Method for producing a sandwich composite component with pressed two or three-dimensional shape and such a composite component

A method for producing a sandwich composite component with a pressed two- or three-dimensional shape, having at least one structured core layer made of a thermoplastic material which has two opposite core layer surfaces, and with thermoplastic cover layers cohesively bonded with each of the two core layer surfaces, comprising:

• heating a flatly shaped sandwich semi-finished product which includes the at least one structured core layer with the cover layers bonded to each side of the core layer surfaces thereof by infrared radiation heating, so that the structured core layer has a temperature below a melting temperature associated with the thermoplastic material of the core layer, and at least parts of the two cover layers have a temperature equal to or above a melting temperature associated with the thermoplastic material of the cover layers;
• transferring the heated, flat sandwich semi-finished product into a pressing tool comprising at least two pressing mold halves which are mounted in a linearly movable manner relative to each other along a spatial direction with at least one first pressing mold half including at least two pressing mold segments which are mounted in a linearly movable manner relative to each other along the spatial direction so at least regions of the sandwich semi-finished product come into surface contact with at least one of the two pressing mold halves;
• moving the pressing mold halves towards each other along the spatial direction so that at least some regions of the sandwich semi-finished product are brought into surface contact with the at least two pressing mold halves so that a first pressing mold segment runs ahead of the respective other pressing mold segment of the first pressing mold half in the direction of movement, a region thereof coming into contact with one of the two cover surfaces, and together with the other pressing mold half pre-presses the sandwich semi-finished product in two or three dimensions, until a first minimum spacing corresponding to a greatest thickness assignable to the pre-pressed sandwich semi-finished product is reached between the first pressing mold segment and the other pressing mold half;
• stabilizing the pre-shaped sandwich semi-finished product within the regions contacted by at least one of the first pressing mold segment and the other pressing mold half by a contact cooling process;
• and
• deflecting the other pressing mold segment of the first pressing mold half in the spatial direction onto the other pressing mold half, while the first pressing mold segment rests relative to the other pressing mold half, and contacting some regions of the pre-pressed sandwich semi-finished product and completing molding until a second minimum spacing is reached between the other pressing mold segment and the other pressing mold half, with spacing being selected to be smaller than the first minimum spacing to obtain the sandwich composite component pressed into a two- or three-dimensional shape.