AZL and IKV launch efficient decision-making project to provide data on long fiber reinforced SMC materials

Under the leadership of M-Base, Dr.
Erwin Baur, CEO of the successful establishment of the CAMPUS database, the Aachen Center for Integrated Lightweight Production (AZL) and the Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) at RWTH Aachen University, as well as long fiber reinforcement Various companies along the SMC value chain, during a meeting held by the High-Performance SMC Research Group, launched the initiative to build CAMPUS-compatible data structures and material characterization methods
.

Providing the right material for a specific application is essential for production to the highest standards
.

As Dr.
Timo Huber of Hengrui Co.
, Ltd.
commented: "Our HRC Hengrui company is a global supplier of composite lightweight solutions for all market sectors such as transportation, aviation and construction, mainly serving the automotive industry.
We provide comprehensive services along the entire value chain for all application areas, from engineering and component design, to process and material development, to finding the right combination of technologies for each application and ultimately to the production of composite parts
.
Following this approach, it is most important to have access to a material database with comprehensive and reliable material characteristic values
.
Especially for SMC materials with random distribution of fibers and partially inhomogeneous fiber orientation and content, an SMC The database is necessary to realize the full lightweighting potential and performance potential of this material
.
"

Since time, cost and efficiency are often the most important issues in production, and improvements in these elements are ongoing, the industry has seen a need for development and new initiatives in the SMC space
.

As Daniel Bröder of Polynt says: “The desire for more efficient development and the desire to reduce risk in terms of time, cost and greater efficiency can only be met if the realization of the components can be simulated with the corresponding materials
.
Based on this, at the same time, The industry must take this step in order to highlight the many favorable material characteristics of fiber-reinforced thermosets so that more people can easily understand them
.
"

Siemens also recognizes the possibilities offered by the SMC material database, which not only simplifies the existing selection process, but also supports the realization of more applications
.

As Michael Kiesel says: "At Siemens, we are already using SMC for interiors in high-speed and commuter trains, with the next generation of high-performance SMC
.
We are sure that we can find even more semi-structural applications, further Reduce weight and gain more flexibility in the overall design of our new interior components
.
"

AZL, in collaboration with IKV, combining its expertise in SMC simulation, processing and characterization, will work with partners from industry to develop a test procedure to characterize SMC materials in a joint partner project
.

The project included trials on AOC Aliancys' newly designed SMC test mold, which, according to Aliancys, was an important step for the SMC market
.

As Andreas Horbach explains: "This project, initiated by AZL, is an important action, both for the current SMC market and for the potential future SMC market, based on the technical product data of commercial SMC formulations
.
With these Data, SMC will be better comparable to other engineering plastics, and the advantages of SMC can be better explained
.
This project will promote the material SMC and technical data to be read into the material database managed by M-Base
.
To ensure the project It is necessary to obtain a large number of SMC producers with different SMC formulations to develop extensive material data for the aforementioned material database, which will make SMC even more important and able to enter other markets
.
”

The project will define appropriate material properties for commercial SMC available to stakeholders involved in material selection, in addition, a detailed material selection study will be carried out within the framework of the preliminary design
.

Process-related material parameters for process and structural design will also be discussed as the project progresses
.

Not only that, but the project will also address the question of "how to use eigenvalues ​​for process and structural simulation," with test and production parameters that provide important, appropriate process-relevant material parameters at a manageable cost
.

During the implementation of this upcoming project, the 3 most representative materials selected by the consortium will be used to produce samples and the suitability of the proposed test procedures for different materials will be evaluated
.

In summary, the project will include process-related testing and testing of mechanical properties, as well as the feasibility of proposed test methods for different materials
.

Participating companies will have the possibility to jointly define the project according to their needs and requirements for the best value, and will be able to collaborate with experts from the research network of AZL and IKV to develop solutions for this topic
.

The program will start on May 19, 2020, run for 6 months, and open its doors to those who want to join
.