The Helvoet group is a globally leading manufacturer for top precision thermoset parts produced by injection moulding.
The thermoset resins and products of today have become some of the most sophisticated materials for highly resistant components with precision on micron level and are widely used to replace metal. With over 70 years of thermoset experience Helvoet is your partner for metal substitution, being it in phenol, epoxy or melamine resins.
You can reduce the weight of your application
We achieve micron tolerances
State-of-the-art equipment
Able to withstand fuel, acids, oil, salt water…
Our team helps you to get the best out of your product
Resistant to over 200 °C (short time even more)
Our moulding technologies for thermoset products
Helvoet’s thermoset moulding experience dates back to 1939. As the moulding process is different to thermoplastics the process know-how is key to a functional product. During the moulding both a physical and a chemical reaction takes place inside the material producing a strong internal cross-link which cannot be deformed afterwards.
The material gets injected into the mould where then a compression process starts to guarantee the best homogene filling and to improve for example the roundness of a product.
As in thermoplastics we also insert components precisely into the tool before the moulding and like this integrate those components completely in the final part.
We have a wide range of examples running in serial production where metal has successfully been replaced by different plastics. Our team is ready to assist you in the part and process design translating your requirements into a functional thermoset product.
In our engineering department we have a team of thermoset experts helping you to develop the best part design. We are able to assist you in 3d CAD and in flow simulations and FEA studies together with our partners. For product testing Helvoet has an in-house laboratory to perform all kinds of analysis (strength, thermal stability, swell, SEM/EDX).
Generally there are two types of thermosets for injection moulding, we process both of them
Thermoset plastics contain polymers that cross-link together during the molding and curing process to form an irreversible chemical bond. This significantly improves the material’s mechanical properties (strength), providing enhanced chemical or heat resistance and dimensional stability. The compounds mainly are made out of phenol and epoxy resins which are reinforced with up to 80% of glass fibers, carbon fibers, glass balls, mineral powder, etc.
Bulk Moulding Compound (BMC) is a glass fiber reinforced thermoset polyester material. It’s a material which has a pasty form before moulding and has a very low shrinkage as final part, guaranteeing a high dimensional precision.
Most of the technical products leaving our facilities require some extra treatment after the moulding process. We offer all post-processing steps in-house
As thermoplastic resins are engineered for more demanding applications, there is a tendency for these resins to run like water through a mold and that creates flash. Deflashing or deburring techniques using water, grain, air and numerous other techniques have been developed by Helvoet to remove this flash and maintain the integrity of the parts.
Altough it is always the goal to get ready-to-use products straigth out of the mould, tighter tolerances mean higher perfomance for our customers. Maintaining thickness capability at 0.002 mm requires a secondary process: flat grinding or lapping. Helvoet has delivered close to 500 Million parts that have used this technology ensuring micron precision.
With various printing techniques and methods Helvoet can help you mark, identify, and trace your products. From manual tampon printing up to continuous motion high speed printing in two colours we can deliver your needs.
Engineered resins like PPS, phenolics and rubber, require an aging process called post-curing. This process removes stress, helps guarantee dimensional stability and removes final volatile materials that are inherent. Helvoet has numerous post curing profiles that have been developed for each and every one of these materials.
Assembly techniques like ultra-sonic welding are used when you have two components that are made from the same material, but can’t be made as one part due to geometry. Helvoet uses this as a fast, accurate, clean and leak tight method of assembly.
Laser welding, also called transmission welding, is another technique used establish a reliable bond of thermoplastic materials. A focused laser beam goes through a transmissive layer onto an absorption layer and as it is turned into heat energy the plastics melt and form a stable connection. Helvoet can assist you with selecting the right materials and process for your part.
Helvoet measures their products in microns and understands that contamination can occur in the numerous processes. Thus we have developed a sophisticated washing and drying process to remove contamination and ship products that meet your demanding requirements.
At Helvoet we provide different ways to trace a production and in many applications RFID or Coding is used. Having 100% traceability and full transparency in the assembly process gurantees that we can deliver the highest quality parts to you, our customer.
With experience in both dry powder and liquid filling we can offer you a one stop shop solution. Especially in our health tech business we are filling molded primary packaging and diagnostic products with desiccant granulate or with liquids to offer additional benefits to our customers.
If a product like an ABS System leaks you will have a problem. That request you to have 100% leak-testing before you assemble. Helvoet’s expertise in managing and monitoring the flow of media (fluid, air, gas), has given us a wide variety of experiences developing custom leak-testing equipment and integrating it in our production processes.
Did you know that 100% visual inspection by a human is only 80% accurate? Is that good enough for your products? Inline cameras have been placed at many locations throughout the manufacturing process to ensure the quality of your products.
If you can measure it you can improve it! Measuring in nanometers and microns is becoming the norm in industry today. Helvoet’s measuring capability includes state of the art equipment such as interferometers, air gauging, video measuring, contour roughness, 3D whitelight and other contactless measuring devices.
We offer various methods to assemble different components to a final functional product which can be used directly
Sometimes the process or the project do not allow an automated assembly. In these cases we can offer manual assembly in our locations in Poland and India.
A project that has a combination of low and high risk components, is a great target for semi-automated assembly. Using automation for the most critical components, and low-cost flexible labor for others, Helvoet offers their clients the lowest landed cost with highest levels of quality.
Using more than 3, 4, 7 or 11 components? Helvoet has answered numerous industrial challenges and designed dedicated, fully automated assembly lines running continuously. With automated assembly including in-line quality controls like vision or leakage tests or functional tests, the part quality is ensured by 100%.
Using over 40-years of experience in assembly of precision components, Helvoet has developed an own Flex-Line Technology. By utilizing interchangeable modules for each assembly step, Helvoet offers the quality of a fully automated line while it is a flexible and cost effective solution due to lower investment and changeover times. Contact us to get more information about the Flexline.
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