The novel manufacturing system for processing highly filled plastic compounds is used for the production of bipolar plates for fuel cell taps. Currently available production facilities are not able to process the extremely highly filled matrix materials, such as polyphthalamides (PPA) or polypropylene sulfide (PPS) with carbon-based fillers (e.g. graphite or carbon black) with a filling degree of up to 80% wt. As part of the project, a new manufacturing system for the production of bipolar plates based on highly filled plastic compounds using injection molding technology is to be realized. This requires a new machine concept to be reconfigured, which is characterized by the following system specifications and thus stands out from the current state of the art: To realize the required component properties, a comparatively high clamping force is required for very small shot volumes. Furthermore, the matrix systems required for the processing and production of bipolar plates must correspond to higher processing and process temperatures in the future in order to be able to cover the required fields of application. The polymers that can be considered for this purpose are primarily PPA and PPS compounds, which have a very narrow process window and must therefore not be subjected to a residence time in the barrel-screw unit. A spray-stamping function is required in order to be able to inject the required component volume into a partially opened mold cavity via an immersion edge tool without large flow resistances. Preferably, a film sprue should be used in order to achieve a homogeneous melt distribution during mold filling. With the subsequent embossing stroke, the final shaping and the necessary compaction of the plate structure takes place.

The novel manufacturing system for processing highly filled plastic compounds is used for the production of bipolar plates for fuel cell taps. Currently available production facilities are not able to process the extremely highly filled matrix materials, such as polyphthalamides (PPA) or polypropylene sulfide (PPS) with carbon-based fillers (e.g. graphite or carbon black) with a filling degree of up to 80% wt. As part of the project, a new manufacturing system for the production of bipolar plates based on highly filled plastic compounds using injection molding technology is to be realized. This requires a new machine concept to be reconfigured, which is characterized by the following system specifications and thus stands out from the current state of the art: To realize the required component properties, a comparatively high clamping force is required for very small shot volumes. Furthermore, the matrix systems required for the processing and production of bipolar plates must correspond to higher processing and process temperatures in the future in order to be able to cover the required fields of application. The polymers that can be considered for this purpose are primarily PPA and PPS compounds, which have a very narrow process window and must therefore not be subjected to a residence time in the barrel-screw unit. A spray-stamping function is required in order to be able to inject the required component volume into a partially opened mold cavity via an immersion edge tool without large flow resistances. Preferably, a film sprue should be used in order to achieve a homogeneous melt distribution during mold filling. With the subsequent embossing stroke, the final shaping and the necessary compaction of the plate structure takes place.