With a press capacity of 16,000 tons and a clamping surface of more than 6m length and almost 4m width, Schuler claims it currently designs the biggest composite press in the world for the manufacture of thermoplastics.
Composite materials such as carbon fibre reinforced plastics have not yet made the leap into high volume series production. Within the research project ‘iComposite 4.0’, Schuler and its partners have succeeded in reducing the costs and throughput times significantly. An integrative and self-regulating production system for high volumes utilising a hybrid material approach was developed for this purpose.
Sheet moulding compounds (SMCs) are already being used for decades due to an economical part production for medium size series and material characteristics – including high surface quality, low density and high fire resistance. Further improvements in the cost and lightweight potential are supporting the growth of advanced SMC. Different developments are taking place at the same time with Carbon SMC.
Schuler’s energy-efficient composite presses feature short pressure build-up times, thus ensuring high quality as well as high output rates for an economical production. The precise parallelism control system makes sure that material is evenly distributed within the die for a consistently high quality of parts. A minimal part rejection for all processes can be realized by a part specific adaptive machine bending behaviour.
With the Composite Alliance, Schuler and Frimo offer various options and solutions for lightweight construction. At JEC, the exhibitors can be found in hall 5, booth L80.
