Automotive
As a major sector of the global economy, the automotive industry is a highly competitive market subject to numerous regulations that drive the industry to constantly reinvent itself, for example by rethinking its structural parts.
To support this field in its quest for continuous improvement, EMI places R&D and quality at the heart of the project in terms of processes, tools and the materials used. These developments thus enable the leaders in this sector to offer end products adapted to market expectations.
CUSTOMER CASE STUDY
Our customer is a global leader in the development and supply of unique solutions in static sealing, vibration reducing,structural strengthenings and composite components for automotive, aerospace, vehicles and other industrial applications.
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01 CHALLENGE
For the development of its structural part, our customer was looking for a partner able to thermoform and overmould, in a single operation, two materials onto a compound/composite sheet.
The implemantation of a fully automated robotic process was also essential to ensure a high degree of functionalisation and repeatability.
02 APPROACH & SOLUTION
We started by developing an injection process to allow our customer to operate their test mould and to realize mechanical strength tests on their parts.
Le prototypage nous a permis d’anticiper les déformations et retraits de la pièce, ainsi que de définir au plus juste le dimensionnel de l’outillage série.
Then, a prototype tooling has been internally developed to thermoform and overmould the raw material onto the right-hand part, and to confirm a mass view thanks to the implementation of a new robotized and automated process. The first parts issued from the process were thus able to be tested at the end customer's and made possible its validation and its industrialization.
At last, the production of prototype moulds, including the overmoulding of the two materials, permitted the adjustment of the final elements of the right and left-hand parts before the conception of final cavities. The integration of an infrared oven, a 6-axis robot and a cooling table allowed the process to be improved in order to guarantee its reproductibility and repeatability.
- 700 t injection moulding machine
- Bi-material mould
- Thermoforming and overmolding in a single injection operation
- 6-axis robot
- Infrared oven
- Cooling table
- Glass fiber reinforced composite material