In-Mold-Assembly of Hybrid Bending Structures by Compression Molding

Abstract

The further development of in-mold-assembly (IMA) technologies for structural hybrid components is of great importance for increasing the economic efficiency and thus the application potential. This paper presents an innovative IMA process concept for the manufacturing of bending loaded hybrid components consisting of two outer metal belts and an inner core structure made of glass mat reinforced thermoplastic (GMT). In this process, the core structure, which is provided with stiffening ribs and functional elements, is formed and joined to two metal belts in one single step. For experimental validation of the concept, the development of a prototypic molding tool and the manufacturing of hybrid beams including process parameters are described. Three-point bending tests and optical measurement technologies are used to characterize the failure behavior and mechanical properties of the produced hybrid beams. It was found that the innovative IMA process enables the manufacturing of hybrid components with high energy absorption and low weight in one step. The mass-specific energy absorption is increased by 693 % compared to pure GMT beams.

Feasibility study of compression molding for large reinforcement structures in the commercial vehicle sector

“…al. [8], piezoelectric load cells are used to record the resulting press force and a draw-wire sensor is used to detect the press stroke. The data from the pressure sensors, the load cells and the draw-wire sensor are recorded simultaneously, so that no time offset has to be considered in the analysis.…”