Three-dimensional blow molding technology has made unprecedented progress

Although North America's pace of mimicking Europe has slowed down, North America's blow molding technology has finally been developing in the direction of three-dimensional blows driven by the market. The above is the view of the management of SIG Kautex, the only provider of 3D blow molding technology in North America. They also say that three-dimensional blow molding is an ideal technology for making long curved tubes and pipes for automobiles.

Wolfgang Meyer, president of SIG Kautex, declared: "The technology of using three-dimensional blow molding technology instead of metal and rubber to manufacture under-the-hood components has already emerged." The components that can be made include: air-ducts for supercharged diesel engines, special cooling medium conduits, and fuel replenishment tubes. In Europe, three-dimensional blow-molding technology has replaced other technologies in certain application areas, making parts such as oil filling pipes and seamless door handles (for example, components on the Porsche Boxster models). Meyer also believes that three-dimensional blow molding technology has potential application value in off-road vehicle parts, furniture (chair backs and chairs legs), large-scale water pipe installations and other fields.

The management of SIG expects that the success of 3D blow molding technology in Europe will also be as early as now in the United States. In the United States, three-dimensional blow molding technology has so far been used very limited. Recently, in order to promote the technology, the SIG has implemented a strategic plan to introduce the advantages of 3D blow molding directly to auto parts manufacturers. To this end, SIG has also established a cooperative relationship with Rousch Industries. Rousch Industries is an engineering and technical support company located near Detroit and is also an “automobile expert”. In addition, SIG also cooperated with companies such as DuPont and Daikin America to develop materials needed for 3D blow molding technology. In Europe, DuPont has a 15-ton SB (styrene butadiene copolymer) laboratory that can help with material research.

The attractive outlook of hood downhole

The SIG began manufacturing three-dimensional machines a decade ago and has produced 80 units so far, of which 90% are in Europe. Of those machines still operating today, 70% are SB Series Suction Blow Molding (SBM) systems. The SBM system first uses directional air to introduce the parison into the section mold cavity and then blow the parison. The remaining 30% is a KBS-type machine used to produce parts with complex shapes and sizes. The KBS uses a robot to manipulate the preform into the mold cavity. KBS has two kinds of vertical machine tools and horizontal machine tools.

Jack Tingsley, director of three-dimensional technology applications at SIG, said: Three-dimensional blow molding technology is suitable for manufacturing complex parts. The resulting parts will not have the parting line that can easily cause damage, and there is no flash, but also can increase the wall thickness of hollow parts. Uniformity. Three-dimensional blow molding technology also facilitates the integration of parts without the need for assembly parts, thereby reducing costs. Currently, the technology is being developed along the direction of manufacturing parts with sequential (hard-soft) and sandwich structures.

However, the three-dimensional blow molding technology still cannot attract those American manufacturers. The reasons for this are: Manufacturers believe that the price of the machine is too high (SBM systems with double-head fixtures currently cost $800,000 to $1,000,000); long production cycles; and the parts return rate is higher than that of ordinary extrusion blow molding machines. .

In spite of this, some manufacturers have adopted 3D blow molding technology early on. For example: MPC (Walworth, Wisconsin) has three SIG Kautex SBM blow molding machines running; Rousch has an SB-8 three-dimensional blow molding machine (8 tons clamping force) for research The purpose; there are a few companies have adopted the three-dimensional blow molding machine made by Japan's Excel and Placo, but at present, the two companies have been suspended in the United States market.

"The United States is changing its perspective on the continuous expansion of the application of three-dimensional blow molding technology," said John Krupp, Executive Director of Sales at SIG. About 45 percent of European cars now use turbocharged diesel (TCD) engines, while American-made cars use inhaled engines. Krupp said: The reason why Europe tends to use TCD engines is because of its superior drive and fuel economy. Therefore, he hopes that in the next few years, the United States will join the ranks of TCD engines just like Europe. In this regard, he mentioned an example: Ford decided to develop the first TCD engine by 2007. In addition, Krupp also pointed out: Now, US-made light trucks are using more TCD engines, which is exactly the entry point for the entry of three-dimensional pipeline components into the US market.

Assuming that TCD engines have been used in the United States, the development of 3D blow molding technology will benefit. When the TCD engine is in operation, the turbo-charging air compresses the air and raises the air temperature, so the cold and hot air hoses usually require a longer, more curved process. A typical TCD engine requires four to five tubes (and now only two or three tubes): crankcase breathers, inlet ducts, return ducts, and other ducts are all applications developed for three-dimensional blow molding technology.

Randall White, a senior expert in three-dimensional molding technology from DuPont, added: "The application of three-dimensional machining in the parts combination is its greatest achievement." For this reason, he gave an example: a TCD catheter is usually composed of a combination of seven nylon parts, and using three-dimensional technology, only one molded article made of Hytrel TPE material is needed. As a result, the weight of the parts is reduced by 50% and the cost is reduced by 15%. DuPont now offers materials suitable for blow molded TCD conduits: nylon 6, nylon 66, and high temperature resistant Zytel HTN nylon.

Another promising area of ​​three-dimensional blow molding technology is cooling medium tubes, which are usually made of rubber and metal. DuPont is trying to replace the traditional cooling medium pipe with a three-dimensional blow molding of nylon 66, which can reduce the weight of the pipe and the number of components. The early application of these tubes will appear in Europe in the near future.

The other emerging areas of application of three-dimensional blow molding technology are large-scale engineering vehicle components, including: air ducts, oil pipelines, and exhaust gas pipelines. Chris Corbett, MPC's SBM production engineer, said: "We have found that the application of 3D technology is concentrated on the components of forklifts, tractors and other construction vehicles." About 40 parts of the company are manufactured using three-dimensional machines. There is only one part, the commercial truck U-shaped air duct, which utilizes the manipulator operating function on an MPC machine.

MPC is now active in the TCD engine and coolant duct market. For this reason, Corbett gave an example: MPC made use of DuPont Hytrel/PBT material made of hard and soft catheters, and is now part of the companion kit system on the boosted Mazda Protégé.

The purpose of the SIG's cooperation with Rousch Industries is to increase the confidence of automotive consumers in 3D blow molding technology. Rousch is using its SB-8 molding machine to make master models, as well as small batch production components. Rousch can design and deliver 3D molds in a short period of time.

Next generation barrier packing tube

For three-dimensional blow molding technology, the fuel replenishment tube is a market full of challenges and opportunities. This type of pipe is usually a multi-part assembly made of metal and rubber. A useful change for 3D parts is that some current designers tend to reposition fuel tanks. They think it would be safer to place the fuel tank in the middle of the locomotive. If this is the case, a complex, long fuel supply line is required. And, the automobile structure is now being adjusted to ensure that the vehicle's emissions automatic controller can work for up to 15 years. These circumstances will facilitate the replacement of rust-prone metals with three-dimensional multilayer barrier structures for use in the manufacture of fuel replenishment tubes. DuPont is presenting a three-dimensional, three-dimensional blow molding solution. The middle barrier layer is the company's Zenite liquid crystal polymer.

Daikin America is promoting a two-dimensional, three-dimensional blow molding structure for the manufacture of fuel fill tubes. The new material used was a fluoropolymer EPEP called neo-fluorone. It is said to have superior barrier properties to hydrocarbon compounds and a very low melting point. In addition, it is easily coextruded with a variety of resins without any additives.

Precision machining

The precise control of the "hard-soft-hard" sequential forming process can expand the application prospects of the three-dimensional blow molding technology. For example: SBM's 3D machine can get a right angle within 25% of the part's diameter, which was 200% a few years ago. In addition, SIG's three-dimensional machine can continuously operate two extruders while adjusting the relative speed of the two, resulting in a gradual phase separation between the hard and soft areas. It is said that this can improve the delamination resistance of the parts and increase the freedom of designing the physical properties of the parts.

In addition, DuPont has also developed pairs of complementary soft and hard materials, including TPE, nylon, and LCP series polymers, which can be used to fabricate catheters with sequential structures.


Source: Foreign Plastics