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Durable toe boards made of recycled plastics

Toe boards made of recycled plastic can replace wooden boards for scaffolding construction.

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Technology

Recycled plastics, coextrusion, injection molding, FEM, filling simulation

Background

Toe boards made of wood look very worn after a few years, resulting in an unesthetic appearance of a construction site. Toe boards made of recycled plastic with a design suitable for plastic are said to be more visually appealing and possibly more durable.

Goals

The aim of this project was thus to produce durable, visually appealing toe boards from sustainable recycled plastic in a cost-efficient manner. In addition, the toe boards with a reference length of 3m should not weigh more than 6kg and should not bend more than 35mm at a load of 150N in the middle of the toe board.

Results

A curved stackable hollow body is proposed as a solution. Due to this special design, it is necessary to use appropriate adapters for different framework variants. These adapters are characterized by a double-S-shaped insertion zone that contracts and then expands during insertion.

A patent application has been filed for the results of this project.

Project-Information

Client

ProCon BTW GmbH

Execution

FHNW Institut of Polymer Engineering,

Duration

28 months

Funding

Innosuisse

TeamIKT: Prof. Dr. Christian Rytka; David Botor, Moritz Thommen; Christoph Maurer; Simone Battaglia; Halime Philipp; HGK: RetoZeltner