IMCOLOR project on overmolding of fiber placed rings successfully finished
We are happy to announce that the IMCoLoR project is sucessfully finished.
Last December, the CleanSky II project IMCOLOR (Injection Moulding with Continuous Local Reinforcements) was successfully finished by a consortium consisting out of Liebherr Aerospace, Technische Universität München (TUM), Apppex GmbH, Fischer Advanced Composite Components (FACC) and the TPRC.
The aim of the project was to develop a novel manufacturing route for an air cycle machine part based on carbon fiber reinforced PEEK. The production steps included automated fiber placement with in-situ consolidation (AFP-ISC) and injection overmolding.
TPRC’s researcher Jeroen Houwers was tasked with the overmolding work in close cooperation with partners Apppex and TUM. Fiber placed composite rings, made with Toray Cetex® TC1225, were fully encapsulated with Victrex PEEK 150CA30 (Figure 1) using the experience gained with TPRC’s COMPeTE projects on overmolding.
A demonstrator, representing an air cycle machine part, was then realized. Washable salt cores were promisingly applied in the injection overmolding process in order to create a hollow structure.
Figure 1: Model part produced by overmolding of a fiber placed, in-situ consolidated ring (photo courtesy of TUM and Apppex GmbH)
More details can be found in the articles published in CompositesWorld and on the site of Clean Sky.
