Development and innovation management
– Thinking about tomorrow today
What began in the early 1980s as the Tool Management department has since become the central department within the group of companies: the HEYCO Development Center.
This is where our customers’ visionary megatrends are developed from the idea to series production – always with a focus on quality, process reliability and sustainability.
A professionally organized innovation management system generates, collects and evaluates new ideas from the markets, the company’s own employees or other cooperation partners and ensures that they are implemented in a targeted manner.
The megatrends of electromobility and autonomous driving in particular offer new opportunities for all business areas every day and, in close cooperation with our customers, we develop joint ideas and turn them into sustainably economical components.
Our recognized strength is the implementation of the idea into a product suitable for series production by our specialist development and design engineers: from pre-development to prototypes, from determining the most economical tool concept to complete industrialization on the injection moulding machine and automation.
These processes are accompanied by professional project management, in close coordination with customers all over the world, to ensure the deadline/quality/cost triangle. In total, HEYCO employs more than 60 development, design and project engineers in the development center as well as in the HEYCO plants and as resident engineers at various customers.
Development
Complex forged componentsDevelopment
Plastic componentsDevelopment
In-Mold-Labeling
Development of forged parts
HEYCO – Hard to beat!
Whenever the transmission of high dynamic or static forces and wear-resistant constructions with low weight and space requirements are required, HEYCO forged parts have played an important role for decades.
For HEYCO, the automobile will continue to be a key area of application for forged parts, regardless of the drive system, because the advantages of forged components are also in demand for vehicles with alternative drive systems. The excellent structural homogeneity and continuous fiber flow increase the component strength. At HEYCO, optimized processes for highly developed components and production on state-of-the-art forming and mechanical processing machines enable the reliable production of components with maximum precision.
HEYCO is also an experienced partner to the automotive industry in the forged components sector and offers a complete package from component development to the delivery of mass-produced components. Our in-house toolmaking department guarantees fast and flexible work in the field of hot forming. Fully automated mechanical processing cells and heat treatment furnaces create added value for HEYCO customers.
Whether material, forged part and finished assembly group, process, test equipment, prototypes or forming tools, fixtures and gauges – we have the right solution for you.
DEVELOPMENT is written in capital letters at HEYCO!
Customer-oriented teams from project management, quality planning and resource procurement are your competent contacts at our development center in Tittling, Bavaria.
Last but not least, forged components are examples of sustainable resource conservation, good recycling potential and thus support HEYCO’s sustainability philosophy.
Challenge us!
Development tools:
Development of plastic components
The HEYCO Development Center, based in Tittling in Lower Bavaria, is a key pulse generator for the HEYCO Group, where not only the development but also the threads for the future-oriented production of technical plastic products come together. This means that the developed components and processes can also be run in and optimized directly on site.
HEYCO has made a name for itself among the world’s leading car manufacturers, particularly as a specialist in the development and production of so-called wind tunnels/water boxes, fluid and expansion tanks, air intake systems and system components for interior air conditioning with a strategic view to the future, as these plastic components are also in high demand in the growing field of electromobility.
Inspired by electromobility and battery production, HEYCO has developed components for battery modules in recent years that are now going into series production. The development engineers were able to draw on their wide-ranging experience for this very complex task:
- Media-carrying components
- Multi-component injection molding
- Overmolding of metal inserts as contacts
- Laser welding as a joining technique
- Coolant-resistant materials
- Clean manufacturing processes
- Complex assembly automation and inline testing
The result is finished battery modules that only need to be completed with the battery cells and electronics in the subsequent manufacturing process.
Development, simulation, testing technology – par excellence
HEYCO is a creative and innovative strategy and development partner to the automotive industry. The OEM often only specifies a construction volume and the functions that a component is to fulfill. From this “black box”, HEYCO’s development and design experts then develop the functional component.
For example, mold flow, warpage and FEM structure analyses, calculations of tool tempering and fiber distribution in the component are quality assurance standards. The functionality of prototypes, initial samples and requalification parts is examined in detail in rain, burst pressure and heat chambers as well as in extensive long-term tests before series production approval is given or confirmed.
One of HEYCO’s highlights is the rain chamber installed in the plastic test field. Rain chambers are used at HEYCO during component development and for quality assurance in series production. For this purpose, the components to be tested are installed in corresponding bodywork elements and tested for leaks under reproducible conditions. Different, standardized test conditions from spray to heavy rain can be set at different angles of inclination of the vehicle. The tightness is checked in the process with cameras and sensors and then evaluated. This added value for OEM customers also makes HEYCO a recognized partner to the automotive industry.
Our possibilities:
Prototypes – maximize functionality and minimize costs
The earlier corrective action is taken in the product development process (PDP), the lower the costs!
To reduce development costs and shorten the PDP with faster time-to-market, HEYCO offers a variety of different solutions, above all design and functional prototypes.
These prototypes allow us to quickly identify potential weaknesses and eliminate them in good time before series production. The required component functions such as operability, handling, installation capability and the production method can also be checked, tested and optimized well in advance.
Samples and prototypes:
Development of In-Mold-Labeling
Radar-capable ACC emblem
This is where HEYCO’s creative heart beats when it comes to the design of foil-decorated injection-molded components with functional surfaces.
The sole aim of our IML development engineers is to make the vehicle of tomorrow safer, more intuitive, more functional and visually appealing for the occupants – and we do this with passion.
Perfection begins with the design and does not end with the development of a functional interface. Functional surfaces in day/night design, chrome look, brushed metal optics or elegant black panel effects, all integrated with capacitive electronic functions of the HEYtronic and illuminated, protected by scratch-resistant coatings – HEYCO IML components are the benchmark, even when it comes to safety-relevant components of tomorrow.
