Husky accelerates automotive efforts

The primary focus of Husky Injection Molding Systems'' (Bolton, ON) recent Detroit Tech Center open house may have been the introduction of the Quadloc-Tandem-Index (QTI) large-part multimaterial molding system, but the event actually displayed the company''s overall push into the automotive market across a broad array of technologies.

In addition to the QTI, which combines elements of Husky''s Tandem multimold system and its Index rotary platen for PET on a large Quadloc machine base to overmold parts as large as instrument panels (see August MPW for more), Husky displayed advances in Thixomolding, inline compounding, and hot runners geared towards grabbing market share in automotive.

Beyond the innovations on display, this push was evident in the tech center itself, which two months prior opened an 11,000-sq-ft expansion to house new training facilities for customers. Prior to the expansion, training was done on the facility''s shop floor where instructors competed with machines in operation to be heard. Now, there are three enclosed classrooms as well as four machine bays for hands-on training. The 110,000-sq-ft tech center joins 18 others globally, and over the last 12 months it has had 250-plus customer application tests, according to Husky officials.

On the technology side, Husky showed members of the trade press, as well as representatives from automotive OEMs, several advances, starting with Thixomolding, the injection molding of magnesium alloys. The company is close to introduction of a 1000-ton version of its Thixomolding machine (see July 2005 MPW), and at the open house it showed off a gear housing made by Tier One supplier Magna International that was created on a Husky machine with a two-drop hot runner, also Husky-built. The company is also working with Magna on a larger underhood component made with a four-drop hot runner, but more specifics weren''t available. Magna is reported to be working on a Thixo-only facility in Canada that will replace some of the aluminum die casting it''s currently doing.

Husky officials point out that the economics of Thixo from a material cost standpoint, especially in high-heat applications, are becoming more palatable, with the cost of magnesium around $1 to $1.50/lb versus $8/lb or better for high-heat resins like polyetherimide (PEI).

Husky also revisited inline compounding, a technology it first explored at K 2001, when the company showed a 300-ton press built on the now-defunct G (General) machine platform that integrated fibers directly into the resin. A new version has been created on the company''s hybrid Hylectric platform, with a 2500-metric-ton machine that uses a Coperion extruder currently being tested at the company''s Luxembourg plant prior to delivery in August to an undisclosed Tier One automotive supplier in Europe.

The company has used the system to mix long-glass and some mineral fibers with polypropylene. Resin is fully melted prior to fiber introduction so that fibers maintain length and aren''t broken up by shear from unmelted pellets in the barrel. The 2001 version of the technology was able to achieve average fiber lengths of 5 mm-plus. Husky officials declined to comment on fiber length with the new technology, but feel they''ve made advances, derived from new technology like a special hot runner system for the machine. Overall, Husky believes there''s growth potential for the market with 70 inline compounding machines up and running globally now if transfer-molding units are counted.

Earlier in the day, the tech center''s GM, Rich Sieradzki, commented that hot runners are "the key to the beginning of any relationship for any market." That emphasis applies to automotive, with Husky in the last month moving all hot runner design for automotive to Detroit from its Vermont facility where they''re made. Husky has hired seven designers to focus on the automotive hot runner business in the Detroit center, with three more hires slated in the near future. According to Mike Diletti, VP of sales and marketing for Husky, automotive hot runners only account for 10% of the company''s current hot runner business and a 5% market share overall, leaving room for growth.

In terms of Husky''s Tandem technology, where an intermediate center platen allows molders to run two distinct molds on the same machine, doubling output, Husky officials said the press continues to make strides in automotive, with 12 being sold into the market in the last 12 months. Overall, Husky officials said half of all Tandem''s sold come with a second injection unit for multimaterial molding.