Comparative Analysis of the Impact of Additively Manufactured Polymer Tools on the Fiber Configuration of Injection Molded Long-Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastics

Knorr VL, Setter R, Rietzel D, Wudy K, Osswald T (2020)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2020

Journal

Journal of Composites Science Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)

Book Volume: 4

Journal Issue: 3

DOI: 10.3390/jcs4030136

Abstract

Additive tooling (AT) utilizes the advantages of rapid tooling development while minimizing geometrical limitations of conventional tool manufacturing such as complex design of cooling channels. This investigation presents a comparative experimental analysis of long-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic parts (LFTs), which are produced through additively manufactured injection molding polymer tools. After giving a review on the state of the art of AT and LFTs, additive manufacturing (AM) plastic tools are compared to conventionally manufactured steel and aluminum tools toward their qualification for spare part and small series production as well as functional validation. The assessment of the polymer tools focuses on three quality criteria concerning the LFT parts: geometrical accuracy, mechanical properties, and fiber configuration. The analysis of the fiber configuration includes fiber length, fiber concentration, and fiber orientation. The results show that polymer tools are fully capable of manufacturing LFTs with a cycle number within hundreds before showing critical signs of deterioration or tool failure. The produced LFTs moldings provide sufficient quality in geometrical accuracy, mechanical properties, and fiber configuration. Further, specific anomalies of the fiber configuration can be detected for all tool types, which include the occurrence of characteristic zones dependent on the nominal fiber content and melt flow distance. Conclusions toward the improvement of additively manufactured polymer tool life cycles are drawn based on the detected deteriorations and failure modes.

Authors with CRIS profile

Vincent Lukas Knorr Lehrstuhl für Kunststofftechnik

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität München (TUM) DE Germany (DE) BMW AG - Bayerische Motoren Werke / BMW Group DE Germany (DE) University of Wisconsin - Madison US United States (USA) (US)

How to cite

APA:

Knorr, V.L., Setter, R., Rietzel, D., Wudy, K., & Osswald, T. (2020). Comparative Analysis of the Impact of Additively Manufactured Polymer Tools on the Fiber Configuration of Injection Molded Long-Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastics. Journal of Composites Science, 4(3). https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcs4030136

MLA:

Knorr, Vincent Lukas, et al. "Comparative Analysis of the Impact of Additively Manufactured Polymer Tools on the Fiber Configuration of Injection Molded Long-Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastics." Journal of Composites Science 4.3 (2020).

BibTeX: Download