Abstract
Continuous fibre reinforced thermoplastics (CFRTPs) show great potential for series production owing to their short processing times. The growing variety of products and the desire for widespread use of lightweight parts are increasing the importance of flexible, individualised manufacturing processes in being able to offer custom-made products even in relatively small numbers. The inline impregnation technique developed at the Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) at RWTH Aachen University allows the direct processing of inexpensive starting materials (e.g. thermoplastic films and reinforcing textiles) and combines impregnating and forming in a single process. In conjunction with cost-saving, single-sided mould technology, the inline impregnation technique constitutes a flexible process chain for the economical manufacture of small and medium volume production.
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