Recycled carbon fibres Hot runner technology enables lightweight bike frames

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Oerlikon HRSflow

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Meusburger Georg GmbH & Co. KG

A new generation of li:on youth bikes combines lightweight construction, safety and sustainable production with advanced injection moulding technology. Their recyclable Fibrit frames, made with recycled carbon fibres, are produced in Germany using water injection technology and servo-driven hot runner systems from Oerlikon HRS Flow.

The li:on youth bikes from Kids Bike Revolution in Markdorf use a recyclable, carbon-fibre-reinforced polyamide frame to combine low weight, high stability and safety-oriented design with local, resource-efficient production. A key feature is their frames which come in two sizes. They are made of Fibrit, a polyamide reinforced with 40 percent recycled carbon fibers that is lightweight and recyclable. Weber Fibertech, which is also based in Markdorf, produces the frames using modified water injection technology (WIT) and its patented E-LFT process, as well as Flex Flow HRS servo-driven hot runner technology from Oerlikon HRS Flow. PME Fluidtec, a Weber Fibertech subsidiary and a leading global supplier of machines and injection systems for fluid-assisted injection moulding based in Ettenheim, Germany, developed the WIT. Krauss Maffei manufactures the MX 1600 injection moulding machine, which is specifically designed for this application.

In the WIT process, the mould is first filled with molten material. Immediately afterward, a water jet strikes the still-liquid core of the part in the opposite direction of injection, forcing excess material back into the injection moulding machine’s melt supply. This saves material without reducing the rigidity of the tubular frame. However, it requires very complex control of the opening and closing of the injection nozzles in both phases of the WIT. Flex Flow HRS meets these requirements and was therefore key to the project's success.