The National Composites Center (NCC) in Bristol, the UK has installed a new KraussMaffei RimStar Compact 4/4/4 mixing and metering machine.
The system is equipped with two mixing heads, enabling it to process both epoxy resin and polyurethane (PU) in high pressure resin transfer molding (HP-RTM).
“High-pressure injection using the RimStar Compact allows us to process fast-reacting resin systems. This shortens cycle times, enabling us to produce fiber-reinforced components in large quantities,” explained Wolfgang Hinz, Product and Sales Manager Business Unit Composites and Surfaces at KraussMaffei.
Previously, the HP-RTM process primarily used epoxy resin as the matrix material. However, an increasing number of components are being made of polyurethane in the HP-RTM RTM process recently.
“Because the RimStar Compact 4/4/4 can process both matrix systems, it gives the NCC and its member companies great flexibility for carrying out application-oriented test series,” said Hinz.
NCC is opened in 2011 and is a central element of the UK Composites Strategy, an initiative of the UK government to promote the composites industry in the UK. Particular focus is on the aviation and aerospace, vehicle manufacturing and renewable energy industries.
“The composites market is experiencing pronounced growth in the UK. In vehicle manufacturing, the big OEMs are advancing lightweight construction development and the use of CFRP in structural components. The aviation industry is also very active,” added Stephen Lambert, Reaction Process Technology Business Manager at KraussMaffei Group UK.
At the NCC, new production methods are being developed for composite materials and advanced into industrial series production. The research is focused on areas including the automated manufacturing of fiber preforms, component manufacturing using autoclaves and compression molding and post-mold processing of the fiber-reinforced components.
Website: www.adsalecprj.com
