Compression Molding of Glass-Reinforced Thermoplastic Laminate in Mechanical Stamping Presses

Glass-reinforced thermoplastic laminate materials which are compression molded on mechanical stamping presses have recently been added to the designer's “bag of tricks.” Guide Lamp Div., General Motors Corp., has manufactured production lamp housings with this material and process. Chevrolet Motor Div., General Motors Corp., is also manufacturing an emission control part for certain buses. Both Guide Lamp and Chevrolet have prototyped other parts using this concept. A production cycle time reduction over injection molding has been achieved. Presented here is a brief description of the process and a survey of results with these materials and molding techniques. The paper highlights the engineering studies leading to production realities at Chevrolet and Guide Lamp. Design considerations with these materials will also be given.