IPF 2014: Perfect parallelism in panoramic roof through active platen controlIPF 2014: Perfect parallelism in panoramic roof through active platen control
Taking center stage at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Plastic Technology (Nagoya, Japan) stand at the recent IPF show near Tokyo was a massive panoramic roof molded by Toyota Industries for a long wheelbase version of the hybrid Prius vehicle available in Japan. The roof measured between 1050 and 1190 mm in width, and 1460 mm in length.
November 25, 2014
Taking center stage at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Plastic Technology (Nagoya, Japan) stand at the recent IPF show near Tokyo was a massive panoramic roof molded by Toyota Industries for a long wheelbase version of the hybrid Prius vehicle available in Japan. The roof measured between 1050 and 1190 mm in width, and 1460 mm in length. Molded on a 3000emR-47-/160 two-component electric press (technically a hybrid press as final clamping is hydraulic) from Mitsubishi, the transparent PC component was 5 mm thick, while the black PC alloy frame was 3 mm thick. Overall shot weight was 12 kg.
3-mm-thick glazing in Prius panoramic roof boasts tolerance of 0.05 mm. |
Explaining the complexities in molding such a large part, Yasuo Honda, General Manager, Sales Department, at Mitsubishi, said: "Thickness control for this part is very difficult. We employ four position sensors in the mold and active platen control in order to realize a tolerance of 0.05 mm in terms of part thickness. Normally with such a large part you'd expect tapering but we avoid this with four-point clamping and feedback from the position sensors."
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