Plastic Materials

The Plastic Materials Unit at Eurecat specialises in thermoplastic polymers and their transformation to improve and create plastic components for a wide range of industries. We develop new injection, extrusion, blow moulding and thermoforming solutions to increase the value of plastic pieces.

Experience

  • Functional polymer surfaces:through the mould, the surface of the piece (in-mould labelling techniques), plasma surface treatment, etc.

  • IME (in-mould electronics): injection moulding with printed electronics on plastic sheets to create plastic pieces with embedded electronics.

  • Nanotexturisation: changing the tribological properties of plastic through surface texturisation on a micro and nano scale

  • Weight reduction and improvement of characteristics of each piece: combination of strengthened materials and/or various processes.

  • Optical-grade pieces (optical plastics): plastic products with optical characteristics, achieved through various processes.

  • Transformation of “exotic materials”: research into the transformation of technical and exotic materials, such as PEEK, COP, COC, PLA, materials with medication added, etc.

  • Ultrasound: ultrasound energy is used to melt thermoplastic in the injection process to obtain micro-injected pieces.

  • Process monitoring:assistance in developing new algorithms to predict the quality of the piece through process data (mould sensor data and machine process data).

  • Technical support:support for injection moulding and extrusion processes.

Services

overmoulding eurecat plastic materials

Overmoulding

  • Fabric overmoulding for vehicle interiors (door components, dashboard).

  • Fashion industry. Decorative elements. FIM.

  • Surface decoration through thermoformed inserts.

  • Surface decoration through film overmoulding. Used in packaging.

  • Plastic pieces with embedded electronic devices, application in HMI and sensors.

nanotexturisation eurecat plastic materials

Nanotexturisation

  • Changing the tribological properties of plastic surfaces through surface texturisation on a micro and nano scale.

  • Use of nanotexturised plastic films.

new processes for structural parts eurecat plastic materials

New processes for structural parts

  • SEBIT (Suction Extrusion Blow Injection Technology). Combination of injection moulding and suction extrusion in one process to make structural pieces.

  • StructLight. Overmoulding of compound sheets and thermoforming in the same process. For structural parts.

  • Structural tubes/reinforcements (research ongoing). Combination of suction extrusion tubes with thermoformed compound sheets to create reinforced tubes.

Plastic processing plant

An international leader in plastic transformation

Eurecat boasts the largest plastic processing plant in southern Europe, with a host of new plastic transformation technologies. This plant offers R&D for industrialisation, tests and pre-series production.

In Cerdanyola del Vallès (Barcelona Province), Eurecat has southern Europe’s largest pilot plant for new technologies in plastic transformation. It includes a comprehensive range of injection machines, from 15 to 1,500 tonnes of mould clamping force.

Plastic injection, along with other polymer-modelling processes, remains the leading industrial process for the replication of parts, thanks to its exceptional capacity for geometric flexibility and the low costs achieved through large production volumes.

Eurecat is a renowned specialist in these processes on a national and international scale and has adapted and evolved over the years to cultivate expertise in various areas, such as multi-component injection moulding, gas-assisted injection moulding (GAIM), injection compression moulding, in-mould decoration (IMD), etc.

In all these processes, Eurecat offers the industry experience, technical knowledge and R&D needed for industrialisation, testing and pre-series production

Multimedia

PREVIEW

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Most representative sectors

Systems and Industrial Processes sector Eurecat

System and industrial processes

Automotive sector Eurecat

Automotion

Aerospace sector Eurecat

Aeronautics

Key projects

Preview Eurecat

Preview

Advanced Predictive System (APS) for the mould injection industry that reduces the time that it takes to set up a mould, cut down energy consumption and waste material and increase productivity.

OPTintegral Eurecat

Optintegral

In-mould hybrid manufacturing technology for LED screens that allows to reduce the cost by 40 percent and reduce by half polluting emissions during the manufacturing process.

Optogenerapy Eurecat

Optogenerapy

Development of optogenetic medical implants with printed electronics and biocompatible materials to deliver therapeutic proteins to Multiple Sclerosis patients.

Plastic Materials Team

Enric Fontdecaba Eurecat

Enric Fontdecaba

Director of the Plastic Materials Unit at Eurecat

Graduated on Telecommunications from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, he earned a Diploma in Business Sciences from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. His studies are completed with a PhD in Computer Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. His thesis was about optimising numerical methods on massively parallel platforms for the design of complex optical surfaces.

For 20 years he has worked in the optics industry, 10 years in research and innovation for the development of new products in the ophthalmic sector and 10 years in the operations management. For three years, he has directed Eurecat’s Plastic Materials Unit.