The Plastics Technology Laboratory is equipped with a wide range of modern production facilities as well as state-of-the-art testing and analysis options to enable practical teaching, applied research and the successful realisation of cooperation projects with industry. Interdisciplinary work takes centre stage here.

The facilities at a glance:

for plastics processing:

• Arburg 370 A injection moulding machine with 600 kN clamping force
• Arburg 470 A 1000-290 Comfort injection moulding machine with 1000 kN clamping force
• Arburg Allrounder 420C 2-component injection moulding machine with 1000 kN clamping force
• Demag IntElect 80/310 injection moulding machine with 800 kN clamping force
• ZSE18 twin-screw extruder from Leistritz Extrusionstechnik
• IDE pipe profile extrusion line with 45 mm screw diameter
• Hesta-Graham extrusion blow moulding machine for component volumes up to max. 750 ccm
• ILLIG thermoforming machine, max. clamping frame size 680 x 500 mm
• Thermoset press with 600 kN clamping force
• Telsonic ultrasonic welding machine with 750 N press force
• Infrared thermo-video system FLIR

for mechanical tests:

• Universal testing machine Zwick Test load max. 10 kN and temperature chamber for temperatures up to max. 150°C
• Impact pendulum for Charpy and Izod test work max. 50 J
• Hardness tests: Ball indentation, Shore A and D (Frank, Zwick)
• Determination of softening temperature according to VICAT in air (Frank)

for viscosity measurements:

• Rotational rheometer, also for UV measurements (Anton Paar)
• Determination of the melt flow rate MVR and MFR (Göttfert)
• Determination of the length of the flow spiral under injection moulding conditions

for thermal analysis:

• Dynamic heat flow differential calorimetry (NETZSCH-DSC 214 Polyma) with low temperature additive
• Thermogravimetric analysis TGA (NETZSCH TG209 F1 Libra))
• Moisture analyser AQUATRAC from Brabender
• Determination of the annealing residue

for CAD/CAE simulation:

• Injection moulding simulation with SimaSoft
• Injection moulding simulation with AUTODESK MOLDFLOW AMI 2016
• Star-CCM+
• Ansys Workbench
• Creo / Siemens NX / Autodesk Inventor
• GaBi - LCA Software

for microscopic analyses:

• Reflected and transmitted light microscope (up to 150x) with digital image analysis (Olympus)
• Motorised rotation microtome (Leica)

for FT-IR spectrometer investigations:

• Alpha-P infrared spectrometer from Bruker with ATR device

Other facilities of the University of Applied Sciences Esslingen:

• Zeiss Accura coordinate measuring machine
• Steinbichler stripe light scanner
• Scanning electron microscope REM
• Atomic force microscope AFM
• Dynamic testing machines