Material testing

How we provide our customers with viscoelastic material data?

Accuform actively cooperates with IKT Stuttgart 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 material testing method for thermoforming and blow molding. More details are presented here.

Materials used for thin sheets are tested at IKT 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 presented on the following picture.

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 simulation of thermoforming and blow molding.

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

IKT information brochure

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

Contact persons at IKT

M.Sc. Dominik Müller

Verarbeitungstechnik

Pfaffenwaldring 32

Böblinger Str. 70
70569 Stuttgart

Phone: +49 711 685-62854
Fax: +49 711 685-62066
Email: dominik.mueller@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de
Website: www.ikt.uni-stuttgart.de

Please, contact Mr. Müller in case you have any questions about the material testing.

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