Requirements
On behalf of a leading manufacturer of power electronics components, we manufactured a plastic enclosure for an exceptionally sensitive electrical component which carries out important current control functions. Due to the high safety requirements and the demanding specifications of our customer, it was necessary for the component to be designed so that it was particularly resistant to fire, current fluctuations and extreme temperatures. The longevity of the tool, due to the long series production runs that were required, was also at the forefront of our holistic manufacturing concept. As is often the case, we had to get the plastic housing ready for series production in the shortest possible time frame, while aligning the entire processing chain on a cost-effective and efficient basis.
Process
We manufacture the plastic housing in full at the company’s Knittelfeld site on the basis of the customer’s drawing: from the development, mold concept and mold construction through to the series production on eight modern injection molding machines with a clamping force of up to 300 t. The work starts with the mold-flow analysis, which represents the theoretical warping and the shrinkage expected of the component. With our longstanding experience in toolmaking, we were able to design both the tool and the process to fulfill the aggressive material specifications of the customer and complex part geometry. In addition to the near-contour temperature control in the tool, we developed a product-specific removal gripper which further increases the safety and efficiency in the process. To ensure the longevity of the tool, special high resistant steel grades were used in mold construction.
The plastic component itself is injection-molded from high-quality thermoplastic, polyamide 6.6 VO GF30. A material which is challenging and difficult to process and that the customer specified due to its high tracking resistance in the extreme temperature ranges. As the thermoplastic warps during the cooling phase, we were required to plan for correction loops from the beginning to achieve the required flatness of the printed circuit board support.
Each process step is consistently monitored and seamlessly documented with the latest measuring technology. Special clean room and ESD-capable (electrostatic discharge) reusable packaging ensures the highest standards of cleanliness in the downstream processes.
Result
In an extremely short time frame, we succeeded in taking a plastic enclosure into series production that fulfills the high specifications surrounding durability, resistance and processing quality on an optimum basis. At peak times, 5,000 components are manufactured per day. Our customer benefits from a compact and cost-effective process design which reproduces all the work steps at our location. This enables unnecessary coordination work and transport routes to be omitted. The complete know-how is incorporated into all the process steps across all departments.
8
injection molding machines
200
kg material throughput
5
manufactured components
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