 |
|
|
|
| |
Many people think
the most useful use of a cool gas in a product is as a key part of
fizzy drinks, but researchers at the University of Warwick's Warwick
Manufacturing Group have found that cool gases also prove amazingly
useful if injected into plastics. |
 |
'Koolgas' increases plastic production by 40%01
Many people think the most useful use of a cool gas in a product is
as a key part of fizzy drinks, but researchers at the University of
Warwick's Warwick Manufacturing Group have found that cool gases also
prove amazingly useful if injected into plastics.
Ordinary gas assisted injection moulding (GAIM) methods have been
used by plastic manufacturers to reduce the weight of plastic products,
or to increase the rate at which components can be made by using the
gas to displace volumes of unnecessary hot plastic from the plastic
components's core.
However, despite using gas to speed the cooling process when producing
injected moulded plastics, few people had ever considered what extra
benefit could be achieved by actually cooling the gas itself before
adding it to the plastic.
Now, Warwick researchers have developed a new process, dubbed 'Kool
Gas', that does exactly that. It uses a cryogenic heat exchanger to
cool the high pressure nitrogen gas to temperatures as low as - 150°C
before it is injected in to the plastic part.
The results are dramatic - KoolGas has allowed the plastics parts
to cool and form 40% faster than by normal methods.This means plastic
manufacturers could produce individual components this way 40% faster
than by current methods. No detrimental effect was observed in the
moulded product and, in fact hollow components produced by this process
provided a more controllable wall thickness ensuring consistent quality. |
| |
|
| |
Warwick to release gas technology02
Warwick Manufacturing Group has developed KoolGas, a variation on
gas-assisted moulding, which uses refrigerated gas to reduce cycle
times. Researchers claim it can bring savings of up to 40%, without
detrimental effects. Conventional gas-assisted injection-moulding
methods enable manufacturers to reduce the weight of plastic products,
or to increase the rate at which components can be made by using the
gas to displace volumes of unnecessary hot plastic from the plastic
component's core. However, WMG claims the KoolGas process, which uses
a cryogenic heat exchanger to cool the high-pressure nitrogen gas
to temperatures as low as -150C before injecting it into the plastic,
will result in more savings.
KOOLGAS 02476 523784 |
| |
|
| |
Warwick wins rights to paint technology03
Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) has reached an agreement with BMW
to regain the full technology and marketing rights to the injection
moulded paint technology developed with Rover.
Dr Gordon Smith at WMG's Advanced Technology Centre told PRW it was
a long overdue breakthrough. "We will finally be able to exploit
the injection moulded paint technology that we developed more than
six years ago," he said.
The process is a variant of sandwich moulding that produces parts
with a polymer core fully enclosed in a thin layer of a polymer paint.
Decorated parts can be produced direct from the moulding machine.
The technology was developed within the then Rover funded Advanced
Technology Centre at the University of Warwick, an investment Smith
estimates to be £500,000.
"The technology was patented by the university but Rover had
application rights, provided it exploited it," said Smith. Although
much work was carried out on behalf of Rover, including development
of an on-line paintable, pre-primed PP wing, the car maker decided
not to implement it commercially.
However, WMG's attempts to regain the rights to the technology are
understood to have been complicated by BMW's purchase and eventual
disposal of Rover. "We have now got the rights back to develop
it for companies in the automotive industry and outside, for instance
white goods," said Smith.
While he acknowledges the technology has limitations, especially with
metallic finishes, he sees strong potential in production of pre-primed
automotive parts such as wheel trims and fuel flaps.
"We have the paint, we get that from the US and it is already
in the market so we are quite confident," he said.
The technology will be marketed by a new division, Warwick Moulding
Technology.
WMG 02476 523784 |
| |
|
|
|
