PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Composite materials allow the weight of components to be reduced without compromising their rigidity and resistance. However, their production commonly uses thermosetting resin matrixes that are difficult to recycle. Tooling for the manufacture of composite parts are modelled out of massive blocks of foamed materials (typically non-recyclable thermoset polyurethane foam), which are usually landfilled after a single use. Moreover, this thermoset foam contains isocyanates, epichlorohydrin (ECH), bisphenol A (BPA) that pose serious health and safety issues in the production phase.
The European tooling market was valued at around €14m in 2020, with the production estimated at around 15 000 tonnes. Italy produces more than 2 000 tonnes of non-recyclable thermosetting material annually, with the estimated cost of raw materials of around €25m.
Two main sustainability issues related to tooling for manufacturing composites have been identified:
- The process typically entails shaping polyurethane boards through subtractive manufacturing, leading to a loss of 30% to 60% of the initial board volume (generating a large volume of dust waste), which cannot be recovered due to the inherently non-recyclable nature of the thermoset materials; and
- Under the current business model, the composites manufacturer is usually not the owner of the tooling, thus making management and end-of-life procedures less efficient.
OBJECTIVES
The project TOOL4LIFE aims to produce tooling in thermoplastic materials (e.g. polycarbonate, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene and polylactic acid) with hybrid technology (additive manufacturing followed by milling and in-mould coating). The developed and optimised process enables savings of up to 80% of the polymer material, with 33% less energy consumption and generating only around 10% of the CO2 equivalent emissions related to the current state-of-the-art production using thermoset materials. Furthermore, the project’s approach will completely recycle the tooling after use, thanks to the use of thermoplastic materials that can be shredded and used again in the production of new tooling and the use of in-mould sealant, demoulding and finishing agents, purposely developed with a water-based platform. The solution also places the manufacturer at the centre of the business, creating new opportunities for integral services (tooling as a service), with lower impacts on the overall balance of the end-product.
Specifically, the project aims to:
- Demonstrate on an industrial scale the hybrid manufacturing of tooling based on thermoplastic material, proving the circularity concept of the tooling;
- Demonstrate the closed-loop dismantling, comminution and shredding of the tooling, leading to a recycled material that can be tested in the manufacturing process (eventually with the addition of small amounts of virgin granule), guaranteeing full compliance with the requirements for extrusion performances and parameters; and
- Assess the process sustainability (environmental, economic and social) and define a new business model for tooling as a service with reduced costs and high potential for wide-scale replication through licencing of the developed technology.
RESULTS
Expected results:
- Validation of five fully-recyclable tooling prototypes (different shapes, types and complexity of surfaces) for the manufacture of at least four parts in composite materials for each tooling developed;
- Reduction in the use of raw materials by 91% by shifting from thermoset to thermoplastics, with the demand for virgin raw material decreased by 36 tonnes (and by 118 tonnes five years after project end);
- Reduction of waste by 30 tonnes (and by 130 tonnes five years after the project end);
- Reduction in energy consumption by 33% with a net decrease of 15 MWh of electricity (increasing to more than 150 MWh five years after project end);
- Complete substitution of 19.5 tonnes of polyol-isocyanate used for thermoset tooling with less harmful compounds for thermoplastic tooling;
- Reduction in CO2 emissions by 90.2% equal to the prevention of around 560 tonnes CO2 (2 000 tonnes of CO2 five years after project end); and
- Creation of 10 jobs to follow up the business and technical activities developed (increased to more than 25 five years after project end).
