Energy-efficiency in a hybrid process of sheet metal forming and polymer injection moulding

Hybrid processes are an efficient solution for shortening process chains and improving performance. As an example a process combination of sheet metal forming and polymer injection molding is introduced and investigated. The merging of forming and moulding processes into a single step process allows generating potential cost-savings, especially for medium to large production volumes. Based on the technological comparison between the conventional and the new process chain, the determination of the energy consumption and the detected impacts concerning the process efficiency are presented, showing that approx. 20% less energy is required due to using only one tempered tooling and reduction of handling operation.