Full speed ahead with RAMPF Tooling

Whether large-scale wind turbine blades, engine covers for the Airbus 380, gigantic boat hulls, or even the railway industry – RAMPF Tooling, Grafenberg (Germany) turns your ideas into shapes. With subsidiaries on all major continents and distributors in over 20 countries the specialist for modeling materials is well positioned on the world-wide stage and a leader of its class. The solutions that the company offers are tailored to meet the local market and customer needs.

RAMPF Tooling turns ideas into shapes.

Milled master model, boat hull, RAKU-TOOL CP-6070.

Galvano bath model for aircraft industry, CC-6503; Source: Bertrandt AG, Germany.

Since the beginning of 2009 RAMPF Tooling has focused strongly on the composites sector. In this area the modeling specialist is offering solutions for models, molds and to some extend for structural parts. This includes the following processes:

• Hand / wet lay-up
• Resin Infusion
• Vacuum bagging
• Prepreg technology
• Autoclave process
• Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) process

Through the increasing usage of the milling technology with High Speed Cutting (HSC) RAMPF Tooling has placed a significant product focus on this development. Large application segments are covered by the complete package solutions of board materials and machine applied Close Contour Pastes which can be used and applied directly by the customers at their premises for their specific purpose. However, RAMPF Tooling has not only made its mark as a producer but also as a service provider. Only recently has the specialist expanded its service capacities in Grafenberg with a key focus on board materials, Close Contour Pastes and the Close Contour Casting technology for the production of large volume castings. 

Complete package solution board material
For smaller models for example, the experts from RAMPF Tooling bond together board materials to make a shape that resembles the final contour as closely as possible. Through the use of matching material and adhesive, the bonding lines are less visible, the customer needs less finishing work and can concentrate on the mil-ling of the final shape. Whenever chemically possible, blocks can also be cast as customized, seamless castings to suit the customer’s application, using original board material. RAMPF Tooling is also in a position to produce close contour cast models, molds and tools in board material quality, so the user benefits from less manual finishing work as the surface is seamless and exhibits a dense surface structure. Furthermore, the pattern maker does not have to use any liquid components, saving costs by not having to finance any mixing and metering equipment and also profiting from quick delivery times. Possible applications in the railway industry:

• Small to medium size master models
• Small to medium size lay-up tools for prototypes and small series for fiber composite construction
• Prepreg lay-up tools for prototypes and small series
• Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) tools for prototypes and small series

Quick and easy model production with Close Contour Pastes
The RAMPF Tooling experts produce models and molds with epoxy or polyurethane pastes together with the customer or according to the customer’s particulars. The customer only has to supply the supporting structure for the paste application. A special Close Contour Paste application room with state-of-the-art application equipment has been set up and furnished in the new RAMPF innovation center. The Close Contour Pastes are quick and easy to process and they feature a very fine, homogenous and seamless surface with no bonding lines. Equally, almost any type of supporting structure can be used – e.g. very light, inexpensive materials like expanded polystyrene (EPS) or polyurethane board materials with a low density. Possible applications in the railway industry:

• Large-scale master models for cover parts (ceiling panels)
• Large-scale tools for resin infusion (cover parts) 
• Large volume castings for models up to ten tons in weight

Close Contour Casting (CCC) – Large volume castings for models up to ten tons in weight
The RAMPF Tooling service package is unique in having provision to produce large volume castings of models or molds using a monolithic shell casting technique according to the CCC process. The technology stands for quick machining, less tool wear and less wastage and produces close contour models through automatic mixing under vacuum and dispensing by equipment. The mold into which the liquid material is cast, is made according to the CAD data provided by the customer. Depending on the choice of casting material, casting molds can be machined using inexpensive materials like EPS or polyurethane foam. The application areas range from modeling over metal forming, lay-up tools, seamless galvano bath models right up to the foundry industry. Once RAMPF Tooling has pretreated the casting mold, a monolithic shell model or mold with cores or a simple mold is cast using special equipment and casting technology. After initial gelation at room temperature the cast models are demolded and post cured. This manufacturing process enables the production of large scale molds which can be used under alternating thermal stress load conditions with a high degree of accuracy which could not be performed before. Models with a dimension of 6000 x 3000 x 2300 mm and a weight of up to ten tons can be cast in a single production step using the shell with supporting rib structure technique. Larger molds are produced in segments and then bonded together at the customer’s premises using the original casting material. Some application examples are:

• Master models for wind turbine blades with a length of more than 45 meters in segments are possible. These are used for the production of a manufacturing mold for GRP blades.
• Data control models for a windscreen of a double-decker bus
• Galvano bath models for the production of hard nickel lay-up tools. In the railway industry these could be used for tools for the production of engine heads.
• Models for prepreg lay-up tools, e.g. engine cowling for the Airbus A 380/A 350 or in the railway industry for interior cover parts using fiber composite construction

With its comprehensive range of products, technologies and services RAMPF Tooling offers unparalleled quality solutions for model, mold and tool making in various industries such as railway. The customized solutions from RAMPF Tooling make modeling easier and more economical. At RAMPF Tooling the customer and his ideas take center stage and that world-wide, supported by an international network of over 20 partners.

RAMPF Tooling turns ideas tino shapes