Portuguese molder starts up three smc lines for VW
By Staff | April 01, 2006
Tier 1 supplier INAPAL Plasticos SA (Porto, Portugal) recently completed a new facility with three production lines, to make parts specifically for multipurpose vehicles designed by automaker Volkswagen (VW). Two of the lines are fully automated for production of Class-A finish trunk lids for VW's EOS convertible model. The third line produces underbody shields for both the EOS and VW's Spanish subsidiary's SEAT models. The new plant is located adjacent to VW's Autoeuropa industrial complex in Palmela, Portugal, to ensure JIS (just-in-sequence) delivery to the automakers' production lines.
The INAPAL production lines are a joint effort of INAPAL and sheet molding compound (SMC) supplier Menzolit-Fibron GmbH (Bretten, Germany). SMC sheet is made at the INAPAL facility and spooled onto rolls or coils large enough to hold the material produced in an entire work shift.
To minimize scrap and part weight fluctuations, automated, inline CNC trimmers cut the SMC sheet to shape. A three-sheet stack forms the EOS trunk lid charge, which then is weighed to ensure that part-to-part consistency does not vary more than 1 percent by weight. SMC charges are robotically loaded into the presses.
High-speed, 2,300-ton compression presses (model DC-U 2100/1800 AS, capable of 21,000 kN/4.7 million lbf) are supplied by Dieffenbacher GmbH & Co. KG (Eppingen, Germany). All are equipped with active parallel motion control, to ensure accurate tool closing, and they can be configured for in-mold coating operation.
Downstream of the press, openings in the outer trunk lid skin are cut with a high-precision CNC milling machine, while a waterjet cutter trims the trunk's interior surface. After a bar code is attached to each part, detailed inspection identifies out-of-tolerance parts before they are transferred to the Autoeuropa plant for painting.
Tier 1 supplier INAPAL Plasticos SA (Porto, Portugal) recently completed a new facility with three production lines, to make parts specifically for multipurpose vehicles designed by automaker Volkswagen (VW). Two of the lines are fully automated for production of Class-A finish trunk lids for VW's EOS convertible model. The third line produces underbody shields for both the EOS and VW's Spanish subsidiary's SEAT models. The new plant is located adjacent to VW's Autoeuropa industrial complex in Palmela, Portugal, to ensure JIS (just-in-sequence) delivery to the automakers' production lines.
The INAPAL production lines are a joint effort of INAPAL and sheet molding compound (SMC) supplier Menzolit-Fibron GmbH (Bretten, Germany). SMC sheet is made at the INAPAL facility and spooled onto rolls or coils large enough to hold the material produced in an entire work shift.
To minimize scrap and part weight fluctuations, automated, inline CNC trimmers cut the SMC sheet to shape. A three-sheet stack forms the EOS trunk lid charge, which then is weighed to ensure that part-to-part consistency does not vary more than 1 percent by weight. SMC charges are robotically loaded into the presses.
High-speed, 2,300-ton compression presses (model DC-U 2100/1800 AS, capable of 21,000 kN/4.7 million lbf) are supplied by Dieffenbacher GmbH & Co. KG (Eppingen, Germany). All are equipped with active parallel motion control, to ensure accurate tool closing, and they can be configured for in-mold coating operation.
Downstream of the press, openings in the outer trunk lid skin are cut with a high-precision CNC milling machine, while a waterjet cutter trims the trunk's interior surface. After a bar code is attached to each part, detailed inspection identifies out-of-tolerance parts before they are transferred to the Autoeuropa plant for painting.
