Precision tools for the high-end market
So-called sandwich materials are frequently to be found under the high-quality surfaces of vehicle interiors. Various layers – for example, glass-fibre reinforced polypropylene or polyurethane (PU) foam – and a sprayed surface coating together form a high-quality material that meets all the requirements with regard to design and passenger safety. At the same time, these materials make the perfect machining of every design detail a real challenge. “Even if the material may seem unproblematical at first glance, these kinds of machining tasks are enormously demanding,” says Heiko Simonis, application engineer in the composites & plastics segment at LMT Tool Systems.
Focus on burrs
Each layer responds differently to the blade of the cutting tool. Additionally, glass-fibre reinforced composite materials have a negative impact on tool life and therefore also influence machining quality. Simonis says on this point: “The material can respond rather sensitively during the machining process. Small chips very easily form on the surface – a mix of glass fibre and polypropylene – which then look like burrs on the cut edge. Of course, it is important to avoid this undesirable effect.” At the same time, the LMT tool experts are constantly looking at ways of improving tool life: the machining of the different layers calls for a particularly sharp tool with cutting edges that do not go blunt even after long periods of use. Finding the optimum tool therefore involves answering a whole series of design questions – for example, about the best coating and blade geometry.
LMT develops perfectly tailored solutions
“This is where the know-how of the composites experts at LMT Belin really pays off. They contribute their experience and knowledge to every project and perfectly match the tools to the complex sandwich material and its geometry,” explains Martin Danielczick of LMT Tool Systems. “Composite materials are the materials of the future. However, although they are already being used in various applications in the automotive, aircraft and wind power industries, the requirements are always different, for example, depending on the material matrix.” As a multiple specialist, LMT develops perfectly tailored solutions for specialized applications at international suppliers, such as Johnson Controls – and it does so on the basis of decades of experience in the machining of composites.