World's fastest heating-cooling press at JEC 2023

Wickert Maschinenbau unveils the world's fastest heating-cooling press at JEC World in Paris. The composite press with a heating platen size of 600 x 600 mm and a pressing force of 25 t excels with heating and cooling rates of up to 50 K/min. Standard presses are available for temperatures up to 450ºC.

Their main application is the processing of high-performance thermoplastics in the aerospace industry, but they are also used to manufacture membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) for fuel cells.

High-temperature presses are just one of the products offered by Wickert Maschinenbau. As a full-range supplier, the family-owned business provides manufacturing solutions from a single source for the entire composites value chain. The company will be exhibiting at JEC in Hall 5, Booth M64. The heating-cooling press presented there is a laboratory system for research.

A customer-specific version of the fast heating-cooling press with temperature control rates of 35 K/min, which Wickert is currently manufacturing for Chemnitz Technical University, is also designed for scientific applications. It features a pressing force of 3000 kN, built up in less than 1 s. The maximum heating plate temperature is 420°C. The press is scheduled for installation at the customer's site in April and will be used for innovative research projects.

Temperature control at record speed thanks to inductive heating system

Wickert integrates a temperature control system with two separate circuits in the presses ensuring that the short heating and cooling rates are achieved. Inductor coils in the heating plates cause the mold halves to heat up quickly, while integrated channels with cooling water ensure that they cool down rapidly. The company guarantees a homogeneous temperature with a maximum deviation of ± 5ºC over the entire temperature range up to 500ºC and the entire plate surface.

Machining of thermally fast-acting particle foams

Thanks to the rapid temperature control of the moulds, the presses play a tangible role in cutting cycle times in high-temperature processing while speeding up production. When working with thermally fast-acting particle foams, the rapid heating and cooling rates are a prerequisite for economically efficient processing.