INTELLIGENT PROCESS MONITORING OF A COMPRESSION RTM REACTIVE THERMOPLASTIC AUTOMOTIVE DOOR
- 1. ufac Intelligent Process Monitoring for Faster Production of Composite Parts Dr Nikos Pantelelis Synthesites Brussels, Belgium [email protected]
- 2. Synthesites 2 World leader in intelligent process monitoring in Composites We are working with composites manufacturers for: • Reducing cycle time • Ensuring quality and traceability • Enhancing R&D performance • Achieving Industry 4.0 benefits
- 3. Products and Services OptiMold system for monitoring resin cure, resin viscosity, mixing ratio quality and resin quality OptiFlow system for optimising mould filling, process automation and simple process control OptiSensors (durable/ disposable, flexible, outlet, custom) Real-time calculation of Tg/ degree of cure/ viscosity/ resin quality Automation, design and prototyping solutions 3
- 4. optiflow Resin arrival and temperature ◼ 4 temperature and resin arrival sensors ◼ Electrical resistance-based measurements and RTD temperature sensing ◼ Continuous connection checking ◼ One relay output for process automation 4
- 5. Real-time measuring of • Resin’s electrical resistance (from 0.1 MOhm up to 100 TOhm) • temperature (pt100 sensor with 0.1oC accuracy) Input of external signals e.g. pressure sensors Optimold Cure, viscosity, resin quality check 5 CF In-mould Durable Curved Durable
- 6. 6 Nikos New Industrial system OptiCure system • A new User-Interface (HMI) for automatic operations • Up to 4 cure sensors • Industrial windows-based PC • Touch screen IP65 • Online Resin State software • Alarms • Several connectivity options including connection to PLC
- 7. 7 Intelligent Process Control Intelligent Process control Temperature controller(s) Press controller Measuring resistivity, temperature, pressure Online Estimating Tg, viscosity, degree of cure Controlling temperature, demoulding time etc. Injection machine
- 8. Verification of the real-time estimated Tg 8 Overview of the Tg estimated online with the ORS software and Tg measured right after demoulding by DSC and the difference between them for several isothermal and realistic test cases which shows that the Tg online estimation is within the DSC accuracy Trials and DSC performed by
- 11. HP-CRTM@ NCC UK automotive applications 11 11 Sn. 1
- 13. 13 Recotrans Demonstrators RAILWAY CEILING COVER AUTOMOTIVE DOOR TRUCK SUSPENSION
- 14. 14 14 Injectable resin (1Κ or 2K) which polymerises in the mould to Thermoplastic acrylic. Suitable for: • Infusion and RTM • pultrusion • SMC • filament winding High performance material reinforced with continuous glass or carbon fibers The Elium resin
- 15. Resistance advantage 15 15 Resistance (R), Resistance rate (dR) and temperature (T) histories for case 3.3 (w/o mw) for sensor (a) with indicative demoulding options. Cycle time (s) Speed- up (%) Current Cycle based on Time 270 - Optimal Demoulding based on Temperature 215 20 Fastest Demoulding based on Resistance 170 37
- 16. Automotive demonstrator @IRT M2P 16 16 Low-pressure injection (max 10 bar) / compression (max 90 bar) moulding Thin hybrid preform from recycled carbon fibres and continuous glass mats.
- 17. 17 Nikos Industrial trials A robot is loading the press with the preform Opticure is waiting for injection The press opens following the command from Opticure after resin achieved the process targets
- 18. Automotive demonstrator Gestamp @IRT M2P 18 18 Process fluctuation
- 19. 19 Nikos New Elium grade Temperature and Resistance measurements from the two sensors Trials with different Elium grades (case 2: old grade, case 6: new grade) Temperature measurements and Tg estimations for the two sensors Faster Slower Faster + higher Slower + lower
- 20. Wrap-up & Conclusions 20 20 ✓ The online cure monitoring and quality control for high temperature epoxy resins was applied and verified successfully in reactive thermoplastic composites. ✓ The intelligent monitoring system is robust and can lead to significant speed- up of production. ✓ The performance of the new CF sensors was remarkable besides the existence of carbon fibres and no use of any additional protection. ✓ The resin MW preheating lead to limited benefits in the demonstrator. ✓ Communication and integration with PLC is straighforward
- 21. 21 Recotrans project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 768737. This publication reflects only the author's view and that the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. Dr Nikos Pantelelis Synthesites, Brussels, Belgium [email protected] Thank you!