Polymer matrix compounds based on piezo ceramic and electrically conducting particles within a thermoplastic matrix show distinctive piezoelectric and dielectric effects which can used for sensor applications. The electrical and mechanical properties can be adjusted in a wide range by varying the ratio of active filling particles and the matrix materials. The sensor effect of the compound is generated by the ceramic particles. A large ratio of piezo ceramic powder facilitates a high sensitivity. The electrical permittivity of the otherwise insulating matrix polymer can be adjusted by the amount of conductive filler. An aligned permittivity leads to a stronger electrical field in the ceramic particles. In contrast, too many conductive particles create a conductive network in the compound which short-circuits the sensors. The piezo ceramic compounds can be processed via micro injection molding for application as ceramic sensors. This offers a wide range of new sensor design variants, notably three-dimensional and highly complex geometries. However, there are two main demands for a highly sensitive sensor, which are conflicting. On the one hand the filler content of piezo ceramic particles in combination with electrical conductive carbon nanotubes must be very high, on the other hand the wall thickness should be as thin as possible. For filling cavities with a high aspect-ratio in an injection molding process, low viscosity polymer melts are necessary. These process characteristics conflict with the increasing viscosity by filling the melt with the particles. The sensor measuring area has to be designed as thin walled as possible. In order to overcome this obstacle a dynamically tempered mold design is applied to avoid solidification of the melt, before the mold is completely filled. The mold can be tempered by Peltier elements. The fully electric tempering is cleaner, more precise and more reliable than conventional water or oil tempering.

Fiber-reinforced thermoplastics have a high potential for big scale light weight process applications due to low processing times and recyclability. Further advantages are the low emissions during the manufacturing process and beneficial handling and storing properties of the semi finished materials. Thermoplastic composites are made of reinforcement fibers and a thermoplastic polymer matrix by applying two essential sub processes: (1) melting of the matrix-material and (2) impregnating the textile component with molten matrix-material. At present state of art both sub-processes are applied by using double-belt-presses, characterized by high processing temperatures and high processing forces. Therefore, a large amount of energy is needed to create the necessarily high compaction forces and temperatures with hydraulic cylinders and electric heating. Convection, infrared-radiation and the cooling (dynamic) of tempered machine parts leads to a significant dissipation of energy. Especially the process for generating the hydraulic pressure has a low level of efficiency. Therefore, in respect to economic and ecologic reasons, novel energy-efficient impregnation processes need to be investigated and developed. The represented novel impregnation process is based on ultrasonic technology. A stack of polymer film (outer layers) and a textile ply (inner layer) is formed and the energy is applied with an ultrasonic sonotrode. The efficient, fast and strongly concentrated energy application into the thermoplastic films allows the development of novel and highly flexible machine concepts. These can be used for development of small scale up to large scale production processes. The ultrasonic-technology allows a continuous impregnation of the textile component with molten matrix-material. A custom-designed prototype was developed. First material samples were produced and the technological parameters studied. A characterization of the experimental results, material samples, prototype machine and process is the focus of this paper.

The use of micro test specimens is a good way to characterize micro injection molding processes and the resulting material properties. The material properties of microparts may differ from standard injection molding parts, due to an overrepresentation of the surface layers with high fiber orientation and divergent morphology. In order to characterize the distribution and agglomeration of fibers and particles for the manufacturing of micro injection molding parts of functionalized polymer compounds, it is essential to manufacture the test specimens and the part using the same process. The distribution and size of these particles e.g. Carbon-Nano-Tubes (CNT) or piezo ceramic particles is dependent on the polymer plastication process during injection molding. Therefore the use of micro test specimens is a requirement for precise material selection and engineering.Due to the minimum material needs, micro test specimens are also useful for the comparison of the material properties of new polymers and compounds, which were produced in amounts of 20 g to 100 g. Another application is the testing of highly elastic and ductile materials with strains over 100%. By using micro test specimens it is possible to test high strains with low elongations in a short time.A new innovative micro test specimen has been developed at the Technische Universität Chemnitz in cooperation with the Kunststoff-Zentrum in Leipzig, that is especially designed for the testing and dimensioning of plastic microparts with weights less than 0.1 g. The main feature of the new specimen and testing process is the combined positive and force-fitted locking, which enables a precise positioning of the micro specimen and an even application of the clamping force. In order to achieve reproducible clamping, testing and handling of the sample, the clamping and testing process are spatially separated. The shape of the test specimen enables a parameter optimization for the micro injection molding process.

No abstract

Like all additive manufactured parts, FLM (fused-layer-modeling) components are characterized by a large number of joints between the similar and different materials. These joints can be divided into five categories:- Permanent cohesive bonds between single layers of the same thermoplastic material,- Permanent adhesive bonds between single layers of different thermoplastic materials- Temporary adhesive bonds between single layers of different thermoplastic materials,- Permanent adhesive bonds between a single layer of thermoplastic material and a non-thermoplastic base material,- Temporary adhesive bonds between a single layer of thermoplastic material and a non-thermoplastic base material.The first three types of bonds describe the binding process when parts are manufactured of base material, a second permanently bonded component or a support material that has good release properties. The last two types of connection describe the permanent connection between the printing part and a non-FLM-component or the temporary joint between the printed part and the build platform during the printing process. The resulting compounds can be characterized as material compounds.Since the FLM process is mainly used for design and hobby applications, the fundamentals of the bonding processes and their influence on the internal structure of the material are hardly described. Some information can be taken from the literature for welding plastics and the production of hybrid parts by injection molding. Due to the different pressure and temperature conditions as well as the very large surface-volume-ratio of the discharged strand occur significant differences in the following factors: melt flow, solidification time, formation of surface layers and wetting of the surfaces.The investigation and characterization of these effects as a function of external process parameters is an important constituent for the further development of the FLM process into an industrially suitable manufacturing process for thermoplastic components with very high lightweight and complex geometry in small series etc.