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Material sampling at BRUDER Spielwaren GmbH + Co. KG
On February 28, 2024, the first trials were carried out as part of sub-project 6. The aim of sampling is to use the developed composites under real conditions and to identify possible further development potential.
A polylactide (PLA) starch composite based on the bio-based PLA Luminy L130 from Total Corbion and native potato starch from Emsland-Stärke with a weight proportion of 50% was used for the sampling.
On this day, the product "box with lid", consisting of two components, was successfully produced on the series injection molding machine and the associated tools. The components were also successfully colored using PLA-based dyes. In previous trials at BRUDER, two "pallets" of different sizes had already been sampled.
In the series production of these products, petrochemical acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) is predominantly used, whereas the PLA starch composite is completely bio-based and biodegradable and has a particularly low carbon footprint.
PLA and therefore also PLA starch composites are not "drop-in" plastics. The entire production process for a component is usually designed for a specific material from the outset. This material selection flows into the development of the injection mold, among other things. As a result, existing injection moulds are not necessarily optimized for the specific processing properties of PLA, which makes it difficult to directly replace ("drop-in") conventional plastics with PLA and can lead to challenges. However, these challenges can largely be overcome by designing the tools differently.
During the demoulding and removal of the sprue for the "lid" component, for example, it was observed that the forced demoulding, elastic deformation and subsequent robot removal of the sprue system required by the tool are not optimized for PLA-starch composites. This could be optimized by changing the parameters.
The production of the "box", on the other hand, was much smoother. Direct injection of the component using a hot runner avoids sensitive sprue systems and the resulting demolding problems.
As already assumed in advance, a slightly higher melt pressure was required to completely fill the cavity compared to conventional ABS, but this did not lead to any application difficulties. Valuable insights were gained for the further development of the composite. In addition to optimizing the resistance to ageing influences, the aim was also to further develop the impact strength of the composite.
Following production, the samples are subjected to weathering tests at BRUDER and artificial weathering and mechanical tests at the University of Kassel.
ANTEC 2024 - The IfW at SPE's Annual Technical Conference
This year's SPE ANTEC® 2024 took place from March 4-7 in St. Louis, Missouri. The IfW was represented there by six employees from the Department of Polymer Engineering and presented research results in four different sessions.
At the beginning of the Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing session, Ralf-Urs Giesen reported on the pioneering technology of Liquid Additive Manufacturing (LAM) of liquid silicone rubber in his presentation "3D-Printing of Silicone Rubber - Influence of Process Parameters on the Mechanical and Optical Properties of the Part". The Bioplastics session included two presentations from the IfW. Marco Klute spoke on "Blending PLA with TPU to Enhance Ist Adhesive Bonding Properties in Two-Component Injection Molding" and showed how the adhesive bonding of biobased hard-soft composites can be increased in multi-component injection molding by modifying the hard component. Immediately afterwards, Victoria Goetjes gave her presentation on "Characterization of the Degradation Processes of PLA Starch Composites in Hydrothermal Environment", in which she presented the behaviour of PLA starch composites under the influence of elevated temperatures and humidity. In the Biocomposites session, Celia K. Falkenreck presented "Impact Accelerated Aging on Injection Molded Regenerated Cellulose Fiber Reinforced Bio-Polyamides", where she discussed the durability of fiber-reinforced and bio-based composites for use in the automotive industry. On the last day, Julia Knoll presented her research results on data-driven modeling of machine setting parameters in the injection molding process in her presentation "Method for Evaluation Process Stability in Injection Molding Using High-Resolution Process Data and Dynamic Time Warping Correspondences" in the Injection Molding Session.
SPE's Annual Technical Conference will showcase advances in industry, laboratory, academia and internationally in the field of plastics and polymer science. ANTEC 2024 was attended by over 250 participants and there was great interest in the presentations and the projects behind them, such as the BeBio2 research network.
Award ceremony for the Video Challenge "Plastic - irreplaceable or environmental burden?"
On February 7, 2024, the award ceremony of the Video Challenge "Plastics - Irreplaceable or Environmental Pollution" for young people aged 15 to 18 took place at the University of Kassel. The Institute of Materials Technology, Department of Plastics Technology, and the association Innovationszentrum Kunststofftechnik e.V. organized the competition from 4.9. to 30.11.2023. Four outstanding video contributions have now been awarded prizes by an expert jury. Ms. Lina Jin and Mr. Elias Volodin won 1st place and thus a youth trip to Sri Lanka for their entry "Plastic (un)replaceable?"
The aim of the video challenge "Plastic - irreplaceable or environmental burden?" was to encourage young people to take a closer look at the topic of plastic and to show them the importance of their role in dealing with and developing this material into innovative and sustainable solutions.
An expert jury consisting of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans-Peter Heim, Head of the Department of Plastics Technology and Chairman of the Board of the Association Innovationszentrum Kunststofftechnik e.V., Deputy Chairman Prof. Dr.-Ing.Friedhelm Pracht, owner of the prachtgroup group of companies, Dr. Thorsten Siodla, long-time Vice President and now project employee at Technoform Caprano + Brunnhofer GmbH, scientific staff and students of the department as well as external viewers from the field of science communication, had the difficult task of selecting three from the numerous entries submitted in order to award the creative minds behind them.
Ms. Lina Jin (16) and Mr. Elias Volodin (16) won 1st place with their video "Plastik (un-)ersetzlich?". They creatively addressed the topics of environmental pollution caused by plastic, avoidance strategies and recycling in a true-to-life way, but also illustrated the irreplaceability of the material using the example of bicycle helmets. They received a special prize for their contribution: a youth trip to Sri Lanka to help preserve the livelihoods of turtles in a volunteer project.
For second place, the jury selected the animation "Plastic" by Ms. Hejar Hussein (18), who traced the recycling process of plastic in an artistic and innovative way. She will be given the opportunity to take part in a multi-day excursion to Hamburg with students from the Plastics Technology department. The third prize went to Mr. Henrik Muth (18) and Mr. Adrian Gherescu (17) for their video "From plastic waste to 3D printing material", in which they looked over their shoulders as they used the plastic from a bag in a 3D printer to create a new product. As a prize, the department invited them to an experience day at the Institute of Materials Engineering.
The jury awarded a special prize to Ms. Lavinia Thiesmeier and Ms. Alina Sali for their podcast contribution "Environment to know", a reenacted expert interview in which they critically examine the effects of plastic on the environment with impressive images. Together with Ms. Hussein, they are invited on an excursion to Hamburg.
The Department of Plastics Technology and the Innovationszentrum Kunststofftechnik e.V. association would like to thank all participants for submitting their entries.
UNIpace of the University of Kassel at Silicone Expo Europe
Silicone Expo Europe, which is organized by select global events, will take place this year from 28-29 February 2024 in Amsterdam. In addition to numerous presentations from industry and business on the subject of elastomers, companies from the rubber and elastomer industry from all over the world can present their products and innovations at an exhibition stand.
UNIpace will be represented on site with a liquid silicone 3D printer from InnovatiQ GmbH + Co KG in the exhibitor area. Here, an electrically conductive silicone component will be produced using the LAM process.
We look forward to interesting discussions with you at the trade fair. Visit us at stand 434.
About UNIpace
UNIpace is an application center for plastics processing on the campus of the University of Kassel and is under the scientific direction of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hans-Peter Heim (Institute for Materials Technology, Department of Plastics Technology). UNIpace conducts research with several regional and national companies, particularly in the field of silicone elastomers. UNIpace currently employs 10 people.
Contact person:
Dr.-Ing. Ralf-Urs Giesen
giesen@uni-kassel.de
+49561 804 3667
Mobility Transformation Hub at the University of Kassel
Michael Hartung, Head of the Application Center UNIfipp (Function-integration Polymer Processing) and Dr Ralf-Urs Giesen, Managing Director of the Application Center UNIpace (Polymer Application Center), presented the Department of Polymer Engineering at the kick-off event of the Mobility Transformation Hub at the University of Kassel.
The aim of UniKasselTransfer 's Mobility Transformation Hub is to develop joint solutions for the challenges associated with the transformation of the #automotive industry by networking entrepreneurs and scientists.
➡ More information and report on the kick-off event:
https://www.uni-kassel.de/einrichtung/ukt/innovation-service-hub/mobility-transformation-hub
As a representative of the University of Kassel, the Mobility Transformation Hub is part of the TRegKS - Transformation Network Region Kassel, an overarching cooperation between the district, regional authorities, Wirtschaftsförderung Region Kassel GmbH, the employers' association HESSENMETALL, the DGB Hessen-Thüringen, the VSB, the DGB Bildungswerk Hessen and the University of Kassel.
➡ More information: https://tregks.de/
Promotion of Christian Kahl
Dipl.-Ing. Christian Kahl successfully completed his doctorate on December 15, 2023 with the defense of his dissertation. His dissertation is entitled: "Reinforcement of plastics with regenerated glass and cellulose fibers under consideration of different fiber-matrix adhesions".
The Institute of Materials Engineering is delighted that Christian has successfully completed his doctorate and wishes him all the best for his professional and personal future.