Market Overview:
This technology combines traditional injection molding methods to create a novel injection forming process for hybrid materials. Polymer injection forming is used to produce multi-material hybrid structures consisting of metals, fabrics, and polymers for a wide range of industries, such as automotive and aerospace. Combining different materials improves the mechanical properties, adds to the aesthetic appearance, and allows for more complex design geometries. However, traditional methods are subject to major drawbacks, such as non-uniform deformation and high manufacturing costs. Clemson University researchers have developed a novel forming process that combines polymer injection forming and supercritical assisted injection methods to efficiently create multi-material hybrid structures for a wide range of applications. The novel process and design cuts down on operational costs while enabling more complex geometries with a more uniform deformation and shape.
Application Stage of Development
Injection forming for hybrid foam stuctures Prototype
Advantages
• Enabling lightweight hybrid metal foam composite structures
• Mitigates traditional setbacks while making hybrid structures more cost-effective and efficient
• Combines separate metal forming and injection molding processes into a single scalable production process
Technical Summary
Clemson researchers have developed a polymer injection forming system that produces multi-material hybrid materials. The process revolves around the combination of traditional methods with supercritical fluid assisted injection, and allows for different geometries and depth of deformation. This is achieved through a novel mold and modelling approach with an adjustable cavity thickness and thermal and pressure sensors. By monitoring the melt flow pattern, the technology can be used to better model the mechanical interaction of melt flow and blank deformation, and the effect of the solidified layer. This technology mitigates the practical challenges related to shrinkage and springback while serving as an efficient way of producing multi-material hybrid structures.
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Inventor: Dr. Srikanth Pilla, Saeed Farahani
Patent Type: Provisional
Serial Number: 62/912,257
CURF Ref No: 2019-034