material properties. The result: composite raw materials stay in the cycle.
Lightweight plastic components, energy-saving processes or the combination of several process steps, all of it can be summarized as: Sustainability. Thermoplastic foam injection molding is a promising process.
With foammelt (MuCell®), you can create warpage-free, lightweight technical plastic parts. The metered propellant gas is released in a controlled manner during the injection molding process. The foaming process begins. The cell distribution in the foam structure is homogenized once again by a negative coining process.
MuCell® is a registered trademark of Trexel, Inc.
Lower weight due to microfine foam with homogeneous cell structure.
Adding propellant gas (nitrogen or carbon dioxide) directly into the melt.
Patented low-pressure injection molding process.
Foam injection molding with optimum ease of use and machine productivity.
High quality
High-precision, low warpage and dimensionally stable molded parts
fluidmelt is the right technology when it comes to forming hollow areas, complex pipe structures or avoiding shrinkage contraction. Fluid injection technology helps you produce molded parts with greater wall thickness or considerable wall thickness differences without unwanted surface disturbances.
Defined cavities allow a material-saving and cost-effective production.
For molded parts with greater wall thickness and considerable wall thickness differences.
Precise surface
Reduced wall thickness
Injection Molded Bicycle Frame with V-frames
In this video, you will see the first injection molded bicycle frame created with lightweight plastic parts. Manufactured with thermoplastic composites and a hollow, closed tube geometry.
 "Injection Molded Bicycle Frame with V-frames")
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The reduction of weight and warpage as well as the replacement of metal in components are common today. Functional integration and multi-material design ensure a sustainable and economical production. With our innovative injection molding processes, you can produce lightweight plastic parts efficiently and in high quality.
Precision and performance - layer by layer
Stacking and consolidation of the tapes takes place in line with the injection molding process. A pick-and-place tape stacking unit with optical image processing is followed by a consolidation unit that can be integrated into the overall process. In this way, we enable a tape stack that is precisely adapted to the component geometry, the next process steps can be done without the need for trimming.
Your advantages with UD-tapes
Fast, high-resolution camera technology: Incorrect geometries and inaccuracies can be reliably detected and corrected.
Experience from our own production: ENGEL uses thermoplastic UD carbon tapes for the production of the e-pic robot’s swivel arm
Technology center for lightweight composites: Research and development as well as implementation of customized machine solutions.
Result
High precision despite high deposit speed
In-situ technology opens new opportunities for the production of fiber-reinforced lightweight plastic components with a thermoplastic polyamide matrix. The application ranges from thin composite components to structural components that are under high stress. Starting from dry, preformed reinforcement textiles, polymerization and molding processes are combined.
Your advantages with in-situ polymerization
Efficient manufacturing concepts: For fully automated parts production.
Extended range of components: Easy to weld and make functional.
Customized part design: Fiber reinforcement where it is needed.
Optimum composite adhesion: Thanks to thermoplastic matrix.
Result
Highest precision through servo-electric drives
Excellent process stability due to specially developed software tools
Replace steel and aluminum with lightweight components. ENGEL organomelt is the ideal process for producing components with high stability and the best mechanical properties.
Your advantages with the organomelt process
One-shot manufacturing: Highly integrated, automated thermoforming and injection molding process for organic sheets.
Saving costs: Cost- and resource-saving production of ready-to-use lightweight construction parts.
Various applications: Innovative lightweight plastic technology for automotive parts, portable electronic devices, etc.
Technology center for lightweight composites: Research and development as well as implementation of customized machine solutions.
Result
Maximum stability thanks to composite technology
Durable composite of thermoplastic fiber semi-finished products with high-quality plastics
Fiber composite technology for thermosets
Efficiently manufacture large, stable and lightweight components: ENGEL HP-RTM fiber composite technology gives you better molding and the best properties for large parts in the automotive industry. In this process, dry semi-finished fiber products are impregnated with injected resin and cured under heat.
Your advantages with HP-RTM
Compact production unit: Low overall height and foundation load.
High process reliability: Process monitoring and documentation.
Perfectly designed production: Fully integrated control of the resin injection system.
Clamping units with ENGEL ecodrive as standard and proven ENGEL automation
Result
More efficiency
High quality parts
Maximum stability for roof systems and body parts.
In SMC technology, a stack of carbon or glass fiber-reinforced, flexible semi-finished blanks is usually processed in a compression molding process and a heated mold. The ENGEL v-duo machine series features high clamping speeds and active parallelism control. It is the ideal prerequisite for fully automated and precise SMC component production.
Your advantages with the SMC process
Functional component properties: Complex geometries and function integration possible directly on the part.
Fully automated manufacturing cells: From the semi-finished product to the finished, ready-to-install component.
Paintable components: By using in-mold coating, surfaces of high quality can be optimally prepared for subsequent painting.
Result
Structural lightweight elements with excellent strength values
High performance in automotive lightweight construction
Produce innovative molded parts from different materials in a single step.
Processes:
Multi-color parts
Hard - soft composites
Thermoplastic - rubber composites
Thermoplastic - LSR composites
Assembly injection molding
Produce components with up to six injection units that can be controlled simultaneously or sequentially.
Machines for composite injection molding with short cycle times.
The process enables different color variations and haptic experiences.
The need for subsequent assembly and printing is eliminated. Different controls are produced in a single cycle.
Superior product features
Many color combinations
Additional component functions
Multi-Component Injection Molding in Practice
Experience combimelt technology - Integration of design and functionality on a tie-bar-less victory 120 combi injection molding machine.
 "Multi-Component Injection Molding in Practice")
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Produce precise surfaces for particularly high demands. With the ENGEL coinmelt injection compression molding process, you can achieve perfect quality for everything from automotive glazing and optical lenses to molding the finest, micro-scaled structures.
For optimum melt distribution at large components.
Perfect for low-warpage, large-area parts.
Active parallelism control of the clamping unit.
Best performance: Highest repeatability and optimized dynamics
More efficiency: application-optimized equipment packages
Flow molding (compression molding) is a processing method for Sheet Molding Compounds (SMC) that has been used successfully for more than 50 years. Especially in the automotive, commercial vehicle, electrical, construction and aerospace industries.
The abbreviation stands for thermoplastic foam injection molding. Our technology for this is called foammelt.
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