Photo by Henkel Henkel's Composites Lab in Heidelberg, Germany.
Henkel has installed high-pressure resin transfer moulding (HP-RTM) equipment at a new automotive customer testing facility in Heidelberg, Germany.
“Now OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers can come into the Henkel Composites Lab and work with our experts to learn first-hand what the options and possibilities may be for using advanced composite materials with short cycle times in their vehicles,” said the company.
The HP-RTM equipment includes a 380 tonne press and injection equipment for polyurethanes and epoxy materials.
Henkel said it has established the test centre to meet “customer needs for fast, reliable and scalable production of composites”.
The company said: “Automotive OEMs and Tier-1s are constantly seeking cost-effective processes suitable for production of more than 10,000 parts per year. They also want custom-formulated, fast-curing resins for use in short production cycles. This magnifies the importance of having reliable partners with in-house test capabilities, which are close to series production conditions.”
