From Organosandwich to component

For the first time, several prototypes of an Organosandwich component will be displayed at the K trade fair in Düsseldorf. From 16 - 23 October 2019, visitors will have the opportunity to inspect the component running under the designation “OSW-3D shell" at four stands. At the EconCore booth (Hall 8a, C37), the focus will be on the production of the Organosandwich semi-finished product consisting of a polypropylene honeycomb core and two glass fiber PP crossply skin layers. The special feature here is that not only the production of the honeycomb core but also the application of the skin layer takes place in a continuous production process at ThermHex Waben GmbH, a subsidiary of EconCore NV.

ThermHex and EconCore show with the Organosandwich that semi-finished products for mass production applications can be produced in a ressource-friendly and cost-effective way.

The technology demonstrator OSW-3D shell will also be exhibited at the Fraunhofer IMWS booth SC01 in hall 7. In a joint project between ThermHex Waben GmbH and Fraunhofer IMWS, a process for the production of sandwich components such as the OSW-3D shell with thermoformed Organosandwich and injection moulding functionalisation was developed. The developers Thomas Gläßer and Peter Stache from Fraunhofer IMWS succeeded in producing the component on a pilot scale within approx. 90 seconds.

The project supported by the European Regional Development Fund thus shows that sandwich components suitable for mass production can be produced with ThermHex honeycomb cores and further processed and functionalised in short cycle times. The project partners are therefore confident that the automotive industry in particular offers a wide range of possible applications.

The prototype will also be displayed at the Meusburger (hall 1, C30) and KrausMafffei booth.