Grafenberg, Germany - Demand for lightweight materials has been increasing rapidly for the last few years, said RAMPF Tooling, a producer of liquid, paste, Close Contour and board materials for model and mould making, as it announced that it is presenting tooling products for lightweight construction at JEC Europe 2013 -- in hall 1, stand H46 -- for the first time.
Rampf Tooling says JEC Europe, being held in Paris, 12-13 March, is an ideal platform to present its comprehensive product range of polyurethane and epoxy systems used in various composites production processes, such as hand/wet lay-up, vacuum bagging, resin infusion, prepreg, autoclave, wet compression moulding or RTM. The materials also cover a wide application temperature range.
Visitors to the fair will have a broader spectrum to choose from as affiliated companies, Rampf Giessharze and Rampf Dosiertechnik will show customised components for sealing, bonding, casting and coating as well as innovative low-pressure mixing and dispensing machines.
Raw material savings and cost minimisation during production, assembly and use are all aims of the moulding sector. Lightweight construction is a philosophy that aims to cut weight whilst maintaining stability, to cut fuel costs and emissions.
Rampf says lightweight construction is of great importance in the automotive and marine industry, but fundamental in the aerospace industry as well in the area of space travel. Hence Rampf Tooling has placed the key focus for this year's exhibits at JEC Europe on the aerospace industry.
Rampf will be showcasing various processes and materials for lightweight construction based on a number of case studies, including Close Contour material RAKU-TOOL CC-6503, which is a filled cast polyurethane, especially suited for the production of lay-up tools, says Rampf as it shows excellent and seamless surface structure.
The materials are ready to machine, three dimensional castings, already a close outline of the final shape. They can be used for mould and tool production and feature a fine, seamless surface, an excellent machinability, no handling of liquid materials and good dimensional stability. Rampf says the already close contour shape means less waste is generated, so the final shape can be milled faster and with less cutter wear.
"We would like to present our customers with a holistic overview of various production processes, products and solutions to enable them to choose the products and processes best suited for their applications," said Heinz Horbanski, managing director of RAMPF Tooling, in a company statement.
PIC Aero engine, with part cast using RAKU-TOOL CC-6503 polyurethane tooling material
