Press manufacturer Dieffenbacher (Eppingen / Germany; www.dieffenbacher.de) will not only be presenting its LFT-D system or the near-ready for serial production prototype of its “direct strand moulding compound” (D-SMC) technique at “K 2010” (www.k-online.de), held from 27 October to 3 November 2010. The company will also show a movie presenting its new high-pressure resin transfer moulding (HP-RTM) process for manufacturing carbon fibre composite components, developed in conjunction with joint venture partner KraussMaffei (Munich / Germany; www.kraussmaffei.com).

The D-SMC machine installed at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT, Pfinztal; www.ict.fraunhofer.de) is already operating satisfactorily, Plasteurope.com was told. The machine manufactures truck bonnets, whose quality eventually is supposed to reach class A. In an attempt to improve the procedure, Dieffenbacher is in the final stages of conducting tests with DSM Composite Resins (Schaffhausen / Switzerland; www.dsmcompositeresins.com) to guarantee a stable process even in challenging climate conditions. Thanks to the ability to directly process the material, the procedure bypasses the need for storing and cooling the SMC semifinished part.