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HP-RTM Advances in Italy
RIBA COMPOSITES , AN ITALIAN LEADING MANUFACTURER OF STRUCTURAL PARTS AND COMPONENTS IN ADVANCED COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE AND AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES , INVESTED RECENTLY IN A NEW CANNON PRODUCTION PLANT FOR HP-RTM AND PRESS MOLDING TECHNOLOGY .
Specialised in autoclave and vacuum bags / oven productions for Composite parts destined to niche markets , the Faenza-based RIBA Composites company needed to expand their presence in the Automotive and aerospace industry . The production series and the unit prices common for the car industry being not compatible with the existing production equipment , the Company decided to explore the possibilities offered today by highproductivity technologies such as HP-RTM / Press Moulding . Cannon ERGOS was consulted , with other leading suppliers of this kind of equipment , and quoted a complete production solution .
Two lower platens shuttling on the front and rear sides of the press allow for an ergonomic and precise service ( part demoulding , visual inspection of mould and cleaning , positioning of Carbon fibre layers ) on a lower mould-half while another is curing a moulded part , closed in the press . Cure time for HP- RTM parts can vary , increasing the mould temperatures , from 180 to 90 seconds , while i n j e c t i o n s a r e t y p i c a l l y performed in less than 30 seconds , with a trend to reduce b o t h v a l u e s t o i n c r e a s e productivity . The two-shuttle press design allows for a substantially higher efficiency , since the press is busy – i . e . it is closed – for most of the time , while one or two operators attend the service functions in the same time requested by the “ press closing – resin injection – curing ” sequence of operations . Through this advanced working island for HP-RTM this Italian producer , a very qualified manufacturer of high-end Composites for niche market applications , is now ready to enter in the very competitive arena of Tier One suppliers of CFRP parts for the Automotive industry .
Cannon , being able to supply all the required technologies and equipment with a “ single responsibility ” contract , provides a One-Stop- Shop approach to the Companies that decide to invest in complete manufacturing solutions for Composites . This is a unique offer , in a competitive field populated by producers of single pieces of equipment unable to guarantee the final result when a complex plant has to be put together !
Two lower platens shuttling on the front and rear sides of the press allow for an ergonomic and precise service .
High productivity HP-RTM press Cannon offer included the machines r e q u i r e d f o r h i g h - p r o d u c t iv i t y manufacture of Composites using the HP- RTM process with Epoxy resin matrix and Carbon fibre reinforcement :
· A three-components E-System highpressure dosing unit for Epoxy formulations , with one LN 10 three component mixing head and closedloop control of output and ratio .
· A short-stroke press with 25,000 kN clamping force , 3.6 by 2.4 m platens and a very precise active control of parallelism for guaranteed planarity of the moulded parts .
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