Pultrusion - New cost-effective applications for construction and automotive industries live at K
03.07.2019 | Petra Rehmet

The fibers in pultruded profiles are completely aligned with the direction of load, resulting in finished products that are specially optimized regarding material and weight. "Pultrusion is the most cost-effective way of producing composites, and at the same time, the obstacles for investing in systems and molds are low," says Philipp Zimmermann, Head of the BU Composites at KraussMaffei. That is why iPul, the first turnkey complete system which was introduced in 2017, consistently generates high interest, primarily in the construction, wind power and automotive industries. KraussMaffei supports its customers in this process, as well, all the way from component development and prototype creation through series production—which it can even take over for small production quantities.

The iPul system with mold, metering machine and accessories is capable of high production speeds of up to three meters per minute, which is aided by the elaborate design of the mold and the injection box. Close collaboration with material partners Covestro, Huntsman and Evonik make it possible to process highly reactive matrix systems. 

Pultrusion has gained more momentum with the takeover of the English provider Pultrex at the beginning of this year. Pultrex has special expertise in the business areas of pullwinding and filament winding and is itself a manufacturer of pultrusion profiles.  "The expertise and experience of Pultrex adds to our system expertise. We now provide the complete value chain from a single supplier. At the same time, together, we are pursuing the common goal of advancing standardized systems engineering for pultrusion," says Zimmermann. At K, new components from the construction and automotive industries optimized regarding weight and costs will be on display.