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22 Partners & projects <strong>AHEAD</strong> Issue 02.2012 Partners & projects SUccESS STory KraussMaffei sheds new light on american plastics processing companies. RaPId GRoWTH IN NoRTH aMeRICa QUALITy IS THE KEy KraussMaffei has been present in the uSa for more than 45 years and in that time, the company has constantly adapted its product and service range to this particular market and has thus become a renowned company. “The encouraging developments in the North American market were evident to us thanks to the increase in orders over the last year,” said Paul Caprio, the head of the US-subsidiary of KraussMaffei Corporation. “We are extremely pleased with the consistently high demand for our products this year and our customers’ very positive response to our machine and service quality. The complete machine range from 35 to 4,000 t clamping force, and the optimally adapted automation solutions precisely fulfill our US customers’ requirements, to be able to compete successfully in the international market.“ The latest orders from two demanding US-based companies have proved this in an exemplary way. Large machines at SLP Lighting begin production With over 40 years of experience in the field of commercial lighting products, the Koller-Craft subsidiary, SLP Lighting, is one of the leading American manufacturers of lights and lighting systems for industrial applications and of lighting systems in the automotive sector. SLP is now also using premium-quality KraussMaffei machines at its plant in Sullivan, Missouri. Two injection molding machines, sizes MX 2000-12000 and MX 2700-17200, began producing transparent diffusion lenses this year. “We were impressed from the very beginning by the efficiency of the MX machines where part quality and productivity are concerned,” said David Koller, SLP Managing Director. “The professional working methods of the <strong>KM</strong>C employees during the project phase and the machine installation showed us that KraussMaffei is the right partner for our company.” Thanks to the increased production capacity, SLP can respond to the ever-rising demand for premium-quality lamps and still keep to short lead times. Multi-component machines for rear lights at Proper Group International Molds used to produce automobile headlights are part of the core business of Proper Group International, along with injection molds for textile back injection or glass insert molding for multi-component parts and also for premium-quality visible parts. The company also supplies molds for polyurethane processing. After signing a strategic partnership agreement in 2008, the Proper Group and KraussMaffei have successfully positioned themselves as system partners for injection molding technology and polyurethane technology in the US market. They have been successfully providing complete ready-for-use solutions ever since. A live demonstration for manufacturing SkinForm components from thermoplastic substrates with premium-quality soft-touch surfaces at the NPE 2012 trade show proved this in an impressive manner. At Proper’s joint technology center in Warren (Michigan), KraussMaffei can use injection molding machines with a clamping force of between 80 and 2,700 t for development, testing, and mold trials. In the course of this cooperation, Proper has recently ordered an MXZ 1600-12000/3000 multi-component machine that should serve for mold trials and manufacturing reflector housings for the automotive industry. MB
KraussMaffei Partners & projects 23 aWaRd-WINNING “ pUrTrAIN” IS oN TArGET For THE AUToMoTIvE INDUSTry although eight partners had to share the JeC Innovation award 2012, none of them was bothered by it. on the contrary, they were all proud of the award that they had received collectively for a lightweight construction application for rail vehicles. KraussMaffei was one of the prizewinners. Paris, March 2012: At the world’s largest fiber composites trade show, JEC Composite Show, Jan Kuppinger from the Fraunhofer-Institut für Chemische Technologie (Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology) (ICT) accepted the JEC Innovation Award 2012 in the Manufacturing Process category, as a representative of the network of eight partners, who collectively made headway in the field of lightweight construction. Their “creation” may not sound interesting at first glance: a selfsupporting diesel engine housing for rail vehicles. Although the length and the width of the demonstration prototype, based on a polyurethane sandwich structure, were only 4.50 meters and 2.50 meters, respectively, it made the engineers’ hearts beat faster. The part has the same properties, but it is 35 percent lighter than its counterpart made of steel and aluminum, and comprises fewer parts. Together with ICT and Bombardier Transportation, Werk Hennigsdorf, and with support from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the partners KraussMaffei, Bayer MaterialScience, DECS GmbH, the DLR-Institut für Fahrzeugkonzepte (DLR Institute for Vehicle Concepts), the Institut für Flugzeugbau der Universität Stuttgart (Stuttgart University Institute of Aircraft Design), and the Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (Karls ruhe Institute of Technology) have pooled their expertise to find a completely new solution in just three and half years. Josef Renkl, the R&D Director of KraussMaffei’s Reaction Process Machinery, emphasized in Paris that it is a solution that can be “directly applied to other sectors such as the automotive industry.” KraussMaffei develops new manufacturing processes The work for the “PURtrain” project was anything but trivial. This is because it was not at all meant to replicate a metallic engine housing using plastic. The partners had to work together closely to carry out extensive development activities along the entire value-adding chain. The tasks included developing new manufacturing processes (for which KraussMaffei was responsible), new sandwich-core and top-layer materials, new fire protection systems, in-house design principles, and even computation methods. The result was a sandwich component made using a glass-fiber-reinforced polyurethane layer and a paperboard honeycomb core. The polyurethane (PUR) was initially modified in such a way that it complied with fire protection regulations. Then the fiber-spraying process used to apply PUR layers was optimized. A new mixing head made it possible to manufacture even the most complex structures – which was necessary to reduce the number of components – in the sizes required. The demonstration component fulfilled all requirements stipulated in the requirement specifications, e.g., puncture strength, which is an important criterion. This is important since the engine housing is suspended under the passenger compartment and above rails. Its task is to protect the engine from the impacts of stones, collect any oil that may leak, and prevent fire from spreading in case of fire. In the meantime, extensive tests must be conducted to check whether the jointly developed product can cope with all of these challenges. Erich Fries is visibly proud: “It is an exciting project, which once again showed that lightweight construction is not only relevant in the automotive industry.” JW JeC euRoPe INNoVaTIoN aWaRd The development consortium around Fraunhofer ICT was also able to score points. The SCS process (Structural Component Spraying), a manufacturing process for lightweight structures which is based on sandwich structures, and spraying processes for glass-fiber-reinforced polyurethane resins, was awarded the JEC Europe Innovation Award 2012 in the Manufacturing Process category.
Page 1 and 2: ahead The CUSTOMeR Magazine Of KRaU
Page 3 and 4: KraussMaffei Contents 4 Technology
Page 5 and 6: KraussMaffei Cover story INNoVaTIVe
Page 7 and 8: KraussMaffei Cover story 7 DEvELopI
Page 9 and 10: KraussMaffei Brand & markets fIRST
Page 11 and 12: KraussMaffei Brand & markets 30-yea
Page 13 and 14: KraussMaffei A powerful team: GearX
Page 15 and 16: KraussMaffei Brand & markets ReaCTI
Page 17 and 18: KraussMaffei Brand & markets ITaly
Page 19 and 20: KraussMaffei Brand & markets rELIAB
Page 21: KraussMaffei Processes & Products G
Page 25 and 26: KraussMaffei TRade faIR aNd PRoduCT
Page 27 and 28: KraussMaffei Imprint 27 pROpeRTy Ri

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