A Novel Method for Manufacturing Polymer/Metal Hybrid Structures

Abstract

In this study, a method for manufacturing polymer/metal hybrid structure is presented in which traditional plastic injection machine was converted to plastic injection forming (PIF). In this method, deforming of the metal and adhering the metal to the polymer is done in one step. In the experimental study, a special mold within rectangular cavity was used during PIF process. Aluminum plates of different thicknesses were used as the metal parts of the structure. The injected polymers were pure polystyrene and elastomer-added polystyrene. The deformability of the Al plates was examined under different injection pressures. In order to provide adhesion between metal and polymer, an adhesive of elastomeric nature was applied on the metal plate prior to injection molding. Bending test was applied to determine the flexural strength and maximum deflection of the polymer/metal hybrid structures. The obtained results were satisfactorily acceptable in improving the method for designing and manufacturing polymer/metal hybrid structures in one step.

Research Progress on Characterization and Regulation of Forming Quality in Laser Joining of Metal and Polymer, and Development Trends of Lightweight Automotive Applications

“…IM, as one of the technologies that can realize connection in a short period of time, has the advantages of high automation, low waste, mass production, convenient recycling, etc. However, it is a discontinuous process that requires significant investment, and the necessary tools and IM machines are expensive, making it difficult to use widely [9,74,75]. The 3D printing method (FDM, fused deposition modeling) is based on heating and melting, depositing layers of polymer filaments onto a metal heating bed to achieve hybridization [9].…”