Innovation is our tradition: Extensive research for your success.

As an innovative company, we continuously create new ideas for our customers, both in mould making and with respect to the testing and use of new process technologies. The basis for this is our in-depth research and development work. For many years, we have been developing innovative technologies independently, in joint-research projects and in publicly funded research projects. These technologies result in the creation of new ideas for your parts with regard to effectiveness, speed and precision. These technologies result in new inventive ideas to make the production of your parts faster, more precise and efficient.

New technologies in use

InProLight: Fibre composite processing with short cycle times

InProLight represents the establishment of an integrative process chain for the resource-conserving serial production of lightweight thermoplastic fibre-reinforced parts.

At the core of this technology is the development of an innovative process chain for structural parts made of long fibre-reinforced thermoplastics. The central idea here is based on the automated and serial-suitable production of structural parts with a high potential for lightweight construction.

The process

  • Fibre-spraying of a 3D-preform with hybrid fibres
  • Insertion of the preform into a variothermal and energetically optimised pressing tool for consolidation
  • Laser cutting and welding process for the production of a finished part in under 3 minutes

Hybridroving

Preform

Part

Joined and hemmed finished part

Steam-free particle foam processing using variothermal mould technology

Variothermal mould technology from Hofmann – Ihr Impulsgeber plays a crucial role in a completely new type of particle foam processing (EPS, EPP and E-TPU).

As one of five partners of the FOX Velution start-up, Hofmann – Ihr Impulsgeber contribute their expertise in the process chain for vapour-free particle foam processing. Variothermal mould technology is used in the second step of the chain, which involves the vapour-free production of moulded parts.

The process

  • Mould production via 3D printing
  • Integration of contour-close temperature control (patented cooling channel structure)
  • Alternating temperature control with hot (heating rate up to 30 K/s) or cold fluids to fuse the particles and cool down the moulded parts as needed

Increased resource efficiency through the complete elimination of steam in the moulded part production process

Processing of previously unusable materials using conformal temperature control channels and water or oil as the temperature control medium

New possibilities for processing, such as coating of the moulded parts or the integration of electronics

Ihr Ansprechpartner für R&D

Jonas Beck
T: + 49 9571 766-9661
forschung@hofmann-impulsgeber.de