MAG's new FiberCut Unit was developed to process difficult to cut fibres such as glass, carbon, polyester, aramid, and natural fibres ready for the manufacture of sheet or bulk moulding compounds (SMC and BMC) or fibre reinforced thermoplastics.
In the FiberCut Unit, the endless strands of fibre are supplied to the cutting modules (patent pending) by two feeding units that can be operated at different velocities. The cutting unit has a modular design and consists of two or more spindle modules allowing four cuts per rotation and module. Once the cutting process has been completed, the fibres drop, for example, onto a velocity-controlled conveyor belt creating a defined, homogenous spread pattern – a fibre mat. Other applications include, for example, direct cutting and dosing of fibres into a BMC, or an injection moulding process.
With this new technology, MAG says it is possible to cut and dose various fibre types and two lengths simultaneously, depending on the fibre feed rate and the spindle speed, each of which can be adjusted individually. This helps to increase system productivity and enables new compounds, not currently available, to be produced. MAG lists the advantages of the new equipment as:
- spindle speed and fibre feed rate can be adjusted individually;
- fibre distribution can be adjusted individually;
- online monitoring of cutting process;
- cutting head module with two cutting blades for high productivity;
- modular design enables large fibre distribution widths; and
- PC-based control system with simple operation via touch screen.
MAG is a leading machine tool and systems company serving the durable goods industry worldwide with complete manufacturing solutions for metal cutting and composites applications.
