From the idea to the PRODUcT

Our support

For many years now we’ve been well acquainted with your issues and challenges. You know us as a trustworthy partner. We see joint development as a holistic task: We not only reliably supply our high-performance VESTAMID® compounds. We support you all the way, to the end of the process and beyond. This is our aspiration, and our fundamental conviction about how innovative ideas can be realized.

Good advice from the processor is an “ace in the hole,” and the customer can safely rely on our specific expertise in the field of applications and processing methods in plastics technology. Beyond this, we guarantee a comprehensive transfer of expertise through worldwide networks of universities and OEMs.

In other words: We offer an ALL-INCLUSIVE service for the user

  • We work on many innovations jointly with our partners,
  • advise them on mold design,
  • provide intensive technical support and
  • assistance with permitting procedures.

It goes without saying, of course, that we react flexibly to the current demands of the market in executing these services.

Optimal support through years of experience

Whether it is extrusion, injection molding, or coating: our customers can rely on our broad expertise in all the current processing methods. Above all, our many years of experience in extrusion methods for applications makes it possible for us to continuously re-test and expand the limits of the process.

The following extrusion equipment for development and testing purposes is available in our laboratory facilities:

  • Extrusion plant for 5-layer tubing (up to 5 different compounds)
  • Extrusion plant for 5-layer film (up to 3 different compounds)
  • Extrusion plant for producing sheets (including multi-layer sheets)
  • Laboratory for producing monofilament

For your molding application, our technical consultancy services begin with assistance in mold design using FEM analysis and simulation of the injection molding process. In addition to conventional injection molding machines, we also have two-component technology and equipment for plastic/rubber injection molding.

For joining, engraving and inscribing molded parts, we have a variety of laser systems in our Laser Application Center.

Our range of services for material testing covers all the current standardized physical test procedures for material testing based on various international standards. These services are augmented by a broad range of test procedures for determining permeation values for gases and liquids, as well as the stability of materials under a wide variety of environmental conditions, including deep-sea environments. We developed some of these test methods ourselves.

Indeed, this is our unique strength: we develop new test procedures for special applications. This could make us your ideal partner.

Our comprehensive, expert technical consultancy services for our customers also include CAE services for the development of molds and parts.

For process simulation, we use advanced software to analyze the injection molding process from the filling phase, through the follow-up pressure phase, to calculation of shrinkage and warpage. As a result, information on processing, component properties and manufacturing costs can be obtained as early as the product development stage: For example

PROCESSING

  • Ability of the mold to be filled
  • Resulting process parameters such as pressure and temperature distributions
  • Design of the cooling system
  • Influence of various processing parameters

PART

  • Location of weld lines
  • Air pockets
  • Shrinkage and warpage
  • Fiber orientations

COST

  • Required machine size
  • Cycle time
  • Part / mold complexity

The results of a simulation aid in the further design and optimization of the part, as well as its mold. Often, this approach can reduce costly changes and the number of times the mold and part must be used.

We also carry out FE structural calculations for the material-, stress- and production-compatible design and optimization of parts or complete assemblies. For example, we can calculate and evaluate the location of stresses, deformations, WW or temperatures in the molded part when it is exposed to external mechanical and/or thermal pressures.

Such methods allow us to evaluate the suitability of a wide variety of materials or material combinations (for example, in hybrid structures or composite components) for the relevant application at an early stage on the computer, and selectively adapt the material selection and construction. As a result, we can reduce the development time, as well as the number of time- and cost-intensive practical tests from the idea to the end product.

Our FE structural analyses simulate mechanical, thermal and thermo-mechanically coupled loads, and provide a range of information, such as the material behavior of porous materials, anisotropic fiber-reinforced materials, or the viscoelasticity and plastic behavior of non-linear materials.

Our customers normally require 3D CAD STEP-formatted files (IGES and STL file formats are also possible) with the geometry of the part to be analyzed, the entire assembly, or the mold, and depending on the task, information on parameters such as mold and process specifications. For molding simulation, we can include relevant material properties such as shear viscosity, thermal conductivity, or PVT behavior in the calculation. FE structural calculations require not only the part geometry but the most precise information possible on the specific load case, any critical zones of the part, the installation position, and the specified materials.

Our highly skilled teams in application engineering and market development discuss the task and results with the customer, and develop the right solutions.