Trade fair highlight 30. August 2024
Weight Reduction Through Structural Foam Injection Moulding
The structural foam process reduced the weight of the component by 70 %.
As the product and industry requirements increase, so do the demands for the materials. So it is not surprising that in many industries metal is replaced by plastic. However, the advantages of metal components, namely stability and strength, cannot be replaced by classical injection moulding.
Here, the structural foam process combines the advantages of metal casting with those of structural foam moulding. The components achieve high rigidity despite of the lower weight. This is achieved by high wall thickness and the foam structure which is achieved through the structural foam process. Thus can be achieved precision and stability in daily use, a high degree of design freedom and cost-efficient production.
Fried is the leading specialist in the development and production of structural foam components. Components weighing up to 35 kg can be produced on machines with a locking force of up to 32,000 kN. The tools with a weight of up to 60 tons are manufactured in cooperation with the international tool manufacturing partners. In the structural foam process, a blowing agent is added to the plastic, which releases a gas at the processing temperatures, usually CO2. Pressure, temperature and injection speed
are adjusted to the production process in such a way that the wall thickness of 5 to 8 mm is achieved: An almost solid edge layer of 1.5 to 3 mm surrounds a foamed core zone of 1 to 4 mm thickness. The result is an integral foam with a lower average density than usual injection moulded parts – without sink marks. The cellular structure of the inner core contributes only a little to the weight, but allows a high stiffness and strength of the component. In addition, the cell structure is capable of absorbing impact energy and noise.
As the product and industry requirements increase, so do the demands for the materials. So it is not surprising that in many industries metal is replaced by plastic. However, the advantages of metal components, namely stability and strength, cannot be replaced by classical injection moulding.
Here, the structural foam process combines the advantages of metal casting with those of structural foam moulding. The components achieve high rigidity despite of the lower weight. This is achieved by high wall thickness and the foam structure which is achieved through the structural foam process. Thus can be achieved precision and stability in daily use, a high degree of design freedom and cost-efficient production.
Fried is the leading specialist in the development and production of structural foam components. Components weighing up to 35 kg can be produced on machines with a locking force of up to 32,000 kN. The tools with a weight of up to 60 tons are manufactured in cooperation with the international tool manufacturing partners. In the structural foam process, a blowing agent is added to the plastic, which releases a gas at the processing temperatures, usually CO2. Pressure, temperature and injection speed
are adjusted to the production process in such a way that the wall thickness of 5 to 8 mm is achieved: An almost solid edge layer of 1.5 to 3 mm surrounds a foamed core zone of 1 to 4 mm thickness. The result is an integral foam with a lower average density than usual injection moulded parts – without sink marks. The cellular structure of the inner core contributes only a little to the weight, but allows a high stiffness and strength of the component. In addition, the cell structure is capable of absorbing impact energy and noise.
Fried Kunststofftechnik GmbH
Contact
Ms. Ekaterina Klöffel