Luxus chooses BOY machine to enhance automotive materials development

Technical compounder, Luxus, has purchased new injection moulding machinery from BOY as it looks to develop its range of Hycolene thermoplastics for the automotive industry.

The Lincolnshire-based company has invested in a BOY 90E injection moulding machine with ancillary equipment as well as a BOY 22A, which it says enables it to provide its automotive customers with extra-large test plaques and another mould with complex flow paths.

The aim, it says, is to give auto designers a more realistic representation of how a component will look in a specific grain or colour – therefore dramatically reducing the development time required.

This investment follows three months of intense trials with BOY to assess the benefits its machinery can bring to the development of Hycolene, its high performance thermoplastics (PP) range for lightweight auto interior trim applications.

BOY’s top-end 90E machine is required by Luxus to mould extra-large plaques previously run on a large 200 tonne machines, while still maintaining the clamp force to prevent flashing, to deliver high precision control and repeatability.

Luxus also needed the machines to fit into a small area within its Technical Centre; this will be possible thanks to their very compact design.

“This latest investment is specifically for the continued development of our high performance Hycolene thermoplastics range, since auto designers are increasingly requesting extra-large test plaques and complex mould flow paths which are not widely available,” explained Peter Atterby, Luxus’ Managing Director.

“We have also therefore, purchased two moulds from specialist manufacturer Senior and Dickson to fit the new machines. One is a flat grained plaque, the other is a mould designed to show the flow path of materials in a ‘real world’ application.”

Bob Wilson, Managing Director, BOY UK, commented: “We are pleased that Luxus has invested in BOY machinery to deliver large test plaques. Our patented clamp unit is known for its ability to mould large tools and a considerable surface area.

“Its two platen design allows for the production of large plaque tools on the very smallest of machines, in fact, the clamp force was reduced in Luxus’ trials to some 600kn (60 tonnes without any adverse effect).                       

“The 90E also helps with demanding test component pieces too, like the glove pocket component for example. The machine’s servo-motor pump drive means it has a dynamic reaction to the hydraulics and movements on the machine, when used with the Alpha control system and the clamp design. This means that these components are more controllable to produce even under the most difficult conditions.”

The injection moulding machines are being commissioned by Luxus now the PDM exhibition in Telford, where the announcement was made, has concluded.