COMPOSITES EUROPE 2012 Blog

Aerospace, automotive and airplane construction count on lightweight construction. But to make sure that lightening the load does not come at the cost of safety, Fraunhofer researchers are working on new quality assurance systems for material testing. At the Composites Europe trade show (October 27 – 29) Hall 4, Booth D04, in Stuttgart, they will demonstrate a new kind of non-destructive diagnostic procedure.

Boats, airplanes and spacecrafts are getting lighter and lighter: Lightweight structures help save fuel and lower CO2 emissions. “To ensure that police and marine emergency services can rely on their lifeboats, even in high seas, the lightweight components undergo comprehensive quality assurance before being put to actual use,” affirms Joachim Montnacher, Head of Department for Testing Systems at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart. Together with Dr. Tina Wilhelm, Group Manager for Measurement and Testing Technology, and colleague Wolfgang Schmidt, the experts are hard at work on quality assurance systems for lightweight construction.

Read Full Post

Dieffenbacher one of the world’s market leaders in supplying complete manufacturing system for forming fibre-reinforced plastics will be presenting its products and services at the Composite Europe 2009 in Stuttgart from October  27^th to 29^th 2009. Highlights from the market leader are the cost effective innovative production solutions for the manufacturing of light weight car components and the clean energy industry parts such as solar panels.

Highlights from the market leader – the only manufacturer in this sector to supply all its products and services from a single source – include the new, energy-saving Compress Plus press generation, rapid advancements in the Dieffenbacher direct processes, LFT-D (long-fibre thermoplast, direct process) and D-SMC (direct strand molding compound) technology, and automated SMC processing with highly lucrative, innovative technologies for producing lightweight components for structures and semi-structural applications.

Read Full Post

At COMPOSITES EUROPE DYNA-MESS will present a new software programme for multi-axis, dynamic testing of composites. The new software combines phase control of exceptional accuracy with high ease of use. At the trade fair, DYNA-MESS will demonstrate the new DYNA-TCC (Test Control Center) software in a testing set-up with several servo-pneumatically actuated axes for dynamic tests of carbon fibre handlebars for bicycles.

Components subjected to complex loads and made of composite materials must be tested under realistic conditions. Handlebars of bicycles, for example, must withstand heavy, low-frequency loads during acceleration from rest and high-frequency loads on bumpy tracks. By no means must they break under extreme loads as, for example, during downhill runs or jumps. DYNA-MESS systems are ideally suited to realize such varying load situations.

Read Full Post

ERBO GmbH, which is exhibiting at COMPOSITES EUROPE 2009 in Stuttgart, is presenting a world first in the field of suction technology for milling machines. Previously, suction extraction had been impossible for five-axis milling machines. ERBO has developed a procedure that provides an optimal solution for such machines. A combination of high pressure suction and custom-made evacuation nozzles for each individual tool allows suction directly at the tool-tip itself.

Dust and chips are captured directly via a movable joint device that can move along every axis, and are then fed to the high-performance extraction system. Particularly when constructing large moulds (for instance, for wind turbine rotors), dust and chips require much cleaning of components.

Read Full Post

Polymer composites have been in use at Automobili Lamborghini since 1983, and since 2001 carbon fiber composites have been used for the production of all body panels and several portions of the spaceframe structure of the Murciélago. At the International AVK Conference (26.-27 October 2009, Stuttgart) Maurizio Reggiani (Vice-president of R&D and CTO, Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.) and Paolo Feraboli (Professor and Director of the Automobili Lamborghini Composites Laboratory) will present the composites research and development at Automobili Lamborghini. The presentation will be divided in two sections.

Read Full Post

Technical principles, trends and innovations – in an international lecture forum, the COMPOSITES EUROPE trade fair will again present specialist lectures on current topics relevant to the industry in 2009. The COMPOSITES Forum will focus on all areas of composite applications. Topics range from crash-safe materials in the automotive field to sandwich panels in aircraft construction, from growth potential in the construction of wind energy parks to production and machining processes for composites. The programme features a total of 26 lectures and presentations in English and German.

From damage simulation to serial production
New technologies for the serial production of carbon-reinforced plastics (CRP) will be demonstrated by the IKV - Institut für Kunststoffverarbeitung of RWTH Aachen. The IKV scientists developed three new process chains enabling the production of materials with a fibre content exceeding 50 percent in less than ten minutes.

The mechanical behaviour of CRP sandwich panels in practical tests is explained by the speakers from Fraunhofer IWM for CRP foam core sandwich panels. In its lecture, the Fraunhofer Entwicklungszentrum für Röntgentechnik (EZRT) presents non-invasive test procedures, from 3D computer tomography to radioscopy to thermography and ultrasonic techniques.

Dassault Systemes Simulia provides information on possibilities for FEM analysis of lightweight fibre composite structures. The use of the finite element method allows predictions on processes of damage and failure in supercritical load conditions.

The combination of highly elastic composites and aesthetically pleasing design is demonstrated by Huntsman and D3 who cooperated closely in designing a sophisticated carbon fibre chair moulded in four parts. Products from Huntsman’s Araldite series were used in the project. The two companies show how complex parts can be produced simply and cost-effectively using simple tooling technology.

The COMPOSITES Forum is located in Hall 4 and designed as an open lecture area. Admission is free for all trade fair visitors.

Read Full Post

With new themes, new special forums and a 15-percent increase in exhibitor numbers, the COMPOSITES EUROPE 2009 specialist fair is gaining momentum. At its fourth edition to be held from 27 to 29 October in Stuttgart, more than 300 exhibitors will present technologies and products covering the entire value creation chain of fibre-reinforced plastics. The spotlight will be on innovative solutions for important application industries such as vehicle construction, aircraft construction and aerospace as well as the building and construction sector.

Key players of the industry such as AOC Resins, Exel Composites and Huntsman will once again be present in Stuttgart. In Krauss-Maffei, RAMPF Tooling, Henkel, DSM Composites Resins, Carbon Composites e.V., Zoltek and Cam Elyaf, however, COMPOSITES EUROPE could also win major new exhibitors this year. The organisers succeeded in bringing almost the entire sector of automated cutting to Stuttgart with Gerber Technology, Lectra, Expert Systemtechnik, Topcut-Bullmer and Zünd Systemtechnik AG.

Read Full Post