INJECTION MOLDING: Vertical presses chosen for automotive trim

Tecomelt vertical injection presses from Engel are seeing a lot of use for automotive decorative interior components. Worldwide, six Tecomelt machines have been delivered in the last six months to this market. Equipped with twin injection cylinders, they will be used for in-mold decoration of parts such as door, trunk and floor trim.

With the addition of Engel ERC linear robots, Tecomelt machines are capable of similar cycle times as injection-compression molding machines. However, the Tecomelt melt deposition process is said to be much more gentle on the decorative material.

With Tecomelt, the melt is deposited in the bottom half of the mold while the mold is open. The melt is then covered with a thin layer of decorative fabric and both components are pressed together in the closed mold. Equipped with a slit die similar to an extruder, the injection unit moves to follow the contours of the mold cavity, depositing the melt where it is needed.

Tecomelt is used to form the interior door trim of the BMW Mini. Two parts are produced simultaneously in a single cycle from a pre-shaped TPO foam film and a supporting layer of polypropylene. The molding action is extremely gentle in spite of the heavy ribbing on the reverse side of the part.

Because there is no need for hot runners, mold costs for Tecomelt are reduced compared with molds for injection-compression molding on a conventional horizontal clamp machine.

Engel Canada Inc. 519-836-0220