Successful Project Completion "Integrated Process Simulation of Thermoforming and Injection Moulding".

At the beginning of the year, the IGF project "Integrated process simulation of thermoforming and injection moulding" was successfully completed by the IFUM and the IWF Braunschweig. The aim of the project was the numerical representation of the integrated manufacturing process consisting of the process steps thermoforming of organic sheets and subsequent injection moulding. The combination of continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastics with overmoulded polymer enables the production of highly functional integrated structures with excellent mechanical properties. The one-shot process enables the economical production of geometrically complex lightweight components in short cycle times. However, a major challenge in the component and the process design of overmoulded thermoplastic composites (OTC) is to ensure sufficient bond strength between the composite and the overmoulded polymers. Therefore, a numerical modelling approach was developed within the project to describe the bonding mechanisms and the resulting bond strength. Finally, the developed model was successfully validated using an experimental demonstrator process consisting of the thermoforming and injection moulding processes. With the model now available, manufacturing processes for the production of integrated structural components can be efficiently designed virtually, taking into account the achievable composite strength.

The IGF project "Integrated Process Simulation of Thermoforming and Injection Moulding" of the research association EFB e.V. was funded under the funding number 20524N via the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AiF) as part of the program for the promotion of joint industrial research (IGF) by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy based on a resolution of the German Bundestag. We would like to thank the participating companies for their support.