CAMX 2022 - Macrodyne will be
exhibiting a Fully Automated
D-LFT System
CAMX 2022 - Macrodyne will be exhibiting a Fully Automated D-LFT System
Macrodyne is going to exhibit at CAMX – Composites and Advanced Materials Expo, the largest composites and advanced materials event in North America, a new, fully automated D-LFT system, and Macrodyne’s breadth of heated platen press offerings for thermoset and thermoplastic composite applications.
CAMX 2022 Overview
October 17-20, 2022
Anaheim, CA, USA
Anaheim Convention Center
Macrodyne’s Booth: Y30
Macrodyne Fully Automated D-LFT Systems
Macrodyne is also pleased to announce that is now offering a fully automated Direct Compounding of Long Fiber Thermoplastics (D-LFT) system, where the glass rovings and the thermoplastic resin are compounded in a twin-screw extruder. Once extruded, the heated material is picked up by a robot and placed in the mold inside the press. A unique feature of the Macrodyne D-LFT system is the optional ability to also do fully automated SMC molding using the same press load and unload robots and adding an SMC slitting table and a deflash station.
Macrodyne presses are currently being used in numerous locations in North America, Europe, and Asia to mold, laminate, perform, form, and consolidate thermoset and thermoplastic composite materials used in the aerospace, automotive, appliance, and other industries.
Macrodyne Heated Platen Presses
Macrodyne heated platen presses are used for both thermoset and thermoplastic composite applications and can be built with multiple openings. The platens are designed to provide accurate and consistent heating and cooling across the entire surface of the platen area. They can be heated to temperatures in excess of 800° F for high-temperature thermoplastics such as PEEK. Uniform pressure distribution produces quality composite panels. Automation can be provided to load and unload products from multiple openings. Most of the applications for these presses are in the aerospace industry.
Macrodyne heated platen presses are highly versatile and can be supplied complete with a wide variety of ancillary equipment to further enhance productivity. Available equipment includes heating and cooling systems, press loading and unloading systems, specialized material handling and conveying systems, mold fill systems, process plate transfer systems, and more.
Macrodyne SMC Hydraulic Presses
Macrodyne will be featuring many different applications in the composites industry including SMC, thermoplastic composites, RTM, and heated platen presses.
Depending on size Macrodyne SMC presses are built using a pre-stressed housing frame or a monolithic frame. The monolithic frame style is used on presses small enough to ship the frame in one piece. Both frame designs are optimized through finite element analysis to ensure they can accommodate the deflection and stresses generated during pressing. Clamp tonnages can range from 150 tons up to 5000 or more tons. The presses are designed and built with optimum speeds, platen sizes, and controls to meet the needs of each application.
Options available include intelligent leveling systems, data acquisition systems, rolling bolsters, full automation, and many others. Automation can include taking the material from the slitter, positioning the material on the robot end-of-arm tool so that it is placed in the mold for optimum flow in the cavity, removing the molded part, trimming the flash, and placing the parts on a pallet. Typical applications include Automotive and Truck body parts, sinks, bathtubs, residential doors, and battery trays for electric vehicles.
Macrodyne works with their composite customers on any type of hydraulic press application not mentioned above including but not limited to RTM with optional tilting platens, RIM, and multiple axis clamping presses.
Materials molded with Macrodyne presses include sheet molding compound (SMC), bulk molding compound (BMC), Direct Compounding of Long Fiber Thermoplastics (D-LFT), Direct long fiber thermoplastic (DLFT), Multi-component molding (MCM), glass mat thermoplastics (GMC), and high-temperature thermoplastics such as PEEK and PAEK, long-fiber reinforced thermoplastics, Long fiber reinforced thermoplastics (LFRT), low-pressure molding compound (LPMC) and others.
Features of the presses include pressure-compensated axial piston pumps with electronic pump control, high-pressure piston pumps, proportional or servo-controlled valves, variable-speed motors, high position accuracy, leveling, accumulator drives, extremely slow pressing speeds, extremely accurate pressure control, and fluid condition monitoring.
All engineering is done in-house including Complete mechanical design utilizing AutoCAD, Solid Works 3D modeling, and FEA: Complete hydraulic design: Complete electrical design, PLC programming, and HMI configuration. Macrodyne can also assist in shipping, rigging, installation, and start-up of the press. Our experienced and knowledgeable service team can set up a maintenance plan to keep all presses running smoothly for many years.
In addition to presses, Macrodyne also designs and builds automated press lines and die-handling equipment. Systems can be built to handle caul sheets and load and unload parts from an oven into the press.
We invite you to visit us at our booth Y30.
For more information about CAMX 2022, click here.
Not attending CAMX 2022? Contact us to discuss the Hydraulic Press solution right for you.
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Learn more about Macrodyne’s Compression Molding solutions
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