A continuous fibre composite sheet is melted and formed. A thermoplastic polymer is then injected over the surface in this fully automated process, achieving production cycle time of 1 to 5 minutes. The process combines the structural benefit of long-fibre reinforced composite sheet with the speed and geometric complexity of injection moulding.
The NCC has five presses to of varying specifications. These presses range from 50 tonnes all the way up to 3600 tonnes, with the largest tooling footprint of 3.6 x2.4 metres. The heating systems can go up to 400C, enabling the processing of thermoset and thermoplastic materials with active controlled cooling.
The overmoulder is being used to explore routes for companies to use low impact, circular materials in their products to redefine a new generation of products that will create a greener, cleaner future for all. Our engineers have successfully created two overmoulded composite parts. Both explore different approaches to integrating sustainable materials and circularity into the automotive industry.
