COMSOL Helps Commercialize Molding Technology

By José Feigenblum, RocTool, Le Bourget du Lac, France

Mathematical modeling is going far beyond the R&D lab and is starting to make a real difference in manufacturing processes. For instance, it’s hard to imagine that RocTool’s primary process, our rapid composite molding technology, would be here today without COMSOL Multiphysics. In fact, the success story of our company is linked closely to the capabilities of that software.

The process that makes up virtually all of our business today did not exist just five years ago. And it was only with the help of COMSOL that we were able to discover, understand and commercialize our Cage System technology. Today it would be virtually impossible to adapt our process to each client’s requirements without the software.

Figure 1: Example of a molded part and the molding apparatus used to create it. RocTool licenses its technology, which is used for many different types of molding. The materials, shapes and applications all differ greatly.

RocTool is an innovative company that specializes in licensing its rapid molding technologies for the composites industry. Its customers include major automobile manufacturers plus their Tier 1 suppliers, the aircraft industry, as well as sports and leisure companies—all where lightweight yet strong composite materials are key components (Figure 1). The company does no manufacturing; rather, it helps clients set up production lines that integrate the Cage System inductive-heating method. With 15 employees and growing, RocTool last year had sales near 1.5 million euros, all from the licensing of its patents and in consulting.

Better Control of Tooling-Surface Heat

When making composite parts in Resin Transfer Molding (RTM), a mold must be hot enough to cure the material, but not too hot during the injection phase. The mold generally consists of top and bottom surfaces separated by a few millimeters. Traditionally, molding sections are made of solid metal; these are heated by sending hot oil or water through small shafts bored through the mold, or by sitting the mold on a heating plate. This means that large volumes of metal are being continuously heated and, depending on the application and mold, the process can require 20 to 50 kW or more of power for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A complete injection/curing cycle varies with the requirements of the material being formed; for instance, with a thermoset such as an epoxy resin it can take 15 to 20 minutes at a constant temperature of 90°C.

We at RocTool knew there must be a better, faster way. I learned about COMSOL Multiphysics’ capabilities during my PhD work and, when I joined RocTool five years ago, one of the first things I did was to tell engineering management that we had to have it. This turned out to be an excellent decision.