12. KUNSTSTOFF-DIA(hr)LOG®

Mr Bergmann also provided a prospective look at investments planned for 2018:

In the third quarter of 2018, the first LFT production line will go into operation at the Niederzissen location. During this same period, a second compounding line will begin production at the plant in Brazil. In the second half of the year, the compounder also plans to begin operating a third production line for the product portfolio of its BIO-FED branch. And plans are in place to expand production in China in late 2018 and early 2019.

Mr Bergmann also informed the participants about a partnership with Poland-based Grupa Azoty Compounding (GAC), initiated at the start of the year for the purpose of setting up a compounding plant in Tarnow, Poland. “This is an expertise and consulting contract through which AKRO-PLASTIC will assist and advise GAC until production is under way”, explained Bergmann.

The Second Day

On the second day, Dr Oliver Neuß, R & D Director at AKRO-PLASTIC, opened the event with the question “Where is the boundary between PA 6 and PA 6.6?” He explained why PA 6.6 is so scarce and so expensive and presented possible ways to replace this material. “It is first important to find out why PA 6.6 is currently being used for certain applications”, said Dr Neuß.

He frequently found that this material simply had “always” been used, and because of these good experiences no one had ever thought of changing it. He provided telling examples of how a PA 6 can be modified using various development directions to obtain certain comparable properties in a PA 6.6 and encouraged the audience to consider changing materials.

Mr Maiko Ersch from IKV (Institute for Plastics Processing in Industry and Skilled Crafts at RWTH Aachen University) subsequently addressed the topic of digitisation in his talk entitled “Structural simulation of injection-moulded LFT” and described the challenge of fibre orientation and curvature in computer simulation. The key here is knowing that the length of the fibres affects the mechanical properties. Mr Ersch presented various measuring methods and simulation models in his talk. He also made it clear that research on the effects of fibre curvature is still in its infancy, and that more research is needed. New approaches and concepts must be taken into account here.

Christian Staudigel from SKZ gave a talk on the digital transformation in plastics processing and its effects on practical applications. Everyone is talking about Industry 4.0, and the smart factory has become a fixture even in plastic injection moulding. One trend is moving away from mass production and towards mass customisation. He provided numerous examples from industry to back this up. Additive manufacturing plays a key role here, since it breaks the link between design and production, resulting in a new customer relationship, particularly in the consumer goods market. Industry 4.0 is a form of digitisation that is increasingly defining both our private and professional spheres.

“Recalls, warranty and claims” are topics that unfortunately come up again and again, and can lead to a great deal of uncertainty in the supplier chain due to incomplete knowledge. Finally, the attorneys Axel Löhde and Torge Rademacher from Watson Farley & Williams provided an overview of the legal bases. Today increasing numbers of vehicle models are appearing on the market in a shorter time frame. And this means less time to develop these models, resulting in a significant increase in recalls. Whereas 5,452 vehicles were recalled in 1995, in 2016 that number stood at 4.2 million, with an average damage value of EUR 12.4 million.

Mr Löhde presented the various types of recalls in which there is a legal obligation to initiate a recall only in the event that personal injury could occur. OEMs would like to transfer the risks to their suppliers and therefore try to incorporate all types of clauses into the contract language in order to achieve this. Not all of these are effective, however, and legal liability must be assumed due to Germany’s General Terms and Conditions Act (GTBC), as explained in detail by the attorneys.