How we provide our customers with viscoelastic material data ?

Accuform cooperates with IKP Stuttgart and DatapointLabs USA on the testing of plastics used in thermoforming and blow molding.

ECC founded TMC project started in 2002, focussed on development of a cheap and reliable method of material testing for thermoforming and blow molding. More details are on this page.

Materials used for thin sheets are tested at IKP using a special machine measuring force - deflection curves. The testing method is similar to the plug assisted forming with both the large strain and the high strain rate.

The resulting force - deflection curves are then analyzed at Accuform. We use a numerical method based on "reverse engineering" to fit nonlinear parameters of a suitable viscoelastic model. The aim of the method is providing reliable data for the computer simulation of thermoforming and blow molding.

At the end, customers receive the material data files directly readable into T-SIM (or B-SIM). These files can be immediately used for simulations.

IKP information brochure

Click here to download IKP information brochure (in German, MS Word format, 558 kB) containing more details about the testing method. More information in German can be found also on IKP web site.

Contact persons at IKP

Dipl.-Ing. Bernhard Hegemann
Engineering
Pfaffenwaldring 32
D-70569 Stuttgart
Tel.: +49 (0) 711 / 685-2023
E-Mail: hegemann@ikp.uni-stuttgart.de

Please contact Mr. Hegemann directly in case you have any questions about the material testing at IKP.

Materials for thick sheets can be tested at DatapointLabs USA using lubricated squeezing test. This test delivers stress-strain data, which can be easily fitted using T-SIMFIT (software for K-BKZ model fitting).
At the end, customers receive the material data files directly readable into T-SIM (or B-SIM). These files can be immediately used for simulations.

Contact - DatapointLabs

DatapointLabs
95 Brown Rd. #164,
Ithaca, NY 14840, USA

Toll-Free (US only): 1 888 DATA-4-CAE
Phone: 607 266 0405
Fax: 607 266 0168
E-mail: mail@datapointlabs.com

Please contact DatapointLabs directly in case you have any questions about the material testing.