Foam injection molding for industrial applications  

Load-bearing flat components produced by foam injection molding benefit from the sandwich effect. For these components, weight reduction is possible while maintaining the same mechanical properties. Energy can be saved, particularly in the lightweight construction of moving systems. In mechanical engineering, for example, floating bodies, gear wheels, rotors, fan wheels, for example for electric motors, and moving closing mechanisms can be produced in this way. In the field of sports equipment, lightweight rudder blades would be conceivable.

As an industrial application, a topology-optimized load-bearing lightweight structure was developed together with the Koller Lightweight Construction Center in Lupburg. The functional carrier is based on bionic structures and is manufactured using 2-component foam injection molding. In order to be able to use the one-shot sandwich process economically for large-volume structural and visible components in large series, multiple gating with hot runners and cascading filling is necessary. For this purpose, Koller has contributed its own tool development to the project.