COMPOSITES EUROPE 2012 Blog

The ACMA has been our guest at COMPOSITES EUROPE in Stuttgart. Have a look at Lori Luchak’s positive comment on her visit. Both shows are really good partners.  In February 2012 we will be part of the ACMA show, too.  European companies present their products in the COMPOSITES EUROPE pavillon. The show takes place in the fabulous city of Las Vegas.  http://www.acmashow.org/.  Register now and come to Las Vegas!

We have just seen the programme of the press trip “Composite” in Saxony-Anhalt and find it very interesting. Saxony-Anhalt is following Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and other German states.

IFC and Ackermann are also part! Have a look at the programme: http://bit.ly/veJXrf
Good luck and see you at COMPOSITES EUROPE 2012 in Düsseldorf!

Maximilian Hacker is 25 years old and the owner of BRComposites. He absolved his training as procedural mechanics of plastic and rubber technology, specialized in fibre composites.

 Activities previous to his self-employment:

1. Fischer & Entwicklung Landshut
2. Pilatus Aircraft Schweiz
3. Company with Formel 1 experience   (company name is not mentioned because of legal reasons)

CE: COMPOSITES EUROPE Team

MH: Maximilian Hacker

CE: Please introduce yourself. Who are you and what is your responsibility at BRComposites?

MH: BRComposites has exists for two years now. We are a young and very innovative company with a continuous strong growth. Furthermore, we think that  well-trained employees and to the original rules of craftsmanship are very important.

I am proud to say that we are already training employees. In my opinion there is still a lack of skilled workers in the composites industry.

We develop and offer individual production to our customers. Productions up to 10,000 standard parts are easily possible. In this way the volume of production is growing. Our production is done without autoclaves and everything is hand-made.

BRComposites

CE: So how did you experience the COMPOSITES EUROPE 2011 show? What are your impressions?

MH: This is the first time for BRComposites as an exhibitor at the COMPOSITES EUROPE. Actually we have been planning the first exhibition in 2016. At least that has been the conclusion of a family dinner. However, by coincidental, I got a phone call from the COMPOSITES EUROPE team the next day. During this conversation I received information about a funding possibility through BMWi. Because of the funding possibility and the sponsoring by Jost Chemicals, which is a close partner, we decided to book a booth for the COMPOSITES EUROPE 2011.

Mr. Hacker was reacting spontaneously when we asked him about his feelings as participant of the CE 2011. He was euphorically describing the exhibition as gigantic. The company had a huge success, a great number of good meetings and contacts. The booth was constantly busy because so many visitors were interested in their products. In his opinion, the exhibition service and the whole organisation was very commendable.

We closed the interview by talking about the presentation of innovations brought by BRC.

BRComposites presented flexible carbon protectors which is already used e.g. by the v. The jacket (have a look at the picture) in the background is specially made for extreme mountainbikers and is equipped with flexible carbon protectors. All visitors have been wondering what kind of material this is. However, we could not get any detailed information.

Thank you so much for the interesting and open conversation with Mr. Hacker.

Done and dusted. The German government’s decision to withdraw from nuclear energy has also paved the way for the development of renewable forms of energy. The proportion of electricity generation from renewable sources is expected to rise to at least 80 percent by 2050. Wind energy is planned to play a major role in this. Last year the sector contributed 7.9 percent to the total amount of electricity generated in Germany.

The energy policy of the German government includes giving greater support to offshore wind farms. The remuneration for this power is to be raised to 15 cents per kilowatt hour. Operators of onshore wind turbines will continue to receive up to 10.2 cents per kilowatt hour. 0.5 cents are paid for power from new wind parks if the old equipment went online before 2002. The new turbine should also deliver twice the amount of power than the old one.

Example of how the crystal structure could be used in the rotor blade of a wind turbine. (Photo: Wüstefeld)

These factors therefore represent healthy prospects for the future of the wind power sector. The manufacturers of fibre-reinforced composites are also expecting to benefit from this development – because modern wind turbines are inconceivable without glass and carbon fibre-reinforced plastics. The organisers of the international Composites Europe (CE) exhibition, to be held from 27 to 29 September 2011 in Stuttgart, recognised this early on and are giving the industry the platform it deserves. Well-known producers and processors of fibre composites for the wind energy sector and the relevant machine producers and suppliers get together each year at the event.

But it is not only the presence of the big names which makes a visit to the exhibition so worthwhile. Jens-Hagen Wüstefeld from Starnberg, for instance, has developed a crystalline structure as a lightweight construction element. It yields an 85 percent reduction in weight, lower manufacturing costs, outstanding rigidity and design flexibility in comparison to a solid material. Starting out with a geometric concept, he made a three dimensional lattice from triangles, similar to a crystal structure. Any forces applied to such a symmetrical grid are distributed optimally to adjacent surfaces and edges.

These lightweight elements can be manufactured to any scale, from any materials and in any form – including those appropriate for wind turbines. The resulting reduced weight of the tower would allow the foundation to be simplified. And the lower weight of the rotor would result in lower bearing loads and therefore reduced wear and greater efficiency in the entire turbine. The reduced amounts of materials required would also reduce production costs. Individual segments can easily be joined together, simplifying both transportation and erection.

Audi, too, has now joined the race. Following BMW’s deployment of SGL Carbon and Mercedes’ use of Toray, Audi has now entered into a partnership devoted to the development and fully automatic production of carbon fibre-reinforced materials. In the future, Audi’s reputation as a pioneer of lightweight construction will not be based exclusively on its use of aluminium. Vehicles containing the new material will be marketed under the “ultra” label.

In collaboration with the machinery manufacturer Voith, the Audi engineers are setting up the industrial-scale manufacture of fibre-reinforced materials for the series production of cars; their main goal is to develop a fully automatic process chain. With series production their ultimate target, both partners are devoting themselves not only to the creation of processing engineering and mass production methods for conventional fibre-reinforced plastics but also to the development of new and innovative high-tech materials.

The long flap of the folding top cover and the large rear side panels of the Audi R8 GT Spyder are made from CFRP. (Photo: Audi)

To date, Audi has only used CFRPs in its high-priced super sports cars such as the Audi R8 GT Spyder. The long flap of the folding top cover and the large rear side panels of the recently launched 560 PS version of the sports car are made from CFRP. The material is also used in the modified front spoiler, in the fixed rear spoiler and in the new rear bumper. These components account for total weight savings of 5.5 kilograms.

“Low-fat vehicles” featuring fibre composites will also be highlighted at the international Composites Europe (CE) trade fair, to be held from 27 to 29 September 2011 in Essen. The BMW partner SGL Carbon will be there to demonstrate its expertise. The company supplies the carbon fibres for the Megacity Vehicle. This is the first time in which CFRP parts have been used in large-scale series production. This takes the company a step closer to producing affordable lightweight vehicles suitable for mass production based on fibre composites – putting BMW a nose ahead in the technology race. This is shown by the efforts of the rivals who are doing all they can to catch up. Take Audi, for example: it has set up an interdisciplinary carbon fibre research unit at its Neckarsulm plant aimed at adapting the CFRP technology processes for use in series production. The sister marque Lamborghini has also set up a research unit for carbon fibre technologies at the new Advanced Composites Research Center (ACRC) in Sant’Agata Bolognese.

The Abraj Al-Bait Towers also known as the Mecca Royal Hotel Clock Tower is a complex under construction in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The building holds and will break several world records in the construction world, including: the tallest hotel in the world, constructed with the tallest clock tower in the world and displaying the world’s largest clock face. COMPOSITES EUROPE Blog met one of the project partner for this – Dominik Ch. Scheurer:

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This year, once again, the AVK conference is the opening event of the COMPOSITES EUROPE trade fair, which is an important market place for your business with participants from the every stage of the industry’s value chain from 27 – 29 September.
The presentation of the AVK Innovation Award and Composites Night frame the event and provide an opportunity for informal communication.

The International AVK Conference in the ICS International Congress Center Stuttgart has a brand new concept.

In two series of lectures, prominent experts offer their insights into the many and diverse applications for fibre reinforced plastics. In order to reflect the needs of the different interest groups even more closely at the conference, the two series are divided into thematic blocks presented by executives and technology specialists respectively.

The speakers will focus on current developments and innovations in technologies, materials and new processes as well as on the general condition of the GRP and CRP market.
Some of the fascinating lectures include:

• “Structural lightweight applications made from thermoplastic composites” by Joachim Graefe, Quadrant Plastic Composites AG
• “Thermoplastic composites for the A350 XWB” by Dr. Klaus Edelmann, Airbus Operations GmbH.
• Dr. Walter Aichholzer of Mercedes-Benz talks about the SMC decklid used in the premium automotive segment.

AVK represents the interests of all companies and institutions in the value chain involving components made of fibre-reinforced plastics and engineering thermosets

In a special lecture block “Research for practical application” professors from renowned universities and institutes report on trends, comparative studies of materials, series manufacturing applications and the wide range of design possibilities offered by fibre reinforced plastics.
The conference closes with a panel discussion titled “The future of fiber composites and plastics in the automotive sector” in which well-known participants from the automotive industry and its suppliers consider the current state of technology.

Have a look at the AVK conference programme now here.

You can register online here.

Airbus is outstripping Boeing. At the world’s largest aviation trade show held recently at Le Bourget near to Paris, the competition between the two largest aircraft makers for the custom of the airlines dominated the news coverage. The Europeans attracted 730 orders (418 of which were binding) to a total value of roughly EUR 50 billion whereas the Americans “merely” posted 142 orders (58 of which binding) worth EUR 15 billion.

The Airbus A320 NEO is to be launched in 2015 and consumes 15 percent less fuel than the current model (photo: Airbus/Fixion).

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“Form follows function” doesn’t always apply when it comes to consumer products. Because modern sports, household or electronic equipment has to be both functionally effective and also exhibit superior design and surface quality. Which is why plastics processors are investing so much time and effort into researching how to manufacture components which look and feel good.

With ColorForm, multiple-component parts - including those made from fibre-reinforced plastics - can be coated in a single process to give them a high-quality surface - as seen in this tool case.

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I just got information that in 2011 AVK-conference set up a new new concept.

Compressed into two lecture series high-level speakers inform about various applications of fiber reinforced plastics. Thematically, the two series be divided into decision-makers and technicians blocks. In this way the needs of stakeholders are met even more.

• Structural lightweight applications of thermoplastic composites by Joachim Graefe, Quadrant Plastic Composites AG
• Carbon-thermoplastic manufacturing for the A350 XWB – From Idea to Series Production by Dr. Klaus Edelmann, Airbus Operations Ltd.
• SMC tailgate, which are used in automotive premium segment by Dr. Walter Aichholzer, Mercedes-Benz.

These are just some Topics for 2011 convention. As I am a big supporter of panel discussions I am looking forward to this: “Future prospects of fiber reinforced plastics in the automotive”.
Stuttgart is well known for Automotive so I guess there will be some interesting heads discussing this.

See you there!

More Information:
International AVK-Conference
26. bis 27. September 2011
ICS Internationalen Congresscenter, Stuttgart
http://www.avk-tv.de/