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Forecasting Operating Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In this case, the pieces are called multiload test specimens, and 150 copies have been produced. One of the process\u2019s unusual features is that it was developed solely for internal purposes and not for an external customer. The client was Freudenberg Technology Innovation (FTI) as part of a \u201ccommon project\u201d that spanned several Freudenberg business groups. Above all, FST\u2019S goal is to build up its thermoplastics expertise to the level that it has had in elastomers for decades \u2013 and develop plastic parts that are just as complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digital simulations are a crucial factor in the development and design of plastic parts, especially for determining strength and durability. \u201cYou need a digital tool to simulate your materials in the component,\u201d said \u00adHauer. Reliable forecasts of a component\u2019s useful life are the goal. The more precise a simulation model is, and the more fully developed it is, the more reliable the forecasts of operating life. The finite element method (FEM) comes into use here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 150 multiload test specimens developed and manufactured by T&I have the sole purpose of giving the Freudenberg simulation model a reality check. \u201cLike a sparring partner, the parts provide verification of the predictions from the simulations,\u201d Hauer said. The test specimens are pulled, bent, pressed, twisted, sometimes statically tested, and sometimes made to oscillate with increasing and decreasing swelling in dynamic tests. \u201cThe material characteristics, metrics and parameters then flow into the simulation model to optimize it. We are laying valuable groundwork. We need to have these kinds of meaningful simulation models in-house to design components that employ our new, uniquely developed materials and to develop new product groups and \u00adareas of application.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>The multiload test \u00adspecimen (right) emerged from a tool manufactured in \u00adLaudenbach.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Mapping The Entire \u00adproduct Development Cycle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Hauer touched on one of T&I\u2019s great advantages for such internal projects as well as those for customers. \u201cFor the development of plastic parts, we map the entire product development cycle from the idea to the part falling out of the mold \u2013 and we do it here. Our areas of expertise include materials technology, product development, production and process technologies. They span the entire value creation chain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The work has included cooperation on tool design with the FNGP Regional Office in Malaysia (MRO), whose employees are familiar with T&I\u2019s master form system for injection molding machines. T&I\u2019s own toolmaking capabilities are another advantage for plastic-part development. \u201cThe part geometry of the multiload test specimen, which has pockets and ribs, is complicated, and the tool is correspondingly challenging. Its production requires the entire range of mechanical processing. So it is all the more remarkable that it worked right from the start: the very first test specimens came out of the mold without difficulty. The team in Laudenbach really did a great job,\u201d Hauer said.<\/p>\n