Projects
AI4IM - Artificial Intelligence for Injection Moulding Thomas More Mechelen - Antwerpen
Injection moulding polymer microneedles using laser ablated moulds KU Leuven
Microneedles are needle-like microscopic structures used to pierce the skin in order to either deliver medical substances, or to extract fluids from a body for sampling purposes. These needles are usually arranged in an array with individual needle lengths ranging from 25 to 2000 μm. Micro-sized needles offer various advantages compared to traditional hypodermic needles, such as a pain free delivery of medical substances. However, ...
Development and optimisation of adhesion mechanisms between rubber and thermoplast materials for 2K injection moulding KU Leuven
Successful two-component (2K) injection moulding of multi-material products requires an efficient production process and an optimal material combination. Specifically for thermoset rubbers with thermoplastics, this is challenging as during injection moulding these materials have opposite temperature requirements. Therefore, a novel process with a mould containing thermally separated heat cavities was developed by Bex et al. [1]. Available ...
Part quality optimization through data-driven in-process setpoint control of injection moulding processes. KU Leuven
Designing and producing high performant injection moulded parts is a tedious task, requiring expert knowledge and multiple iterations. One of the key issues is that during the design most often the effect of the production process on the performance of the manufactured part is not accounted for. The injection moulding process may lead to undesired warpage, internal stresses as well as density and mass distributions within the part, which are ...
Development of 2K injection moulding products and processes of rubbers with thermoplastics KU Leuven
Two component (2K) injection moulding is a production process that combines two polymers in one production process without assembly. Two component injection moulding using thermoplastics is commonly used in industry. The combination of a soft rubber like material and a stiffer material is frequently used in products like toothbrushes or tools. Often a thermoplastic elastomer is used as rubber like material. Thermoplastic elastomers are ...
Mass-manufacturable locally resonant metamaterials with targeted and robust vibro-acoustic performance through injection moulding KU Leuven
It has become increasingly evident that noise and vibration exposure negatively impacts our health and well-being. Classical noise and vibration solutions are, however, typically irreconcilable with lightweight design requirements which arise from ever tightening economic and ecologic demands. In the search for innovative lightweight noise and vibration solutions, locally resonant metamaterials have recently emerged and shown great potential, ...
TRIASIM: TRaceability and Intelligent Artificial Systems in Injection Moulding KU Leuven
Product traceability is becoming increasingly important in manufacturing processes due to stricter regulations in various sectors, such as the medical, automotive, and aerospace industries. One example of this is the new regulation under the European Medical Device Regulations (MDR), which states that each medical component must have a unique identification code (UDI). This unique code links the product to its corresponding production data, ...
Manufacturing of metamaterials by thermoforming and injection moulding KU Leuven
In view of mass manufacturing solutions which merge high narrowband noise and vibration attenuation while preserving good broadband performance, this PhD track will work on design and manufacturing strategies for novel (vibro-)acoustic metamaterial solutions, while considering the integration of porous foam phases. On the one hand, currently used techniques to produce metamaterials, including additive manufacturing, or laser cutting of ...
Optimizing energy consumption in foamed injection moulding KU Leuven
The goal of this Phd consists of applying the possibilities of foam-supported injection molding to current challenges in companies using existing software (Autodesk Moldflow). This will allow to make high-quality products (higher specific stiffness than with standard injection molding) in an innovative and more energy efficient way. Both finite element simulations and experimental injection molding tests combined with energy measurements and ...