Quality Control in the Production Process of SMC Lightweight Material

Abstract

The use of sheet molding compounds (SMC) in diverse applications requires different specific material properties for each type of finished parts. These material properties have to be assured by a reliable quality control, which does not only have to be performed for the prefabricated SMC itself but also during the production process of the semi-finished material. This is of high importance because quality fluctuations and defects can already occur during the production of the semi-finished SMC. This results in high scrap rates as well as machine failure and can additionally cause further problems in the following process steps. Hence, an inline quality control can help to establish objective quality criteria for semi-finished SMC and can enable controlled and stable production processes.Therefore, this paper deals with quality assurance in the production process of semi-finished sheet molding compounds. Air entrapping and fiber distribution are identified as two parameters that influence the quality of the semi-finished product significantly. In addition, the early detection of a pending carrier foil failure can help to establish a stable process. The focus of this paper lies on how various, individually adapted metrology systems can be used for the detection of the respective characteristics and integrated into the production process of the semi-finished SMC. In particular, optical systems, such as area scan cameras and laser stripe sensors as well as thermographic sensors are discussed and possibilities for application-related sensor data evaluation are shown. This helps to reduce the scrap rates of parts and to establish a further automated production process.