COMPOSITES EUROPE 2012 Blog

Fantastic news for Composites Industry. VDMA “Composites Technology Forum” is now an institutional patron of COMPOSITES EUROPE. This helps to create the leading platform for serially produced composites parts. Composite Technology Forum counts on serial production

The VDMA (Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau) is the largest engineering industry network in Europe. It represents 3000 mainly small- to medium-sized member companies in the engineering industry.
Accounting for sales of roughly € 173 billion in 2010, mechanical engineering is one of the largest industrial sectors and employers in Germany. Roughly two thirds of German production is exported.
VDMA has recently formed a Composite Technology Forum, a new network for machinery manufacturers engaged in the development and production of technologies for the manufacture and quality control of composite materials.

What are your thoughts about Composites and Automation?

When I first met Arwed on our Composites Show in Stuttgart 2007 we had some nice chat about his new developments about car rims made of carbon.

A few weeks ago we met each other again and he told me that development went well but he had some challenges regarding german law for using rims on
german streets. Although there are no thermal problems by heating the discs i.e. government gave him note that these kind of rims are not desired. Read Full Post

In addition to a lottery, which is going to reward a lucky participant with tickets for stand and paddock at the DTM race at the Hockenheimring race course, Harke Chemicals will be exhibiting a genuine racer as headturner on their booth this year.

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Functional and safety components of thermoplastic composites are being used more and more. It is therefore very important to have an understanding of the material behaviour and to develop adapted design methods.

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Lightweight means to realize a weight reduction, with sufficient rigidity, dynamic stability and strength. This is to ensure that the developed components and structures fulfill their tasks safely over the period of use.

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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, CO — 29 June 2010. Fiberforge announces today that Fraunhofer ICT and Fiberforge have started a strategic collaboration on R&D projects for various industries such as, automotive and aerospace. As part of this collaboration, Fraunhofer ICT will be installing a RELAY® Station 2000 at its state-of-the-art thermoplastics research center. This will be the first RELAY Station installation in Europe offering clients the ability to develop and demonstrate the production of thermoplastic advanced composite structures upward of 2 m x 2 m (80 in. x 80 in.) in size on a full-scale production work cell.

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The FRP panel with XPS-core combines the advantages of a lightweight construction element with outstanding insulation characteristics. Its smooth surface makes it the ideal material for the high requirements of the automotive industry.

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One of the most established uses for composites is in the building industry. It has made use of fibre-reinforced structures for over 30 years now. The reason is that these fibre composite materials are suitable for use in countless building and construction applications. Pipes, sleepers, boards, blocks, linings, mats, cladding, posts, foundations, tanks, housings, containers, doors, coatings, shafts, adhesives, coverings, banks, bricks, boxes, walls, basins, frames, steps, gutters – the possibilities are virtually endless.

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11 March this year saw the launch of the new international “Composites” Masters course, being held in English, at the Private University of Applied Sciences in Göttingen.  This means that now, for the first time in Europe, there is a course of studies aimed at resolving the international shortage of graduates in fibre-reinforced plastics. 21 engineers from Spain, France, the United Kingdom, India and Germany will now become experts in carbon composites during the three-semester course.

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Every movement must be just right when the blade and rotor hub of a wind turbine are married together at a dizzy height.  Because screwing the rotor blade onto the rotor hub 100 metres above the ground represents a major bonding technology challenge. Heavy-duty threaded bushes are bonded into the fibre-reinforced flange on the blade holder of each blade – and the bond must be absolutely rock solid.

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