Riba Composites installs our of our state-of-the-art presses for their composites
Riba Composites, an Italian manufacturer for structural parts and components, invested in a new production plant for HP-RTM and press molding technology.
Riba Composites: the client
In Italy, Faenza-based RIBA Composites wanted to expand their presence in the automotive and aerospace industries, and decided to explore the possibilities offered by high-productivity technologies like HP-RTM and press molding.
The challenge
Cure times for HP-RTM parts can vary. The trend is in reducing injection time (currently around 30 seconds) while also reducing curing time (anywhere from 90 seconds to 3 minutes) to increase productivity, with the primary target being control over mold temperature to facilitate this.
However, using a two-shuttle press design also offers a substantially higher efficiency, since the press is closed for curing longer than it is for injection; operators attend service functions on the lower mold half while the other is curing.
E-System dosing unit: our solution
We provided an E-System dosing unit, customized to handle three components, a matching LN 10 mixing head, and a customized short-stroke press that delivers a clamping force of 25,000 kN and extremely precise active parallelism control that guarantees part planarity.
This highly advanced HP-RTM plant provides Riba Composites with the equipment necessary for entering the competitive arena of Tier One suppliers of CFRP parts for the automotive industry.
