LANXESS launches hollow-profile hybrid technology

LANXESS is launching its hollow-profile hybrid technology on the market. With this new lightweight design technology, metallic hollow profiles can be functionalised on conventional injection moulding machines with plastic compounds.

The result is plastic-metal composite components with greater torsional stiffness and strength than could previously be achieved with other technologies. Dr Matthias Theunissen, an expert in lightweight design at LANXESS, clarified: “Hollow-profile hybrid technology has now progressed to such an advanced level that we have embarked on a variety of development projects with customers and have already reached the prototype stage with some of them.”

The potential applications in the automotive industry include cross car beams, coupling rods, stabilisers and seat elements. In addition, the new lightweight technology could be used to produce skiing and hiking poles and components for furniture and the construction industry, for example. 

The hollow-profile hybrid technology is a further development of the traditional plastic-metal composite technology (hybrid technology) using sheet metal. The general strength of the new technology is that processors can manufacture with short cycle times, as is typical for injection moulding in high-volume production. As a result, the manufacturing process is efficient and economical with no need for auxiliary units or tooling technology.

Theunissen added: “With the aid of innovative tolerance management, we can prevent profiles of that type from damaging the mould or stop leaks occurring in the injection moulding cavity.”

When the thin-walled hollow profiles are over-moulded with the molten plastic, high pressures often exceeding 400 to 500 bar occur in the cavity. As a result, there is a high risk of the profiles deforming or collapsing. “We have optimised the process such that the profiles withstand the pressures that occur and do not need to be supported from inside,” Theunissen concluded.