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Single-Aisle Composite Solution?:

FIBER-METAL LAMINATES

SEPTEMBER 2017

CW Plant Tour: Benteler-SGL, Ort im Innkreis, Austria / 62 SMC Renaissance, Part 2: Old Dog, More Tricks / 70 Tailored Fiber Placement: Automated 3D Preforming A property of Gardner Business Media

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N-o 9

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“With the broadest and deepest product line, along with the largest dedicated fleet of trucks in the composites industry, Composites One’s priority is to make sure you have what you need, when you need it.” Laura McClain, Distribution Center Manager, Lenexa, KS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2017

COLUMNS

/ Vol: 3 No –: 9

FEATURES

4 From the Editor

34 CAMX 2017 Exhibit Preview

6 Perspectives & Provocations

ACMA and SAMPE’s fourth CAMX, held in Orlando, FL, US, this year, will be the largest composites trade show in the composites industry’s largest market.

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8 Design & Testing 14 Composites Business Index

62 C  W Plant Tour: BENTELER SGL, Ort im Innkreis, Austria

58 Work In Progress

This high-volume CFRP structures pioneer makes industrialization and multi-material assembly look easy.

CW contributor Michael LeGault reports on Orbital ATK's efforts to bring Earth-orbit heavy-launch capability back into US hands with its CFRP-cased solid fuel-powered boosters.

By Ginger Gardiner

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70 SMC: Old Dog, More Tricks In the sheet molding compound renaissance, new resins and compounds are broadening the definition and application of this versatile family of composites. By Peggy Malnati

78 Preforming Goes Industrial, Part 2 Automated preforming isn’t only for 2D and 2.5D parts. Innovators are taking successful aim at building 3D preforms at production speeds.

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By Ginger Gardiner

» DEPARTMENTS

86 Inside Manufacturing: Fiber-metal Laminates in the Spotlight

16 Trends 94 Calendar 96 Applications 98 Marketplace 98 Ad Index

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99 Showcase

» ON THE COVER



This completed fiber-metal laminate panel (FML), made from multiple, thin, interleaved layers of sheet aluminum and glass fiber/epoxy composite, exemplifies a technology that is showing promise, once again, for aircraft structure. Of particular interest is FML potential as a material for fuselage construction on future replacement narrowbody, single-aisle commercial aircraft. See p. 86.

100 Variable-axial Composites Open Path to Lighter Composite Structures

Interest in FMLs is growing again as aeroengineers search for lightweight solutions adaptable to new narrowbody commercial aircraft. By Sara Black

FOCUS ON DESIGN

CFRP recurve bow riser demonstrates design and manufacturing approach with potential to cut weight vs. aluminum by 50-75% while increasing strength and stiffness. By Ginger Gardiner

Source / Fokker business of GKN Aerospace CompositesWorld (ISSN 2376-5232) is published monthly and copyright © 2017 by Gardner Business Media Inc. 6915 Valley Ave., Cincinnati, OH 452443029. Telephone: (513) 527-8800. Printed in U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, OH and additional mailing offices. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CompositesWorld Magazine, 6915

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PUBLISHER Ryan Delahanty [email protected] EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jeff Sloan [email protected] MANAGING EDITOR Mike Musselman [email protected] SENIOR EDITOR Sara Black [email protected] SENIOR EDITOR Ginger Gardiner [email protected] DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR Heather Caliendo [email protected] GRAPHIC DESIGNER Susan Kraus [email protected] MARKETING MANAGER Kimberly A. Hoodin [email protected] CW CONTRIBUTING WRITERS



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FROM THE EDITOR

» I attended my first trade show in October 1990, as a 23-year-old

college graduate with a degree in technical journalism. I was two months into my job as an editorial assistant at Plastics Machinery & Equipment (PM&E), a B2B trade magazine that, as the title implies, offered information on the machinery Trade exhibitions: Still and equipment — injection marveling and learning molding machines, extruders, blowmolders — used to make after all these years. plastic products. The show was one of several regional Plastics Fairs hosted by what at the time was the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI), now called the PLASTICS Industry Assn. The Plastics Fair that I attended that October, 27 years ago, was in Las Vegas, NV, US. My boss, PM&E’s editor, ushered me about the show, introducing me to exhibitors and showing me the technology that was the magazine’s focus. The event was revelatory on several levels. For one, it was my first time in Las Vegas, which, along with New Orleans, San Francisco and New York City, I now consider a place uniquely its own in the American geopolitical, municipal and cultural landscape. On another, it was my first time seeing in person the machinery about which I had been writing for the magazine. I saw working injection molding machines on the show floor making parts (cups? Frisbees?). I saw an extruder molding profiles. I peered inside a granulator and pressed buttons on a resin dryer. I got an up-close look at a massive multi-cavity injection mold. On a third level, I marveled at the engineering and skill required to make those machines and parts. I met the people — machinery manufacturers, molders, engineers — who clearly lived and breathed for their work and the industry they served. They talked knowledgeably and passionately about cycle times, shot sizes, crystalline polymers, screenchangers and process control — making things. When they found out I was new? Their primary mission was to further my education, and they did so happily. This passion was not trivial. As a 23-year-old, I had not, in the first couple months on the job, embraced plastics machinery and equipment as a dynamic and interesting field of work. In college, I had not pictured myself working for a plastics industry trade publication. Yet, there I was, standing in the Las Vegas Convention 4

SEPTEMBER 2017

Center, experiencing full-on a microcosm of the best technology and the best people the plastics industry could offer, and it was suddenly very, very interesting. That experience colored and enhanced the work I did for PM&E from that day forward. Fast forward to this month (more than 100 trade shows later for me) and the fourth iteration of CAMX, Sept. 11-14 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL, US. CAMX has become the largest composites trade show in the world’s largest composites market and is expected to draw more than 500 exhibitors and about 9,000 attendees. Like that first plastics show I attended in 1990, CAMX will be full of knowledgeable, passionate people, and like those I met at age 23, they will be eager to share what they know with anyone who will listen. However, what distinguishes the composites industry of today from the plastics industry I walked into in Las Vegas is the pace of change. Even in 1990, plastics manufacturing was mature, marked by incremental change and innovation. Composites, by contrast, are relatively immature, dynamic and susceptible to substantial change. In such an environment, events like CAMX possess an elevated importance because they offer an opportunity for in-person interaction with the technologies and innovations now on offer, and with the people and companies who made them and, therefore, are leading composites change. CAMX offers a valuable personto-person opportunity for all of us to gain a better understanding of where this industry is headed and how we can participate in the maturation and evolution of composites. If you will be at CAMX, we hope to see you there. And if this is your first composites show, I encourage you to do as I did 27 years ago — ask a lot of questions; there will be no shortage of composites professionals ready and willing to answer them. And if you cannot be at CAMX this year, we will do the best we can to help you understand what you missed and where all of this dynamism is taking us.

JEFF SLOAN — Editor-In- Chief

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PERSPECTIVES & PROVOCATIONS

The lull of summer » As I write this column, we in the Northern Hemisphere are

experiencing the “dog days of summer,” that period from early July until late August when outdoor temperatures and humidity are the highest, and, it seems, business activity is at its lowest. It is during this time that many people take their personal holidays and manufacturing facilities perform annual shutdown maintenance. While composites industry activity goes on, there are typically few blockbuster announcements. That period of (relatively) low activity offers management a good time to look at the forthcoming months, and to reflect on the year to date. It seemed like a good time to do the same. Because this will be part of the September issue of CompositesWorld, it comes out in one of the busiest times of the year for compositesrelated activities. And these During the North’s summer run right up until holiday season, many take the beginning of time to take stock of what December. There the future might bring. are a host of conferences, especially in the US and Europe, starting with the SPE Automotive Composites Conference, CAMX and IBEX in three consecutive weeks in September in the U.S. October brings a JEC conference to Knoxville, TN, US, and the American Society for Composites meeting to Purdue University in Indiana. The Defense Manufacturing Conference and the CompositesWorld Carbon Fiber Conference highlight November. In Europe, Composites Europe highlights September, GO Carbon Fiber October and SAMPE Europe November. All these events are great for benchmarking what is going on within the world of composites, developing new contacts and business prospects. These last months of the year are also are a big time for formulating 2018 plans and budgets for many companies, as well as research institutes, including my organization, the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI, Knoxville, TN, US). What will be the R&D emphasis for next year? What new products will be launched? What trade shows and conferences will be supported? What projects are in our pipeline and how will we resource those? What are our hiring and training needs? What capital investments will be made? What funds do we need to borrow or raise to support growth? All these decisions are taken with an eye on the longer term, aligned with an entity’s strategic plan. With that as the future, what has 2017 brought so far? Overall enthusiasm within the industry has remained at a high level this year, and JEC Paris was clearly the most well attended and exhibitor-intensive composites trade show in history. Back in December 2016, I predicted the wind industry would 6

SEPTEMBER 2017

have a record year, and there is still a chance of that, although the Global Wind Energy Council (Brussels, Belgium) is projecting 60 GW of new capacity, just under the record set in 2014. What is clear is that blades keep getting longer, making wind increasingly more competitive against fossil fuels. I also predicted that Boeing or Airbus would announce the development of a composite-winged, single-aisle aircraft in 2017, and the Paris Air Show would be the most likely place to do so. Boeing did announce a longer version of the 737MAX, and Airbus a larger version of the A380, but neither proposed a composite-winged replacement for the 737 or A320. Bombardier did reveal that its compositewinged CSeries is achieving fuel economy roughly 10% above what was promised at the program start, so perhaps the pressure to follow is ramping up. I forecasted that a major OEM other than BMW would announce a significant volume production program with a reasonable deployment of composites in a multi-material platform. No word on that yet, but with a significant portion of the year remaining, I am still hopeful that will happen. One prediction has come true: Dieffenbacher (Eppingen, Germany) and Broetje (Grenzach-Wyhlen, Germany) have started shipping systems that manufacture high-volume, lowwaste continuous-fiber preforms. Fill (Gurten, Austria) and several other machinery companies have announced they will have similar systems ready for evaluation before the end of this year. My other two predictions involved positive movement on the recycling and infrastructure fronts. Excitement around recycling of advanced composites continues to grow, with fibers increasingly finding their way into consumer and industrial products. On the infrastructure front, the new administration in the US has talked about this as a priority, and it is likely to receive bipartisan support, but legislation to fund these initiatives has not made it to the front of the queue. It will be interesting to see if it can get there by December. A large US investment to repair and rebuild roads and bridges will, I hope, open opportunities for increased composites use. It should be an exciting five months to the end of 2017, and I believe this will portend well for 2018 and beyond, especially for the composites industry.

Dale Brosius is the chief commercialization officer for the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI, Knoxville, TN, US), a US Department of Energy (DoE)sponsored public/private partnership targeting high-volume applications of composites in energy-related industries. He is also head of his own consulting company and his career has included positions at US-based firms Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, MI), Fiberite (Tempe, AZ) and successor Cytec Industries Inc. (Woodland Park, NJ), and Bankstown Airport, NSW, Australia-based Quickstep Holdings. He also served as chair of the Society of Plastics Engineers Composites and Thermoset Divisions. Brosius has a BS in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA.

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DESIGN & TESTING

Software has a critical role in certification of composite designs for aerospace » Despite the many advantages that come with using composites materials in aerospace applications, designing weight-bearing structures from these materials remains a significant challenge. Compared to legacy metals, multi-material, multi-ply composites remain much more mathematically complex to model and design. That said, computing tools have improved dramatically over the past 10-15 years, enabling composites analysis, simulation and optimization to be carried out more quickly and accurately. These more sophisticated digital tools also have enhanced the ability of engineers to design for optimum weight reduction, as well as to refine manufacturing processes on the shop floor — significantly cutting time and cost. This led directly to greater acceptance and deployment of composites and enabled the production of the larger, lighter aircraft we see today.

FIG. 1 For a portion of an aircraft fuselage (left), HyperSizer software produces screenshots of postbuckling stability analysis of fuselage skins, stiffeners and frames. Source | Collier Research Corporation

It’s all about speed to certification No matter the aircraft or the materials used to make it, manufacturers have a common goal of reducing the total project schedule, from kickoff to FAA certification. Yet, adding composites into the product development equation can introduce greater complexity because so many processes are brought together — design, analysis, testing, curing of the laminate, the robotic application of the fiber on the tool, etc. Further, each of the assembled technologies needs to be in communication with the others on which they have an impact: How a laminate is designed or optimized affects every other downstream function, so passing the data more efficiently between disciplines is critical. As design iterations progress, a tight feedback loop is essential to achieve a fully optimized composite design. OEMs that work with composites are increasingly aware of how significantly early design decisions affect the downstream efforts of the manufacturing team to produce a final, certifiable part. The technology continues to mature, but software developers and part designers are already identifying the “sweet spots” where processes can be automated and improved upon. Although composites are still in the relatively early stage of adoption in aerospace, we’re at the point where we are able to take lessons learned and apply them to improve processes with measurable results.

Demonstrating certifiability to the FAA Analysis traceability and visibility are highly important for certification so, on the pathway to achieving it, an OEM must prove to the 8

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US Federal Aviation Admin. (FAA) that it has done its due diligence. Every aircraft manufacturer must prove flight-worthiness of each proposed aircraft configuration, so there can be no ambiguity in the structural analysis process. It must be fully traceable and repeatable. It’s unacceptable to use a “black box” of computational tools. Strong support for an OEM’s submission for certification can be provided by finite element analysis (FEA) output files of computed internal loads with, for example, NASTRAN or Abaqus — along with test data that validates methods and allowables. Software tools are now available to automate the processes that provide these, giving the design engineer the ability to trace through the analyses, visualize the results and understand the response of a composite structure, thereby confirming that the software and material input data are producing the correct answers. Templates of a wingskin, a rib or a fuselage (Fig. 1, above) guide the user through the analysis. The software reports to the engineer all the analysis details, including input and intermediate data results, with stress methods fully documented by references to the published literature. The test/data correlation capability enables the user to store such data for later demonstration of the agreement between analytical prediction and test. Collier Research’s HyperSizer software, for example, can now automate the setup of a design/feedback loop, based on the internal-load data from whatever number of FEA load cases (these can be numbered in the thousands) are needed to reach an optimized design — and then compute the failure margins of safety (Fig. 2, p. 10). At this point, the final deliverable from the software is

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DESIGN & TESTING

FIG. 2 Detailed stress reports, generated in HyperSizer (in this case, for a fuselage section), contain all skin and stiffener dimensions, marginsof-safety and analysis details. Source | Collier Research Corporation

an updated design to pass to the user’s CAD software (such as CATIA), updated model properties to pass to the global loads model, and stress reports.

Safer, lighter — and manufacturable The attraction of lighter aircraft, and the fuel savings that result, of course, are the major reasons why OEMs are increasingly turning to composites, but this obviously must go hand in hand with meeting all safety criteria. Our design and analysis software, for example, not only builds a positive margin of safety into every load-case run, but it also optimizes the composite design for the minimum weight that meets all applicable failure criteria with positive margins. Typical weight savings can run between 20% and 40% — and this also provides a marked reduction in material costs for the aircraft manufacturer.

As product development moves from the design stage to the manufacturing phase, digital tools can continue to play an important role. For example, laminate designs can be automatically incorporated into composite layup simulations in CAD. In preparation for this hand off, HyperSizer identifies the optimized ply schedules for a part, then sequences these further to account for layup producibility requirements. The ply schedules are then passed to the CAD software for ply staggering and generation of part drawings.

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This is the sequence now employed by some major aircraft makers today. Many aerospace companies are still spending a great deal of time performing their stress analysis and sizing in error-prone spreadsheets or custom scripts instead of making use of the commercial software. Our software can replace those scripts with automated stress analysis/sizing that quickly updates the FEA model and CAD layup schedules with every change to the design. This kind of software automation can reduce a design schedule from many months to a few weeks. And in the long term, the ability to call up and repeat a digital analysis on an aircraft at any point in its 30- to 50-year lifespan — one that can extend beyond any individual engineer’s career — is of obvious benefit. Keeping design models viable also will be key as Industry 4.0 becomes reality and the link between the composites design process and subsequent manufacturing becomes increasingly automated.

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GARDNER BUSINESS INDEX: COMPOSITES

July 2017 — 52.8 Production, historically associated with New Orders, remained robust at 57.0.

»

The Gardner Business Intelligence (GBI) Composites Business Index fell to 52.8 in July, pulling down the year-to-date average reading to 54.3. A comparison of the previous three months of readings to the same three months a year earlier showed an increase in the Composites Business Index of 13.7%. Additionally, the Index was up 8.2% from July, a year ago. Production, Employment, and Supplier Deliveries applied upward pressure on the July Index reading but sagging Exports, New Orders and Backlogs subindices ultimately pulled the Index lower.

New Orders and Production Registering 49.2, the July New Orders reading fell into contraction territory. This was a surprise, given that average New Orders readings between January and June, this year, averaged a robust 57.1. The three-month average ending in July was 53.1,

considerably better than the average of 46.9 recorded for the same period in 2016. The Production subindex, which typically closely trends the movement in New Orders remained a robust 57.0 in July, down only fractionally from June. Because of these divergent readings over the previous two months, the spread between New Orders and Production in July was greater than it had been in more than five years. This gap might be responsible, in part, for the significant decline in the Backlogs reading, assuming the strong Production and weak New Orders figures resulted in processors completing backlog work. The GBI team closely monitors the Backlogs reading because it is considered a bellwether of capacity utilization and, ultimately, consumables. Although the July Backlogs reading of 48.3 was disappointing, it is still 7% above the reading recorded a year ago in July 2016. Additionally, recent data released from the National Marine Manufacturers Assn. (Chicago, IL, US) show significant growth in several of its watercraft categories. Although this industry was significantly impacted by the 2007-2009 Great Recession, a resurgent marine market is expected to generate greater demand for the production of composite products.

Exports At 50.4, the Exports subindex recorded in July its first reading indicating expansion since January 2017. Exports readings have averaged 49.4 year-to-date after coming off a multi-year high at the end of 2016. Between the end of December 2016 and July 2017, the value of the US dollar has fallen 6.1%, making US exports slightly less expensive abroad.

Prices Between December 2016 and April of this year, readings for Material Prices indicated strongly accelerating input costs among composite products manufacturers. By the end of April, the readings for Material Prices had increased by approximately 19% while Prices Received readings increased by only 2%. However, between May and the end of July, Material Prices readings fell significantly, with the July reading of 63.5 reversing most of the recent increase.

Michael Guckes is the chief economist for Gardner Business Intelligence, a division of Gardner Business Media (Cincinnati, OH US). He has performed economic analysis, modeling and forecasting work for nearly 20 years among a wide range of industries. Michael received his BA in political science and economics from Kenyon College and his MBA from Ohio State University. [email protected] 14

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TRENDS The Grenfell Tower fire, a cautionary tale for high-rise cladding manufacturers, plus a CW Talks segment with James Austin, and a tale of progress toward a visionary form of composites-aided maglev transportation called the Hyperloop. CONSTRUCTION

Grenfell Tower fire highlights dangers of untested façade assemblies CW has published numerous stories over the past several years touting the benefits of fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) for architectural applications. Each article stressed that because FRP is new on the scene, passing the multiple required tests for fire safety was of paramount importance for acceptance. So when some news reports mentioned “composite laminates” in reference to the causes of the devastating and deadly fire in a residential high-rise tower in London on June 14, CW believed it was necessary to clarify that the tragedy did not involve composite materials as defined by CompositesWorld magazine, our readers and most composites suppliers. The Grenfell Tower fire consumed, instead, decorative architectural cladding panels sold as Reynobond PE, part of a “rainscreen” exterior installation made of thin aluminum skins over an unreinforced thermoplastic core, manufactured by Arconic (New York, NY, US, the successor company to Alcoa Inc.). Media reports speculate that a refrigerator placed close to an exterior wall might have been the fire source, and that the rainscreen air gap, designed to keep rain out of the building, instead, acted as a chimney, funneling the flames that burned the decorative panels as well as the underlying polyisocyanurate (PIR) rigid thermal insulation. Most importantly, the cladding’s laminate wasn’t fire retardant. Published media reports (including from The New York Times on June 24) say that British regulators apparently did not require fire testing to evaluate its flammability in as-installed conditions. US regulators, by contrast, don’t permit rainscreen cladding systems involving plastic above the height of a fireman’s ladder (about four stories), unless the cladding passes the National Fire Protection Assn.’s (NFPA) 285 full-scale assembly test, as well as the ASTM E 84 “Standard Test Method for Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials” and other tests, for compliance with US building codes. Put into proper context, the Grenfell Tower fire can be labeled neither a shocking surprise to the British regulatory community nor an isolated incident. It was the worst, but, in fact, only the latest in a succession of external cladding fires over the past 10 years. Worse, Great Britain has, according to published stories, as many as 87 other high-rise flats like Grenfell Tower and, possibly, as many as 30,000 other buildings of varying heights, covered with the same or similar cladding. There is good evidence that such cladding, when not properly fire-rated, can spread fire externally on a building, both on the external cladding surface and within 16

SEPTEMBER 2017

Source | Dreamstime

the cladding assembly, says Dr. Nicholas Dempsey, professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s (Worcester, MA, US) Fire Protection Engineering department. Our point? For one, the composites industry isn’t part of the problem but could be part of the solution. Architectural composites supplier Acell Industries Ltd. (Dublin, Ireland), for one, says it has a ready solution for Grenfell-like fire risk: Remove the cladding, remove the underlying insulation, and wrap it with Acell’s fire-resistant phenolic AMC (Acell Molding Compound) foam panels, which Acell claims would protect the insulation from any fire within the decorative cladding. As CW editorial offerings have indicated over the past half decade, there are undoubtedly other fixes, including fire-rated composite cladding systems, that our industry could supply. The key point, however, is that composites designers and manufacturers must learn from the experience of others. The composites industry has a responsibility to communicate with customers exactly what their materials can do in actual, as-installed situations, using actual fabrication methods. How fire resistant they are? Do they comply with International Code Council (ICC) International Building Code (IBC), Chapter 26 (Plastic) codes? What fire tests can they pass? These building codes, in fact, require suppliers to label products with this information so that architects and builders know with certainty what they’re getting, says architectural composites champion Bill Kreysler of Kreysler & Assoc. Inc. (American Canyon, CA, US). We certainly don’t want to see a disaster of Grenfell Tower-scale happening to a building clad with fiber-reinforced composites.

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Element Materials Technology (London, UK) completed its acquisition of Exova PLC (Edinburgh, UK), joining two world-leading testing companies. The new Element Group will consist of 200 laboratories located in more than 30 countries. This latest acquisition follows a period of significant growth and is expected to result in excess of US$700m in annual revenues and serve more than 40,000 customers worldwide. To support the acquisition, Element has fully refinanced its existing banking facilities and raised US$1.4 billion of first and second lien term debt, alongside US$150 million of committed ancillary facilities. Element will continue under the leadership of CEO and president Charles Noall, alongside an executive team formed from senior management from both companies.

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Web Industries (Marlborough, MA, US) has opened a new Thermoplastic Composite Development and Qualification Center designed, staffed, and equipped for the purpose of creating processes that format thermoplastic carbon fiber prepreg materials, including PEEK, PEKK and PPS, for use in various fabrication technologies. The facility is also employed to qualify the equipment that will process the new thermoplastic composite formats. The new facility houses slitting equipment and machinery that chops materials into fiber flakes for use in compression molding, and it will incorporate seaming technology later in the year. All of the process equipment is capable of achieving high precision tolerances.

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Teijin Aramid (Arnhem, the Netherlands) is going to expand its aramid production capacity for its Twaron super fiber. It will invest in new spinning technology at its Twaron facility in Emmen, The Netherlands, targeting start up in the first quarter of 2019. The company credits the decision to increased demand for Teijin’s highperformance para-aramid fiber Twaron and says the new spinning technology will enable the organization to increase the production capacity and meet the market demand. The new technology also results in further automation of the spinning process.  Gert Frederiks, CEO and president of Teijin Aramid, commented, “This investment underscores our ambition to produce and deliver sustainable and cost-efficient products to the market and reinforces our position as global market leader. It will enable us to meet the growing market demand and simultaneously implement the latest technology.” Wabash National Corp. (Lafayette, IM, US), a diversified industrial manufacturer and a North America producer of semi-trailers and liquid transportation systems, will acquire Goshen, IN, US-based Supreme Industries Inc. Founded in 1974, Supreme is the second largest US manufacturer of truck bodies with 2016 sales of US$299 million. The company primarily manufactures light- and mediumduty truck bodies at seven facilities throughout the US.

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Redefining Structural Materials The world continues advancing and requires lighter and stronger structures. Hexcel answers those demands with innovative technologies and better production capabilities to support the growth of the composites industry. Hexcel is the market’s most integrated composite solutions provider. We are experienced at all stages in the composites chain, from fiber to fabrics and resin formulation to thermosetting prepregs, new solutions for out-of-autoclave processing, molding materials, composite tooling, honeycomb and machined core. Learn more by visiting us at CAMX 2017 in Orlando, FL, September 12-14 in booth F18

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Owens Corning Infrastructure Solutions, part of the Composites business of Owens Corning (Toledo, OH, US), announced on July 6 that it has completed the acquisition of Aslan FRP, the concrete reinforcement business of Hughes Brothers Inc. (Seward, NE, US). Aslan FRP produces and markets glass and carbon fiberreinforced polymer products, specifically composite rebar, used to reinforce concrete in new and restorative infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, marine structures, buildings and tunnels. “Infrastructure represents an important area of focus for Owens Corning Infrastructure Solutions to both grow our business and provide tangible, long-term benefits globally,” says John Amonett, general manager, Infrastructure, Owens Corning. “The addition of Aslan FRP broadens our portfolio of composite solutions.” After eight months of development and implementation, Infinite Composites Technologies’ (ICT, Tulsa, OK) quality system has received AS9100D certification from the International Aerospace Quality Group, making ICT the first high-pressure, liner-less (Type V) composite pressure vessel company to receive this certification. This documentation is for a high-standard Quality Management System (QMS) that strives to consistently provide the best quality product for gas storage systems. Completion of this certification demonstrates ICT has a quality system in place that is up to par.

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TRENDS

MONTH IN REVIEW Notes about newsworthy events recently covered on the CW Web site. For more information about an item, key its link into your browser. Up-to-the-minute news | www.compositesworld.com/news/list

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Carbon Fiber 2017 conference agenda nears completion Set for Nov. 28-30 in Charleston, SC, US, it includes a Boeing plant tour, a recycling panel and a pre-conference seminar on transportation and energy applications. 08/14/17 | short.compositesworld.com/CarFib2017

Meggitt signs carbon/carbon brake deal with Airbus The Christchurch, Dorset, UK-based aerospace/defense engineering group will supply its NuCarb aircraft braking systems and wheels for the Airbus A321neo. 08/14/17 | short.compositesworld.com/Nucarbneo

SGL sells its Performance Products business unit to investment group SGL Carbon SE’s (Wiesbaden, Germany) cathodes, furnace linings and carbon electrodes business will pass to private equity firm Triton Partners (Frankfurt, Germany). 08/14/17 | short.compositesworld.com/SGLsellsPP

Turkish ferries built with Sigmatex carbon materials Özata Shipyard (Yalova, Turkey) celebrates successful four-year supply agreement with Sigmatex (UK) Ltd. (Runcorn, UK), after fabrication of 15 CFRP ferries. 08/14/17 | short.compositesworld.com/CF-Ferries

Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity completes sixth glide test The composites-intensive spacecraft is nearing rocket-powered flight testing, as it is prepared to enter service, taking passengers into low-Earth orbit. 08/14/17 | short.compositesworld.com/VSSUnity6

Royal DSM acquires remaining part of DSM-AGI joint venture The Netherlands-based supplier announced Aug. 9 that it had acquired the outstanding 49% share in the Taiwan-based supplier of UV-curable resins. 08/14/17 | short.compositesworld.com/DSMTaiwan

TPI Composites wins wind blade supply deal with Senvion The Scottsdale, AZ, US-based firm will supply blades from its Taicang Port, China, plant to Senvion (Hamburg, Germany) markets in Asia, South America and Australia. 08/14/17 | short.compositesworld.com/TPISenvion

Solvay co-invests US$1.9 million in MultiMechanics This joint investment is expected to enhance Solvay’s high-performance polymer and composite materials pipelines, and expand its position in key markets. 08/10/17 | short.compositesworld.com/Solvay-MM

PolyOne material featured in ballistic shelters development Manufacturer works with US Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center to apply PolyOne’s GlasArmor to military shelter systems. 08/14/17 | short.compositesworld.com/GlasArmor

IACMI announces new streamlined request for proposal process The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation is launching RFP 3.0 to speed newly submitted project development and execution. 08/07/17 | short.compositesworld.com/Exel-BMW

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No composites end-market was hit harder by the Great Recession than recreational marine, but memories of those dark days are rapidly fading. Indeed, in the US, the National Marine Manufacturers Assn. (NMMA, Chicago, IL, US) reports that 2016 was the best in 10 years for sales of new personal watercraft. NMMA’s 2016 Recreational Boating Statistical Abstract reports that US sales of all boats, marine products and services totaled US$36 billion, which was a 3.2% increase over 2015. Overall sales of new powerboats in 2016 increased 6%, for a total of 247,800 boats sold. Similar growth is expected this year and in 2018. Outboard boat sales, which represent 85% of the new powerboat market, were up 6.1% in 2016 to 160,900 units. This is a far cry from the nadir of the US recreational marine market, in 2009, when only 153,500 new powerboats were sold — less than new outboard boat sales alone in 2016. Indeed, 2016 sales figures are approaching those not seen since the pre-recession period’s last, and in many boating segments, peak, good year, 2007, when 267,300 new powerboats were sold. “Economic factors, including an improving housing market, higher employment, strong consumer confidence, and growing disposable income, are creating a golden age for the country’s recreational boating industry,” says Thom Dammrich, president of NMMA. “Summer is a busy selling season for our industry, and we expect steady growth to continue across most boat categories through 2017 — and into 2018 — to keep up with the acceleration in demand for new boats.”

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Arizona DOT uses carbon composites for bridge repair According to a mid-decade report by the coalition Transportation for America (Washington, DC, US), titled The Fix We’re In For: The State of our Nation’s Busiest Bridges, there

Over 60 yrs of experience in all facets of composites molding. Around the world, Team McLube is the proven leader in providing cost effective release solutions.

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were then 69,223 structurally deficient highway bridges in the US alone — 11.5% of all US highway bridges — that require rehabilitation or replacement. Although this portion of the aging American infrastructure offers a potentially huge market for composite materials, civil engineers and their counterparts in local and regional governments have proved historically resistant to change. So it was newsworthy, indeed, when the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT, Phoenix, AZ, US) recently used carbon composites for the first time to repair and strengthen girders on two Interstate 17 bridges in Phoenix that had been struck by over-height vehicles. As a result, says the agency, one of those bridges is no longer listed as structurally deficient. The carbon fiber strips, which were saturated with epoxy during installation, were supplied by QuakeWrap Inc. (Tucson, AZ, US), a composites company headed by Dr. Mo Ehsani, who helped pioneer the

Carbon Composite Bridge NEWS Repair use of carbon fiber to strengthen concrete structures. The carbon fiber composite strips — carbon fiber fabrics, which were manually saturated with epoxy during installation — were used by crews to wrap the damaged girders and then were cured in place. The repair work on the two I-17 bridges was completed in May 2017. The improvements done to the bridge carrying I-17 over 19th Ave. allowed that bridge’s sufficiency rating to be upgraded. ADOT was able to move it off the structurally deficient list. According to ADOT, the term structurally deficient doesn’t mean a bridge is unsafe, but that certain repair needs, including component replacement, have been identified through an inspection. “Our ADOT Bridge Group focuses on using new and innovative bridge-repair technologies that enhance safety while saving time and taxpayer dollars,” says ADOT senior bridge engineer William Downes. “The reinforced fiber strips add strength to the girders and are designed to limit the amount of debris that could fall should a girder be struck again.” “We think the carbon fiber repairs are effective, can extend the lifespan of structures and can be done in much less time than other repair methods,” says ADOT state bridge engineer David Eberhart. “We’re likely to use it again, if and when repairs are needed.” FNF Construction Inc. (Tempe, AZ, US) and FRP Construction LLC (Tucson, AZ, US) were contractors on the I-17 bridge repairs, using the structural strengthening process developed by QuakeWrap.

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TRENDS

Q&A: James Austin, CEO, North Thin Ply Technology Editor’s note: CW launched in June 2017 CW Talks: The Composites Podcast, featuring interviews with composites industry thinkers and doers. This Q&A is an excerpt from Episode 6 of CW Talks in which Austin discusses everything from selling composites into the aerospace industry in the 1990s to working with marine composites to working with specialized composites today. You can catch the full interview at www.compositesworld.com/podcast, or on iTunes or Google Play. CW: Do you see automation as an imperative to the growth of the industry? JA: I think it is. When we look at China, Vietnam and the Far East, those economies aren’t going backward. They’re going forward, and it means the people will learn more, and the low-cost, dollar-a-day Chinese worker putting carbon fiber in a mold to make a tennis racquet or a golf shaft is not forever. But people are still used to buying a US$70 carbon fiber tennis racquet that has been sold to a shop for US$35 that’s been sold to a wholesaler for US$20. So, the end-user economics aren’t changing . . .. And when you think of markets such as the automotive market, I don’t see how composites will be able to compete in the long term, without incorporating serious automation into the processes.

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CW: How would you define “serious automation”? JA: Automation for me would be [fiber] off a creel, and out of some dispensing for the matrix side of things, into a part. That’s how I would define serious automation — in mass-produced, 100,000-modelsa-year Ford Focus- or Volkswagen ­-type volumes.

Q&A NEWS

CW: What lessons have you learned in your experiences with different employers and end-markets? JA: With such a young industry . . . there is still a long way to innovate, and innovation is really at the heart of our success as an industry. Metals are the enemy, and we still can’t do a lot of what metals can do, and there’s still a long way to go down the innovation road to be a competitive technology. After that, cost is [a concern]. Why aren’t composites used universally? Because they’re too expensive. CW: Where and how would you like to see the composites industry mature? JA: I think a piece the industry still is missing is a kind of standardization of materials, and I think half the industry is probably with me on that and half the industry is not with me. You know, you buy a standard alloy, you know what you’re getting, the engineer knows what he’s getting, and you can engineer it into a structure and it’s all fairly safe. And the equivalent doesn’t exist in the composites world, and that’s a huge barrier to us. CW: The argument against standardization is that composites can be engineered to meet a variety of applications, and that’s their strength, so why would we change that? What is your response to that argument? JA: Because, if there was an oversupply of composite engineers out there in the world who could do refined engineering for everything that could use composite materials, then I could accept the nonstandardization argument. But there aren’t enough composite engineers out there in the world. There are more engineers — not composites engineers — who could maybe work to a standard set of materials like conventional engineering does. So, whilst the world is not overburdened with highly refined and skilled composite engineers, the rate of uptake is, I think, limited. Or, one of the limitations is the engineerability of the materials, and standardization is one way through that.

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Hyperloop: Composites help enable maglev transport Imagine traveling between Los Angeles and San Francisco (350 miles, or about six hours by car) in less than 30 minutes. It’s not here yet, but it’s no longer science fiction. Tesla Motors and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk unveiled in a white paper the idea for Hyperloop, a radically new, high-speed ground transport system, back in 2013. Featuring a network of vacuum tubes running between passenger boarding stations, it would link cities separated by hundreds of miles. Magnetically levitating “pods” would literally fly passengers to destinations through nearly atmosphere-free and, therefore, friction-free tubes, moving as fast as today’s jet aircraft. To accelerate system development, Musk announced a competition that called on teams of university students to design and build the Hyperloop pod. In early 2015, MIT students won the Hyperloop design competition’s first round. Competing against 100 other teams from around the world, MIT graduate students won the best overall design award for a half-scale Hyperloop pod. MIT’s final capsule came in roughly 2.5m long, about 1m wide and weighing 250 kg, according to MIT. The pod’s shell featured woven carbon fiber and polycarbonate sheets. The team from Delft University of Technology

Source | Carnegie Mellon

Source | Hyperloop One

(The Netherlands) came second on the strength of an innovative design that featured a full carbon fiber composite chassis that weighed in at only 149 kg. These teams joined 19 others in the competition’s next phase, in which they would test small-scale pod working prototypes on a Hyperloop test track in California. Here, students from the Scientific Workgroup for Rocketry and Spaceflight (WARR) student initiative from the Technical University of Munich prevailed with the “fastest pod” and also won the award for “Best Performance in Flight.”

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Hyperloop NEWS

The WARR Hyperloop prototype was made of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) with support of carbon fiber materials provided by SGL Carbon SE (Wiesbaden, Germany). On May 12, this year, Musk’s Hyperloop One (Los Angeles) startup announced the successful completion of the world’s first full-systems Hyperloop test in a vacuum environment at the company’s recently completed test track, DevLoop, in the Nevada desert. The aluminum-andcarbon-composite vehicle, measuring 28 ft in length, coasted above the first portion of the track for 5.3 seconds using magnetic levitation and reached nearly 2Gs of acceleration, while achieving the Phase 1 target speed of 70 mph. The company’s next target is speeds upward of 250 mph. “Hyperloop One has accomplished what no one has done before by successfully testing the first full-scale Hyperloop system. By achieving full vacuum, we essentially invented our own sky in a tube, as if you’re flying at 200,000 ft in the air,” says Shervin Pishevar, co-founder and executive chairman of Hyperloop One. “For the first time in over 100 years, a new mode of transportation has been introduced. Hyperloop is real, and it’s here now.” Hyperloop One will continue to run tests at DevLoop in the coming months to validate its next-generation components and software. Musk’s Hyperloop One effort, however, faces competition. Founded in 2013 by Californiabased JumpStarter Inc., U.S.based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc. (HTT) has raised more than US$100 million. Co-founders Dirk Ahlborn (CEO) and Bibop G. Gresta (chairman) report that Spain-based Carbures Europe SA. is offering pod fuselage help. HTT is focused on building a functional 5-mile test track in Quay Valley, CA, US, between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and says Slovakia has agreed to serve as a development hub for a Hyperloop line connecting Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest. Moreover, HTT is also researching an east-west line between Bratislava and Kosice, Slovakia’s two largest cities, on opposite ends of the country.  

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Web: www.cvc.emeraldmaterials.com Email: [email protected] PH: 1-856-533-3000

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What: Composites and Advanced Materials Expo (CAMX)

Who:

CAMX 2017 Exhibit Preview

American Composites Manufacturers Assn. (Arlington, VA, US) Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (Diamond Bar, CA, US)

When Sept. 11-14, 2017

Where: Orange County Convention Center Orlando, FL, US

ACMA and SAMPE’s fourth CAMX will be the largest composites trade show in the composites industry’s largest market. Held in Orlando, FL, this year, it promises an even more robust exhibition and conference program.

» Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.

There’s a lot of wisdom in that old saying. And its words could not be any more true than when anticipating a trip to an industry trade show. With that in mind, the editors at CompositesWorld conceived of the CAMX Exhibit Preview, four years ago, as a means to help its readers anticipate in a knowledgeable way, what might be awaiting them when they stepped onto the CAMX show floor. At the time, CAMX was “the new show.” CW was also new, in a way — High-Performance Composites and Composites Technology magazines, its predecessors, were about to be melded into CompositesWorld magazine (January 2015). The industry was evolving. The world was discovering composites at an accelerating pace. The term disruptive in connection with technology — and especially in connection with composites — was bandied about by people with Ph.Ds. It was a time ripe for change. Our CAMX Exhibit Preview was born out of such a time, and things are no different today. Those who have advance knowledge, who have a peek at the disruptive technologies that are coming down the pike — and they are coming — have the advantage on their competition. With that in mind, we offer up, once again, this taste of what’s to come. As in past years, CW polled CAMX exhibitors this year to get a sense of what visitors to the show might find when they walk the

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aisles on the expansive Orange County Convention Center exhibition floor. Here on these pages is the result of that effort, an exclusive first look at what a select list of those exhibitors plan to offer on the show floor. You can find out more about many of these companies by checking out their listings at the online SourceBook, CompositesWorld’s composites industry supplier directory (www.compositesworld.com/suppliers) or by visiting them directly by way of the URL at the end of each product preview. And there’s a third option, courtesy the CAMX folks: As it has done in the past, the CAMX Web site offers MyCAMX Planner, a tool that helps you see and evaluate the conference and trade show offerings available, and then organize each day to help make sure you see the exhibitors that interest you most. You can use MyCAMX Planner to conduct searches, communicate with exhibitors, make appointments with exhibitors and tag presentations. You can then link this data with the CAMX app on your mobile device to keep your schedule close at hand during the show. One final note: We’ve included booth locations with many of the previews, but such things can change. For updates on logistical information, not to mention a complete list of CAMX exhibitors, the CAMX conference schedule, Orlando lodging information and — last but, of course, not least — to register for show attendance, visit the CAMX Web site | thecamx.org.

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CAMX 2017

Braided fabric innovations A&P Technology Inc. (Cincinnati, OH, US) is showcasing its line of braided fabrics, including QISO, a 0°/±60° balanced and symmetric quasi-isotropic fabric, and Bimax, an off-the-shelf ±45° bias fabric. Both fabrics are being adopted in a variety of industries, including aerospace and automotive, and by toolmakers as well. Compared to parts designed with traditional 0°/90° woven or noncrimp fabric (NCF) reinforcements, A&P says parts made with QISO are stronger, have better impact resistance and have more consistent coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE). QISO is said to improve the manufacturer’s buy-to-fly ratio because its quasi-isotropic architecture simplifies kitting and enables the use of fewer plies compared to the conventional 0°/+45°/-45°/90° layup. The purchase price of QISO is comparable to woven materials and A&P says manufacturers have realized a process savings between 20-30% using QISO.

Instead of cutting 0°/90° on the bias to create 45° materials, A&P says manufacturers can use Bimax as an off-the-shelf ±45° drop-in replacement. It is said to enable consistent part layup and reduces material waste. The fabrics are available in a range of areal weights and widths and can be customized to meet exact part requirements. They can be made with almost any fiber type, and are sold dry or as prepregs. Booth H2. www.braider.com

Composites training and educational resources

Automated nondestructive inspection technology

Abaris Training Resources Inc. (Reno, NV, US) is highlighting its composites education programs as well as related engineering and technical service offerings in Booth T43. Abaris senior staff members will be on hand to discuss newly updated short courses in such engineering topics as structures, sandwich panel, joint and repair design and analysis, as well as technical topics that include manufacturing best practices, mold fabrication, resin infusion, adhesive bonding, nondestructive inspection, and structural repair. Special emphasis is placed on active learning in the classroom and workshop settings. These programs encompass a variety of advanced composite technologies, including newly updated courses in “Cure Management & Process Control for Composites: In and Out of Autoclave,” and “General Aviation Composite Repair.” Abaris Training senior staff members Lou Dorworth and Dr. Rik Heslehurst are each presenting a pre-conference tutorial on Monday, Sept. 11 at the convention center. Dorworth’s tutorial, titled “Surface Preparation & Adhesion Principles: Successful Bonding of Composites,” is scheduled for 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in Room W208B. Heslehurst’s tutorial, titled “Determination of Composite Material Allowable Properties,” runs 1:00-4:00 p.m. in Room W207B. www.abaris.com

Automatic inspection is being featured in live demonstrations at Aligned Vision’s (formerly Assembly Guidance Inc., Chelmsford, MA, US) CAMX booth (E9). LASERVISION, which combines Aligned Vision’s laser templating with automatic inspection technology, continues to advance with new inspection functionality. The new capabilities add to LASERVISION’s key functions of detecting material position, fiber orientation and foreign object debris (FOD). Aligned Vision has now broadened LASERVISION’s FOD detection capabilities to include peel-ply FOD in bonding applications. In a CAMX technical paper and presentation, Aligned Vision president Scott Blake will review the breadth of LASERVISION’s automatic inspection capabilities. He will then discuss the potential for automatic inspection to serve as a data hub as fabricators advance into smart factory technology. Blake’s presentation will be given on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 3:30-3:55 p.m., Booth E9. www.aligned-vision.com

Thermoplastics for liquid molding processes Arkema Inc. (King of Prussia, NY, US) is featuring its liquid thermoplastic resins, under the brand Elium, which make it possible to produce continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic parts. Also featured is Arkema’s Luperox organic peroxide formulations, specially designed for fast polymerization of Elium resin at room or elevated temperatures. The Elium resin and Luperox organic peroxides system can be used to design structural and aesthetic elements in applications ranging from automotive and transportation to wind power and construction. Arkema says composite parts made from Elium resin are 30-50% lighter than the same parts made from steel, but offer the same mechanical performance. Elium resin also is easily cured into complex designs with glass, carbon or other reinforcement fibers through conventional

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thermoset molding technologies, including resin transfer molding (RTM), infusion, pultrusion and flex-molding. Because of their thermoplastic properties, Elium resin-based composite parts are thermoformable and also recyclable. New developments in other performance resins include Kepstan PEKK, Kynar PVDF and Rilsan PA resins for automotive and aerospace lightweighting that do not compromise strength, stiffness or flame/ chemical resistance. Arkema’s Technical Polymers group also is introducing Rilsan matrix composite thermoplastic tapes, for automotive applications, which provide high Tg and good mechanical performance. Booth M52. www.arkema.com

PET-based structural foam core Armacell Benelux SA (Thimister-Clermont, Belgium) is showcasing its ArmaFORM PET product family. ArmaFORM PET Core is a PET-based (polyethylene terephthalate) structural foam core offered in densities of 4.1-20.0 lb/ft3 and thicknesses of 0.20-0.49 inch. ArmaFORM PET Foil is a thin, flexible PET sheet available in various thicknesses up to 0.02 inch, in densities of 4.4-18.7 lb/ft3 and tailor-made formulations in terms of stiffness and fire resistance. ArmaFORM PET MultiCore combines different densities in one foam core to improve impact and point load resistance.

It offers what is said to be a unique combination of properties, including better strength-to-weight ratio, higher impact and point load resistance. The use of higher density layers allows for superior screw retention without additional reinforcement. ArmaFORM PET Beads are PET-based particle foams for the manufacture of ready-to-use 3D shaped parts on an industrial scale. PET Beads combine the high mechanical properties of structural foam cores with the advantages of particle foams and offer lightweight and strong 3D foam parts that are producible in any shape. Booth A49. www.armacell-core-foams.com

Automated and semi-automated filament winding systems AUTONATIONAL Composites BV (Ijlst, The Netherlands) is featuring its solutions for filament winding for its customers from all over the world. AUTONATIONAL supplies automated and semi-automated modular production lines for large-scale production of filament-wound tubes. New is the fact that these lines now can be assembled from standard modules. These standard modules include a range of standard filament winders, creels and tensioning systems, resins, extractors, continuous curing ovens, track and trace equipment and processing equipment (for operations that include milling, drilling, shaving, etc.). Applications include composite fuel lines for aircraft, composite utility poles for power transmission and distribution, and communication applications. Booth J87. www.autonational.com

High Performance Tooling for the Composites Industry

• • • • •

Steel Invar NVD Nickel Aluminum Precision Machining

Nickel Vapor Deposition capability has led us to be the leading supplier for shell tooling with integrated heating. Ideal for Out of Autoclave, Rotational Molding or Vacuum Infusion. Composite CF parts are complex Weber Knows... Weber Delivers...

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CompositesWorld

[email protected]

webermfg.ca

CAMX 2017

Carbon and natural fibers for thermoplastic composites

Industrial oven technology

BASF Corp. (Wyandotte, MI, US) is featuring new carbon fibers for thermoplastics, short carbon fibers for lightweighting and natural fiber solutions for use in the automotive industry. A team of BASF experts in CAMX Booth U43 is emphasizing the advantages of thermoplastic solutions, including improved cycle time, recyclability and improved shelf life. Displays feature a sustainable, lightweight composite pallet from Lightning Technologies, the all-composite, lightweight load floor in Wabash National trailers, as well as 3D printing technology from Essentium Materials (College Station, TX, US) that highlights its partnership with BASF. Products on display demonstrate the challenge of accurately predicting part performance using a highly anisotropic material. BASF’s Ultrasim provides a solution to enable users to model customer applications and accurately predict final part performance, including the influence of flow-induced anisotropy. Innovations for lightweighting using natural fiber composites, such as BASF’s Acrodur binder, lends adhesive and strengthening properties to natural fibers, resulting in an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional methods. These composites are also used in furniture and industrial design products, with kenaf, bamboo and wood fibers. BASF’s booth also features continuous fiber-reinforced tapes and fabric-reinforced laminates for aerospace applications. Booth U43. www.basf.us/composites | www.essentiummaterials.com

C. A. Litzler Co. Inc. (Cleveland, OH, US) is emphasizing its work on the design and manufacture of continuous process equipment for structural composites, carbon fiber production and industrial textiles. Featured is the company’s line of carbon fiber oxidation ovens with the patented G5 End-Seal. Litzler also is featuring hot-melt and solution prepreg systems and tape lines, ovens, unwind systems, metering rolls, compaction stations, winders, accumulators, and drive and control systems. In addition to conventional oxidation ovens, Litzler is introducing the world’s first 175-ton plasma oxidation oven for OPF and carbon fiber production. It operates more than three times faster than current commercial technology and uses less energy per pound of fiber and the equipment has demonstrated improvement in fiber quality. Hot melt machines include 300-mm pilot machines, and production machines up to 1,525 mm wide. All machines include creels, spreader systems and precision compaction rolls. Solution treaters feature Optiflow patented radiant ovens, unwind systems, metering rolls, winders and accumulators. Also now available is Computreater CF. Used to develop new precursors and fibers, to test and evaluate incoming PAN precursor quality and to develop more efficient production theories and alternate sizing chemistries, it is the laboratory model of Litzler’s advanced high-production carbon fiber systems. Booth J55. www.calitzler.com

Flexibility & productivity in composites, tech tex.

See Zünd at CAMX Booth D16 and at IBEX Booth 1049

www.zund.com

CompositesWorld.com

[email protected]

T: 414 433 0700

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Composites technology for infrastructure rehabilitation The National Science Foundations’ Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructures (CICI) at West Virginia University (WVU, Morgantown, WV, US) is emphasizing its advanced fiberreinforced polymer (FRP) composites and techniques for rapid repair, upgrading, rehabilitation or replacement of highway, railway, waterway, bridge, building, pipeline and other structures. The primary objective of the center is to usher innovative new applications and cost-effective rehabilitation schemes using composites in civil and military structures, through collaborative research between member universities in collaboration with the composites and construction industries. Booth A74. Further, WVU’s Dr. Liang will conduct a conference session on Thursday, Sept. 14, 9:00-9:45 a.m. in W209C, titled, “Fixing Aging Infrastructure Using Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites.” In it, he will introduce the Center for Integration of Composites into Infrastructure (CICI) and present a dozen case studies where FRP composites are used to fix the aging infrastructure systems that have demonstrated innovation, design flexibility, performance and cost-effectiveness. The session also will solicit market needs from composites industries and owners of infrastructure systems and call for participation in CICI’s Industrial Advisory Board. Further, CICI is collaborating with the ACMA and the Chinese Society for Composites Materials (CSCM, Beijing, China) to promote bilateral collaboration among composites industries. There will be a discussion meeting at CAMX 2017 focusing on US-China partnership development. Nanjing Fenghui of Composite Material Co. Ltd. (Nanjing, China), an Industry Advisory Board (IAB) member of CICI, will also conduct a workshop titled, “Transportation Applications of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites in China,” while Prof. Hota Gangarao, director of CICI, will present a technical paper titled, “Glass-Polymer Composite High Pressure Pipes and Joints.” www.iucrc.org

• Five modes to cover different material configurations. • Easy-to-operate HMI interface with data collection for process verification. The CD6009 Research TowPreg Machine was developed for ease of processing of towpreg for high accuracy and consistency. It provides towpreg samples for testing and analysis and the following additional features: • Enclosed impregnation zone for improved process control and repeatability • Impregnation control that ensures full impregnation and resin content accuracy. • Multiple temperature zones in the impregnation area to support a range of resin systems and processes. Optional transverse rewinder available. Booth G47. www.centurydesign.com

AFP and ATL applications software CGTech (Irvine, CA, US) will demonstrate the latest version of its VERICUT Composites Applications. Featured are VERICUT Composite Simulation (VCS) and VERICUT Composite Programming (VCP). Booth R51. Visitors can get a firsthand view of the steps needed to get from a CAD model of a composite part to producing and simulating CNC

Prepreg & towpreg machinery Century Design Inc. (CDI, San Diego, CA, US), a global supplier of prepreg machines and specialty composite processing equipment, is launching new research prepreg and towpreg machines in Booth G47. The CD6010 Combination Prepreg Machine, developed with ease of use, scalability and cost-effectiveness in mind, is CDI’s new research prepreg machine. It has a small footprint, enabling its installation in a range of research facilities, yet it retains the full capability of the company’s larger production prepreg lines. Features include the following: • Intuitive, automated controls that incorporate processing recipes to improve batch-to-batch consistency and reduce operator training. • A reverse roll coater that supports advanced hot-melt systems. • A combination machine that can make resin films and prepreg. • Elevated processing temperature capability for a wider range of resin systems. 38

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programs that drive automated fiber placement (AFP) and automated tape laying (ATL) machines. CGTech notes that due to the extensive time, energy, and labor invested in composite workpieces prior to machining, they often can be more expensive than some exotic metal alloy parts. Further, says CGTech, repairing composite workpieces after a machining error is problematic and, many times, not feasible. Thus, validating the part program prior to trimming is critical. At the CGTech booth (R51), current customer projects highlighted include use of robots, lasers, probing and ultrasonic knives. Information on new projects highlights the implementation and use of machine-independent offline NC programming software for AFP and ATL machines, such as the work being done at NASA’s Langley Research Center using a 16-tow Electroimpact (Mukilteo, WA, US) AFP machine. Booth F72. The company also is showing the latest version of its VERICUT CNC machine simulation, verification and optimization software. VERICUT enables users to eliminate the process of manually proving out NC programs, simulates all types of CNC machining — including drilling and trimming of composite parts — waterjet, riveting, robotics, mill/turn and parallel kinematucs. VERICUT runs as a standalone but can be integrated with most CAM systems. www.cgtech.com | www.electroimpact.com

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CAMX 2017

Nonabrasive toolcleaning solution Cold Jet LLC (Loveland, OH, US) is providing dry-ice cleaning demonstrations in its booth. The demos use Cold Jet’s i3 MicroClean, which features dry ice blasting technology, a nonabrasive cleaning method that provides a composite tool-cleaning solution that is fast, delicate and does not use chemicals or solvents. Designed around Cold Jet’s patented shaved dry ice technology, the i3 MicroClean reportedly enables the cleaning of intricate cavities that other methods cannot reach. The MicroClean system, says Cold Jet, extends the life of equipment by eliminating the need for chemicals, wire brushes and abrasive pads, and allows for longer use cycles between preventive maintenance downtimes. Tooling used for, but not limited to, compression molding, resin transfer molding, extrusion, prepregging and wet layup are suitable applications for dry-ice blast cleaning. Visit Cold CW ADQ68. www.coldjet.com Jet in Booth

Production monitoring/ control systems Convergent Manufacturing Technologies Inc. (Vancouver, BC, Canada) and its US-based partner Convergent Manufacturing Technologies US Inc. (Seattle, WA, US) are demonstrating in Booth D43 their turnkey digital manufacturing solutions. From premanufacturing composites process simulation and materials characterization to process monitoring, Convergent’s products and services are designed to increase the efficiency and reduce the risk of composites manufacturing. The Convergent software suite includes RAVEN and COMPRO composite process simulation software, as well as newer additions, including KERMODE and LIMS. RAVEN and COMPRO are reportedly robust tools for thermal analysis, with COMPRO also able predict thickness changes, porosity, geometric compliance and residual stress. Their functionality is now complemented by KERMODE, a materials characterization workflow tool said to enable greater ease and speed in creating materials models for simulation, and LIMS, liquid injection molding simulation software. Convergent’s hardware solutions include the COHO vacuum leak detection system and a line of pressure transducers. COHO (pat. pend.) reportedly saves time in production by detecting and localizing vacuum bag, equipment and tooling leaks. COHO’s features include leak identification and localization in real time, flow measurements, data logging for better quality control and historical data mining, and increased consistency in bagging practices. www.convergent.ca

Attending CAMX? Visit us at Booth M51. The Industry Leader in Prepreg Composite Formatting Aerospace fabricators trust Web’s PrecisionSlit™ formatting technologies to produce best-in-class prepreg slit tapes, thermoplastic chop, and ply kits customized to streamline their workow, drive value, and mitigate risk.

Stop by our CAMX booth and learn how our formatting technologies can improve your manufacturing efciencies.

..................................................................... 1 508.573.7979 l [email protected] ..................................................................... © 2017 Web Industries, Inc. All rights reserved.

AS/EN9100C, ISO 9001 & 14001

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Core materials: Balsa and thermoplastic foams CoreLite (Miami, FL, US) is emphasizing the performance, availability, traceability and support for its advanced balsa wood and foam core materials. CoreLite’s product range includes a full line of core materials: BALSASUD Core, end-grain balsa core, approved by DNV GL and Lloyd’s Register; CoreLite Board, high-density PVC foam board for areas that require extra stiffness and good screw retention; CoreLite PET, next-generation PET foam core with enhanced mechanical properties; CoreLite PVC, closed-cell, crosslinked polymer PVC foam core formulated for durability, strength, and high processing temperatures; Custom Kits, based on CAD drawings. Booth C10. www.corelitecomposites.com

Epoxy resin curing agents and more Dixie Chemical Co. Inc. (Pasadena, TX, US), a producer of curing agents for epoxy resin systems and specialty chemicals for the thermoset and composite markets, offers a range of anhydride curing agents, reactive diluents, tougheners, resins and bio-based raw materials. Dixie has developed a proprietary pre-catalyzed anhydride technology, leading to novel anhydride curing agents such as ECA 607 and NMA 407 for epoxy. These products allow for epoxy formulations with low viscosities, long pot lives, fast cures and high glass transition temperatures (Tg) making them well suited for high-speed pultrusion processes to produce cost-efficient, advanced composite components. In collaboration with Professor Giuseppe Palmese’s polymer and composites research group at Drexel University, Dixie says it is developing a line of new tougheners for thermosets. The first among these is DRX R82, tailored for vinyl ester and unsaturated polyester resins, which enhances toughness and impact resistance with a minimal effect on the resin viscosity and the cured resin Tg. Dixie reports that it also has partnered with industry experts to design a lightweight composite panel for highly damage-tolerant construction applications. It was developed using an epoxy-anhydride resin system and combining different composites concepts, such as syntactic foam and resin-infused structural skins. This panel has a synergistic combination of reinforcements using carbon and glass fibers, along with hollow macro- and microspheres. Booth Q22. www.dixiechemical.com

Robots & robot programming services DUO Robotic Solutions Inc. (Sterling Heights, MI, US) is introducing its DUO-Trim line, which offers robot selections for fixed and rotary tables, air and electric spindles, cold and ultrasonic knives, traditional and high-volume vacuum solutions and others. DUO-Trim is specifically designed to trim plastic, wood, carbon fiber-reinforced and other composite parts. DUO-Trim is compatible with waterjet cutting, router trimming, laser cutting and knife trimming (cold knife or ultrasonic blade) processes. DUO offers programming services for ABB and Fanuc robots, including cycle time and path optimization. Booth R56. www.duorobot.com 40

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Honeycomb-cored sandwich panel processing EconCore (Leuven, Belgium) is featuring its technology for the continuous production of honeycomb sandwich materials in Booth D74. Reportedly fast and efficient, the process is said to be ideal for companies that operate in cost-sensitive applications, including automotive and transportation, industrial packaging and building and construction. The EconCore process is capable of producing honeycombs from a range of thermoplastics with inline integrated lamination of skin materials of various types. At CAMX, EconCore is supporting one of its recent US-based licensees — truck and trailer body manufacturer Wabash National Corp. — and its Mexican licensee Fynotej, which makes fibers, yarns and nonwoven products. EconCore also is presenting lightweighting options via several sandwich material combinations enabled by its honeycomb technology. The applications in heavy-duty transportation include roofing and walls of trucks and trailers, aerodynamic elements, cladding of vans as well as solutions for logistics and storage. EconCore is highlighting its development of high performance thermoplastic core materials made from high-end polyamides, FST-compliant formulations, among other high heat polymers. EconCore also is developing technology for converting recycled mass-market thermoplastics to high-performance core materials by controlling the thermodynamics that influence material performance. Finally, the company is spotlighting its award-winning lightweight polymer solar panel, which is one-third the weight of a standard glass solar panel and more rugged and resistant to damage than standard panels. Within EconCore’s technology, the honeycomb core is made in a fast, continuous process from thermoplastic material base and the composite skins are inline laminated onto the core as it is being made. The sandwich panel is then offlinelaminated with the photovoltaic cells. www.econcore.com

Precision-cut fibers for pelletized thermoplastic and more Engineered Fibers Technology LLC (EFT, Shelton, CT, US) is showing a range of its precision short-cut fibers with lengths of 0.10 mm to several centimeters. EFT provides fibers tailored to a customer’s engineering application. Available short-cut fibers include carbon fibers, nickel- and metal-coated carbon fibers, quartz, S-2 glass, basalt, stainless steel and ceramic fibers. Polymeric short-cut fibers include PEEK, PEI (Ultem), PPS, aramid (para and meta), PTFE, Vectran LCP, cellulosic (trademarked

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CAMX 2017

BioMid), PLA, PVOH, high-tenacity polyester and micro-denier and bi-component fibers, among others. EFT is introducing two grades of a new short-cut, high-silica glass fiber with textile softness for high-temperature applications. Coated Short-Cut Fiber Strands with Engineered Strand Integrity (ESI) are among the most recent product additions from EFT. A range of coatings, including polyurethane, phenoxy, epoxy, polypropylene and other specialty materials, can be applied to various filament yarns, such as carbon, glass, basalt, quartz, and polymeric fibers. After cutting, these free-flowing fiber pellets are designed for fiber conveying and improved matrix adhesion when used in fiber-reinforced composites. EFT also is exhibiting EFTec Nanofibrillated Fibers produced from biodegradable, naturally sustainable and synthetic materials including Lyocell, regenerated cellulose, PAN, aramid and Vectran LCP. The nanofibrillation process produces fiber diameters equal to those observed in electrospinning and melt spinning nanofibers and nanofiber webs. An entangled branch structure with a broad distribution of microfiber/ microfibril diameters results in good bonding, anchoring and microporous filtration. Spectracarb porous graphite papers and panels with thicknesses of 0.1 mm to more than 4 mm are also on display. These panels are a key element of electrochemical devices that include fuel cells, electrolyzers and flow battery technologies. Booth C81. www.eftfibers.com

Industrial-scale ovens and furnaces Epcon Industrial Systems LP (The Woodlands, TX, US) is featuring its industrial ovens and furnaces for curing, paint finishing, burn-out, heat treating, annealing and aging. Oven heating system options are gas-fired, oil-fired or electric, and each type can be configured for either conveyorized or batch production. Epcon industrial furnaces are designed for powder coating, annealing, pre-bake and pre-heat. Drum furnaces can be gas-fired, oil-fired or electric and configured as car-bottom and box-type. Air-pollution control systems, for VOCs, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are custom-designed with direct-fired thermal oxidizers (also known as afterburners), regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs), recuperative thermal oxidizers and catalytic oxidizers for VOC and NOx reduction. Visit Epcon in CAMX Booth Q61. www.visitepconlp.com

ENABLING UNPARALLELED DETECTION

SUPPLIER TO THE UK ROYAL NAVY FOR OVER 60 YEARS AND HONORED TO PARTNER WITH BAE SYSTEMS TO DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE THE BOW SONAR DOME FOR THE TYPE 26 GLOBAL COMBAT SHIP.

LET’S CREATE SOLUTIONS. TOGETHER. www.unitech-aerospace.com CompositesWorld.com

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Laser projection systems FARO Technologies Inc. (Lake Mary, FL, US) is exhibiting its TracerM laser projector, a versatile, scalable and flexible solution that can handle small- to large-volume applications. It covers an envelope of 50 by 50 ft (about 15m by 15m), with a 3D projection range of 6-50 ft (1.8m-15m), making it wellsuited for short- and long-range projection. For large assemblies, such as aircraft and shipbuilding applications or space-constrained areas, several TracerM projectors can be deployed for complete coverage. Booth D81. www.faro.com

Hydraulic presses and control systems

ONE PROVIDER THOUSANDS SOLUTIONS Machinery for coating, laminating, embossing, printing, impregnation and prepreg.

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French Oil Mill Machinery Co. (Piqua, OH, US) and sister company TMP, A Division of French, are displaying their heavy-duty hydraulic presses for composites manufacturing. French and TMP composites presses come in upacting or downacting configurations and are typically designed with very low deflection of ±0.001 inch per foot. Custom platen sizes and configurations are available with tonnage capacity to 2,000 tons and packages for high-temperature heating up to 1200°F/816°C. Presses can be fitted with process-improving features including loading and unloading automation systems, vacuum chambers, tilting platens and advanced electrical control packages that give customers greater press control and flexibility. Platen water cooling or heating functions, either electric, oil, steam or the company’s specialized UNI-TEMP heated platens, can be customized based on the customer’s manufacturing requirements. Light curtains can be mounted on the press front. Press sides and rear have aluminum frames with expanded metal or plexiglass inter guards as a safety precaution. The Press Control System is a microprocessor-based system, designed to improve quality through better processing accuracy, repeatability, versatile process-control programming and monitoring of data for analysis. Components of the system include an Allen-Bradley PLC and color touchscreen operator interface, which displays press programming of machine recipes, including temperature setpoint, pressure setpoints and time as well as visual alarms for temperature and pressure faults. Booth A39. www.frenchoil.com/hydraulic-presses | www.frenchoil.com

Compression and injection molding services Globe Plastics Inc. (Chino, CA, US) is emphasizing its injection and transfer molded products and services. Globe specializes in the compression molding of medium to large thermoset components in dimensions up to 72 inches long and 48 inches wide (182 cm by 1,220 cm), at tolerances of ±0.001 inch (0.03 mm). Globe is ISO 9001:2008- and AS 9100 Rev.-certified. The company’s injection molding services include engineering grade thermoplastics and thermosetting compounds, with emphasis on micro, miniature and small parts. Mold cavitation ranges from 1-63 cavities, with shot sizes ranging from 1 oz. to 4 lb (28g to 1.8 kg). Thermosets in materials include BMC, TMC, SMC, DAP, Acoustacomp, epoxy and phenolic, using fiberglass and carbon fibers, plus a variety of thermoplastics. Booth R73. www.globecomposites.com CompositesWorld

CAMX 2017

Choppers, gel coaters and more

High-performance RTM system

GS Manufacturing (Costa Mesa, CA, US) is featuring its line of choppers, gel coaters, granite spray systems and more. The company describes itself as “pioneers of high-flow structural adhesive and putty dispensing systems” for the composites industry. Booth E27. www.gsmfg.com

Machinery specialist Hennecke Inc. (Lawrence, PA, US) is emphasizing its role in the production of a composite license plate holder for the KTM 1290 Super Duke R, a 1300-cc, 170-hp, V-engine high-performance motorcycle. Hennecke worked as part of the R.A.C.E. project (Reaction Application for Composite Evolution) to industrialize the new CAVUS-technology from KTM Technologies, which allows the production of hollow composite parts, using an automated high-pressure resin transfer molding (HP-RTM) process. This technology was applied to the license plate holder and helped reduce its weight from 765g to 265g, a weight savings of 60%. Hennecke’s STREAMLINE resin metering machine was used in the HP-RTM process and reportedly played a critical role in development of the license plate holder. STREAMLINE includes pressure control, sensors in the mixhead outlet, hydraulically controlled back-pressure function and mold filling monitoring. Booth K56. www.henneckeinc.com

Composites repair systems and accessories HEATCON Composite Systems (Seattle, WA, US) is featuring its full line of hot bonders, heat blankets, repair tools and systems, prepregs, resins, honeycomb and bagging materials in Booth G43. New this year is a touchscreen hot bonder. This unit is durable, lightweight and compact, which allows for easy transport. The touch screen technology reportedly gives users the power to easily program and monitor cures, making menu navigation efficient and seamless. Also featured is the company’s thermally uniform stretch heat blankets. HEATCON is now using Mosites Rubber Co. Inc. (Ft. Worth, TX, US) material in its stretchable blankets, which is said to provide improved flexibility, durability and conformability during cures over complex contours and shapes. www.heatcon.com | www.mositesrubber.com

Thermoset molding compounds IDI Composites International (Noblesville, IN, US) is showcasing innovations from its Structural Thermoset Composites (STC) line of molding compounds. The new materials were developed in IDI’s 3i Composites Technology Center and show an even higher specific strength and specific stiffness than materials previously developed in this advanced line of thermoset materials. The Center is IDI’s research and development division, created to meet demand from OEMs and molders for stronger, lower density and higher performing materials. Booth R18. www.idicomposites.com

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Video-based nondestructive testing

High-modulus polypropylene fibers

Noncontact precision measurement specialist Imetrum Ltd. (Bristol, UK) is demonstrating its integrated material testing system, Universal Video Extensometer (UVX), designed for ease of use and fast throughput. UVX meets most standardsbased material testing and is adaptable to batch testing. It is designed to integrate with all leading manufacturers’ test machines and is characterized as a costeffective alternative to strain-gauging coupons. In addition, measurement data is captured by precalibrated extensometer modules that are specified by gage length and percentage strain. Parameters associated with each module are pre-set, eliminating the need for the test technician or materials engineer to understand optics or worry about focus and camera settings. The 200and 250-series modules allow precision measurements down to 0.01% strain. These modules are suited to determining modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and other low-strain material properties, such as R and N values, for almost all materials, including composites, metals, plastics, rubbers and ceramics. Booth C48. www.imetrum.com

Innegra Technologies (Greenville, SC, US) is highlighting its Innegra high-modulus polypropylene (HMPP) fiber, used in composite and textile applications to increase toughness, durability and damping and improve signal transmission. The Innegra S fiber technology, commercialized in 2012, continues expansion in new applications, which can be seen in the Innegra booth: Boot insoles, radomes, blast- and ballistic-resistant structures, transportation. Innegra S is characterized as low density (0.84 g/cm3 bulk density), tough, flexible and ductile, moisture and chemical resistant, temperature resistant (-100°C to 60°C operational range), has a low dielectric constant (Dk = 2.2) and loss factor (Df = 0.0009), and is low in cost. Booth Q70. www.innegratech.com

Fiber winding & tensioning technologies Izumi International Inc. (Greenville, SC, US) is emphasizing its full line of winders and creels, and its warp and weft feeding and tensioning devices for carbon fiber and other high-performance fibers. Izumi also is presenting information on its new partnerships with Musashi, makers of precision fluid dispensers, and Moltec, which provides wire and cable protection, with patented Grip Lock technology. Booth P83. www.izumiinternational.com

WORLD CLASS Composite Machinery made by PREPREG

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Joe Jansen – National Sales Manager . Phone +1 715 680 8008 . [email protected]

www.roth-composite-machinery.com . [email protected] 44

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CAMX 2017

Fiber-to-metal fastener solutions L&L Products (Romeo, MI, US) is introducing its latest technology, Torque Retention, Isolation, and Sealing Solutions, an expandable, polymeric sealant material with embedded alumina rigid, nonconductive spacers that provide a direct load path to maintain fastener clamp forces. L&L says this technology is unique because it allows torque retention, isolation and sealing simultaneously. The product is currently being implemented in the automotive industry to promote lightweighting by allowing carbon fiber-to-metal as well as metal-to-metal joining without the concern of corrosion caused by the formation of galvanic cells. In addition, it is said to be effective for sealing door, hood and liftgate hinges. L&L Products’ latest sealing solutions are either dry to the touch or tacky and can be heat-bonded, adhered to an interface surface or mounted directly to a bolt. The technology is designed and engineered using 0.5-mm or 1-mm diameter spheres embedded in sealing material and achieve less than 3% torque fall off. Booth B23. www.llproducts.com

TURN TECHNOLOGIES

INTO SOLUTIONS

WITH MECANUMERIC

A NEW GENERATION OF

CNC MACHINES

Cutting tools for carbon fiber composites LMT Onsrud LP (Waukegan, IL, US) is launching an all-new line of four diamond film-coated cutting tools designed specifically for laminated carbon fiber materials. The new tooling series was created to reduce/prevent delamination of carbon fiber layers during cutting, thus providing exceptional edge finish quality. The 66-500 Series is a multi-flute composite router for either roughing or finishing applications. Depending on the application, this series has three standard point styles; burr, end-mill and drill. For a universal range of roughing, semi-finishing and finishing applications, the 66-750 Series provides a low-helix design for increased radial depth of cuts with better chip evacuation, resulting in longer tool life. The 66-775 Rougher Finisher Series combines a roughing and finishing design for reduced cutting time while providing a good material edge finish. With an optimized geometry to eliminate delamination, the 66-800 Compression Series is designed to improve shearing of the fibers during cutting. This series is available in four- and six-flute geometries. Booth B35. www.onsrud.com

Aerospace-grade (Type IV) pressure vessels MasterWorks Inc. (Taneytown, MD, US), a Hexagon Composites Co., is displaying a range of composite products from the aerospace, commercial and oil/gas industries. New this year, MasterWorks is featuring a Type IV composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV) developed for the aerospace industry. This demonstrator unit has successfully passed numerous tests, including cycle, vacuum cycle, burst and cleanliness verification, and is currently undergoing long-term permeation testing. Also featured will be filament winding machines, fiber tensioners, resin baths, curing ovens, payout tooling, mandrel extractors, cut-off saws, pressure test systems and material handling equipment. In the booth, a tensioning system will again be a focus because capability has increased to include tensioning on the gram scale at high-speeds. Booth C23. www.masterworkscs.com CompositesWorld.com

3 AXIS MILLING MACHINE

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MECANUMERIC.COM 45

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Tough resins for elevated service temperatures A supplier of high-performance catalysts and advanced polymers, Materia Inc. (Pasadena, CA, US) is showcasing how its Proxima high-performance resin product lines have been applied in ballistic-resistant test panels, large single-pour castings, high-temperature oil and gas downhole tools and sections of composite pressure vessels. Materia will soon launch an advanced composites resin, Proxima ACR 4350, featuring a Tg of 350°F/177°C for elevated service temperature parts that also require durability and toughness. Materia says the new resin addresses an industry need for ultratough, high-temperature resins that offer low enough viscosity for vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM). Booth F44. Additionally, Materia’s Dr. Brian Edgecombe is presenting Proxima ACR 4350 in “Leveraging High Toughness, Low Viscosity Resin in Composite Pressure Vessels,” on Thursday, Sept. 14, 3:00-3:25 p.m. in Room W207B. www.materia-inc.com

Design, manufacturing & testing services Engineering design, manufacturing and testing firm Materials Sciences Corp. (MSC, Horsham, PA, US) is exhibiting the following technologies and products in Booth Q67: •M  ethodologies and tools for characterization, design and analysis of advanced fiber-reinforced composite materials and structures. •P  rogressive damage models for fiber-reinforced composites. • L ow-cost manufacturing methods (compression and injection molding) for high-strength composites. •D  esign optimization for additive manufacturing. •M  ultifunctional materials. • S pecialty textiles, with emphasis on its novel Countervail vibration-canceling technology. www.materials-sciences.com

AEROSPACE

SHIP BUILDING

WIND ENERGY

TRANSPORTATION

Engineering Services Complex Shapes 5 Axis NC Milling Large Facilities High-Precision Equipment

www.janicki.com 360.856.5143

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Full-service development and manufacturing Matrix Composites Inc. (Rockledge, FL, US), a designer and manufacturer of a range of high-performance composite components and assemblies, is emphasizing its design, development, tooling, fabrication, testing and integration services. Matrix features precision resin transfer molding (RTM) and conventional composites. Other processes offered include Hot Isostatic Resin Pressure Molding (HiRPM), compression molding, vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM), autoclave curing, oven curing and trapped rubber and bladder molding. Notable application types include fixed and rotating engine components, integrated engine structures, engine nacelles, waste tanks, aircraft interior components, seat components, skins, heat and A/C ducts, windswept surfaces, spars, radomes, antennas, fuselages, launch tower platforms and more. Booth C35. www.matrixcomp.com

Production machinery education center Filament winding equipment specialist McClean Anderson LLC (Schofield, WI, US) is emphasizing, in Booth B37, information about its Prototype, Education and Technology (PET) Center, which is devoted to research and development work and consumer education. The company reports that the PET center has been equipped with the following: •A  4-Axis Super Hornet filament winding machine, with a maximum winding envelope of 760-mm diameter by 2000-mm length. •A  4-spool Digital-Electronic Tensioning System, which accommodates standard 75-mm core outside pull materials, with a maximum spool size of 300-mm diameter by 13.6 kg; its tension range is 9.0-90N. •A  n A12-spool stationary Bookshelf Creel, on which spools of center-pull fiber are placed onto shelving and fiber is redirected through a series of ceramic eyelets. •A  forced-air curing oven capable of 260°C, with data logging and thermal profiling capabilities. •A  variety of wet-winding and towpreg fiber delivery tooling. www.mccleananderson.com

CAMX 2017

We transform the world of...

Sizing formulations for structural fibers

Engineered Thermoplastics and Thermoset Composites

Michelman (Cincinnati, OH, US), a developer and manufacturer of fiber sizing and resin modifiers, is featuring its newest fiber sizing formulations, including solutions suitable for use with glass, carbon and other structural fibers. Specifically, Michelman is extending its polyamide dispersion portfolio with the addition of Hydrosize PA874, which is particularly suited to long fiber. It is used to optimize nylon composites and designed to offer long-term performance in environments exposed to high temperatures such as in electronic devices or engine parts. Also in the booth is Hydrosize U5-01, a sizing solution for amorphous polymers. Properties such as resistance to heat distortion and high impact strength make amorphous polymers such as PC, PPO or ABS alloys good candidates for new applications in the automotive, electronics and medical device industries. Additionally, the Hydrosize U5-01 polyurethane dispersion offers strong adhesion and has been used successfully as the sizing solution for glass and carbon fiber. Hydrosize HP-1632 is a polyimide solution for high-temperature thermoplastics. This polyimide-based sizing can withstand extreme processing temperatures that many high-temperature thermoplastics require. Targeted materials include PEEK, PPS, PEI and others. It offers what is said to be excellent thermal stability, adhesion and abrasion resistance. Additionally, it has low creep and has been proven to work with carbon fiber. Finally, Michelman says it is pursuing the development of a large portfolio of products targeting applications that use thermoset resins, such as epoxy, vinyl ester and unsaturated polyester. These dispersions are compliant with the latest regulation requirements and are formaldehyde-free. Booth P62. www.michelman.com

HyComp specializes in injection and compression molding thermoplastics and thermoset composites. Material Solutions Injection: Compression: PAI Polyimides PEEK Thermoplastics PEI Epoxies PC Polyester PPS Phenolics

Let our solutions-based sales approach and over 30 years experience support your composite material goals. AS9100C, ISO9001, ITAR

Integrated tool heating and cooling Mold heating and cooling specialist Mokon (Buffalo, NY, US) is exhibiting its Full Range temperature control system, which integrates either a water or an oil heating system with a select chiller, providing a compact, self-supporting heating and cooling system in one unit. These systems are available with a range of temperatures from -29°C to 315°C. The Full Range system is said to be suitable for applications that include jacketed vessels, mixers, reactors, molding, multiplezone processes, laboratories, cleanrooms and sanitary environments. Systems are available with air- or water-cooled condensing, up to 96 kW of heating, flows to 120 GPM/454 LPM, and up to 40 tons (140 kW) chilling capacity. Full Range systems also are available with NEMA 4, NEMA 4X or special wash-down demands. A variety of additional options and features are available, including stainless steel construction, higher and lower operating temperatures, larger heating and chilling capacities and stationary skid-based assemblies. Booth S48. www.mokon.com CompositesWorld.com

Exhibitor Booth:

B58 HyComp LLC 17960 Englewood Dr. Cleveland, OH 44130 T: +1 (440) 234-2002 F: +1 (440) 234-4911 www.hycompinc.com

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Fiber-converting tension control

Metering, mixing and dispensing technology

Web tension-control specialist Montalvo Corp. (Gorham, ME, US) is demonstrating single-web and multi-tow tension-control solutions designed for composite manufacturing processes, including prepreg, pultrusion, filament winding, converting and more. These products include a redesigned Automated Tension Standing (ATS), Load Cells, Tension Controllers, Tension Indicators, Sensors and more. Designed for use in multi-tow applications, the ATS is a drop-in system for existing and new applications, providing a new tensioning zone for every tow of material prior to processing. The newly redesigned ATS now provides easier setup and threading to help maximize production uptime. The system generates uniform tension on each tow automatically and continuously, and it is customizable to meet the needs of a variety of applications. For single-web applications, and/or after individual tows have formed a single web, Montalvo is highlighting its single-web tension control components, used in prepreg, pultrusion, hand-lay, laminating and converting applications. These products include load cells, tension controllers, tension indicators, sensors, safety chucks and more. Booth G65. www.montalvo.com

Myers Mixers (Bell, CA, US) is featuring information on its mixing and dispersing equipment for many processes, ranging from simple blending to complex compounding. Myers Mixers offers a complete line of custom, vertical-shaft mixing equipment and also offers consultation services designed to guide customers toward mixing process optimization. Booth Q54. www.myersmixers.com

Sheet-form CNTs for composites N12 Technologies Inc. (Cambridge, MA, US) is showing its NanoSitch sheet products, featuring vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs), which add toughness, impact resistance and fatigue tolerance to composites, enabling lighter, thinner laminates for prepreg or resin film layups. N12 Technologies has recently announced a partnership with the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI, Dayton, OH, US) to enable increased production capacity and new wider-format products, which will be on display. Booth N12. www.n12technologies.com

Resin-infusion based repair kit NONA Composites LLC (Dayton, OH, US) is releasing its newest product line, the NONA Infusion Repair Kit, which is designed to provide everything needed for a fast, permanent, no-mess repair of composite parts. Recent work for NASA by NONA Composites and the University of Dayton

Trusted for

Material Dispensing Systems Metering, Mixing & Dispense Equipment Solutions for Composite and Aerospace Processes Nordson Sealant Equipment has been supporting the aerospace, aircraft, helicopter and tier-1 assembly industry build quality products for over 25 years.

sealantequipment.com/composites | +1.734.459.8600

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Research Institute (Dayton, OH, US) demonstrated repairs with higher quality and 50% better performance, using infusion, compared to an industry benchmark wet-layup material and process. In addition, NONA Composites has packaged the infusion technology into a kit that is said to help increase quality and decrease repair time. Current versions of the repair kit include carbon fiber or glass fiber reinforcement with epoxy resins that cure at either room temperature or elevated temperature. This technology and kit are designed for use in aerospace, marine, wind, automotive and industrial applications. In its booth, NONA Composites is holding a repair challenge to see who can vacuum bag a composite repair the fastest using the company’s repair kit materials. The person with the fastest time wins a free repair kit. Booth T11. www.nonacomposites.com

Next-generation prototyping technologies Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL, Oak Ridge, TN, US) is showcasing several next-generation manufacturing technologies from the US Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL. Included are additively manufactured, low-cost steel and polymer automotive compression molds designed to reduce historically slow turnaround time for tooling and enable, instead, rapid, efficient prototyping. Also featured are bio-based feedstock materials combined with biopolymer resin to create bamboo and poplar-based pellets, resulting in a more sustainable material that can be used for manufacturing molds,

prototypes, appliances and furniture. Finally, lightweight syntactic foams, comprising a polymer matrix and hollow microspheres, offer significant weight reduction and improved compressive strength. Booth A6. www.web.ornl.gov/manufacturing

Hydraulic presses with robotic tool handling OEM Press Systems (Fullerton, CA, US), a manufacturer of hydraulic presses, is featuring its robotic mold-handling systems, designed to reduce process cycle time and eliminate the lifting of molds by an operator. In the featured system, multiple presses are serviced by a single robot mounted on a 40-ft/12m rail system. The scope of travel can be extended to accommodate any number of presses, allowing for expansion. Booth D61. www.oempresssystems.com

Portable, handheld ultrasonic inspection system Olympus (Waltham, MA, US) is featuring its EPOCH 6LT flaw detector, optimized for single-handed operation and high portability applications. The unit fits in one hand and weighs 890g, with a grip-oriented weight distribution. It attaches to a user’s leg or harness, and rope-access technicians can secure the instrument for hands-free operation. Users can navigate the menu using just their thumbs, and it is dust- and

Hufschmied USA 203.988.9426 www.hufschmied.net

See us at CAMX Booth E81

CompositesWorld.com

• Quality without secondary operations • High abrasion resistance • Extremely long service life • Highest process stability – roughing and cutting with one tool • Extreme improvements in cycle time

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water-resistant, and drop tested. For inspection, the unit offers features and functions to meet the requirements of nearly any conventional ultrasonic inspection application, including all the core functionality of Olympus’ EPOCH 650 flaw detector. Booth E31. www.olympus-ims.com

Abrasive waterjet systems OMAX Corp. (Kent, WA, US) is highlighting the benefits and advantages of its abrasive waterjets to machine composites and advanced other materials. OMAX personnel will explain how the process of abrasive waterjet machining works with composite materials, with emphasis on the fact that waterjet cutting creates no heat-affected zone (HAZ), no change to material properties, and how the small kerf size allows for close nesting of parts to maximize material use. Programming software demonstrations also will be presented. Booth E48. www.omax.com

Continuous fiber-reinforced composites PolyOne Corp. (Avon Lake, OH, US) is showcasing its portfolio of continuous-fiber thermoplastic and thermoset composite technologies. Those in focus include continuous-fiber thermoplastic composite sandwich panels, composite springs for furniture and industrial applications, and pultruded thermoset composite components for rods, underbody chassis stiffeners and sporting goods. The Polimotor Stohr WF1 prototype racecar, built by Dauntless Racing, will be on display. PolyOne Advanced

Composites is the exclusive supplier of composite parts for the Polimotor racecar, which will compete in the Formula & Automobile Racing Assn. (FARA) USA FP-2 class prototype racing series in 2018. Components that will be highlighted in the booth include front suspension springs and chassis flexural supports, created with Gordon Composites (Montrose, CO, US) thermoset materials; a firewall panel, formed with Polystrand (Englewood, CO, US) thermoplastic reinforced composites; and protective anti-intrusion panels created with Gordon Composites’ thermoset materials bonded with Polystrand thermoplastic composite laminates. Booth N88. www.polyone.com | www.gordoncomposites.com | www.polystrand.com

Modelmaking & toolmaking materials RAMPF Group Inc. (Grafenberg, Germany) is presenting its modeling and mold engineering materials, and its composites design, engineering and manufacture capabilities. RAMPF’s portfolio includes styling, modeling and working board materials; and close-contour pastes, close-contour casting, and close-contour clocks. The highlight in the RAMPF booth is the concept car Fast Eddy, designed and produced by the Aria Group based in California. The use of RAMPF’s RAKU-TOOL close-contour paste CP-6070/6072 reportedly enabled a high-quality, cost-effective and fast modelmaking process. RAKU-TOOL CP-6070/6072 was applied to a supporting structure made from RAMPF’s polyurethane board RAKU-TOOL SB-0096, cured, and then machined according to CAD data. Booth F2. www.rampf-group.com

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Large-Capacity Walk-In Ovens Standard sizes to 786 cu. ft. Special sizes to your specs Gas & Electric models Choice of air flow patterns Temps to 1200ºF

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GRIEVE CORPORATION AD4394g

CAMX 2017

Polyimide-based prepregs & adhesives Renegade Materials Corp. (Springboro, OH, US) and Maverick Corp. (Blue Ash, OH, US) are emphasizing together their composite materials for high-temperature aerospace applications. Renegade Materials is the exclusive source for prepregs and adhesives powered by Maverick-developed non-MDA polyimide resins. Renegade Materials’ 700°F/371°C RM-1100 polyimide prepreg is qualified or in qualification at multiple international aerospace OEMs. Further, RM-1100 and Renegade Materials’ 600°F/316°C MVK-14 FreeForm prepregs are approved for export and offer good non-MDA options to replace PMR-15 as well as titanium in primary structure. Maverick Corp. is featuring its family of high-temperature polyimide resin transfer molding (RTM) resins and coatings, including J-1 (700°F/371°C), MVK-10 (600°F/316°C) and MVK-2066 polyimide coating resin. In BMIs, Renegade Materials is promoting its prepreg systems (RM-3002 and RM-3004), infusion resins (RM-3000 and RM-3010) and adhesives (RM-3011, RM-3006 and RM-3007). Renegade Materials’ RM-3004 is said to be the most mature out-of-autoclave-processible BMI prepreg system in the industry, with applications in aerospace structures and tooling. Renegade Materials has completed several key commercial aerospace qualifications of these BMI products in 2016 and is now in high-rate production supporting these programs. Finally, Renegade Materials is also featuring its low-dielectric prepreg system, RM-2014-LDk-TK. This modified epoxy system offers equivalent dielectric properties to cyanate esters, at a lower cost, and processes in or out of autoclave. RM-2014-LDk-TK is offered as an option for the radome market. Booth S12. www.maverickcorp.com | www.renegadematerials.com

Wabash, The Leader in Composites Molding

400 Tons Down-acting, 120" x 60" Platens

Wabash MPI produces a wide range of hydraulic presses for compression molding in composites applications. We offer standard and custom designs from 15-1000 tons with various heated platen sizes and control options. Visit our website to learn more. ISO 9001:2015 Certified

www.wabashmpi.com Tel: 260-563-1184 [email protected]

NEED TO INCREASE TOOL LIFE AND PART QUALITY?

Visit www.onsrud.com for more information

LMT Onsrud’s CVD Diamond-Coated solid carbide cutting tools optimize performance when machining composite materials. - Multi-Flute Composite Routers - Low Helix Rougher Finishers - Low Helix Cutters - Composite Drills - 4 & 6 Flute Compression Spirals

LMT Onsrud LP 1081 S. Northpoint Blvd Waukegan, IL 60085 Phone 800 234 1560

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CAMX BOOTH K74

Choose Your Solution

Automated Cutting Systems

Automated cutting table for reinforcement fabrics Cutting table manufacturer S.M.R.E. SpA (Umbertide, Italy) is featuring its SM-381-TA, a high-performance flatbed system with a reduced footprint and an entry level price. It can cut carbon fiber, glass fiber or Kevlar, dry or prepregged, in either unidirectional or multiaxial formats. The SM-381-TA is equipped with brushless servomotors and a belt transmission system that reportedly helps the system maintain precision in axis movements. The worktop is made from solid milled-aluminum plates; the grooves of the worktop, traced with a specific design, together with a 5.5-kW vacuum and a four-sector partitioning system, help keep material gripped to the surface. The system is available with a static worktop or sacrificial carpet, as well as a robust conveyor belt that allows the automatic unloading of material after it’s been processed. Other options include oscillating blade, drag knife, rotary blade, socket for pen marker and laser pointer for dynamic zero point. Booth C2. www.smre.it

Adhesives & adhesive delivery systems

Design and Cut Software

Manually-Operated Cutting Machines

Scheduling composite cutting demos at CAMX and IBEX

IBEX BOOTH 1251

+1-716-856-2200

52

SEPTEMBER 2017

SCIGRIP Smarter Adhesive Solutions (Washington, UK), a supplier of adhesive systems, is re-launching its POWERCAN dispensing system, in compliance with the fluorinated greenhouse gasses regulation 517/2014. Available in 100-ml or 200-ml sizes, POWERCAN delivers controlled dosing for high-viscosity and difficult-to-handle materials, such as sealants, adhesives, fillers, lubricants and pastes. POWERCAN works through a self-dispensing application method and features a “twist and lock system” along with an overcap that inhibits the curing process and prevents nozzles from drying out. A sealed design ensures 0% contamination, 0% waste and enables dispensing of material in vertical, horizontal and upturned positions. SCIGRIP branded products currently available in the POWERCAN format include RTV851 silicone sealant and gasket maker, RTV853 high-temperature silicone sealant and gasket maker, RTV854 grey oxime silicone sealant and EXP858 exhaust assembly paste. Booth C46. www.scigrip.com

Presses for SMC, RTM, thermoforming and more Composites machinery specialist Siempelkamp Maschinen- und Anlagenbau GmbH (Krefeld, Germany) is spotlighting its compression equipment for sheet molding compound (SMC), phase-change material (PCM), resin transfer molding (RTM) and thermoplastic forming. Tonnages for these machines range from 150 tons for lab applications up to 3,000 tons for complete production lines. Features include good closed-loop control of the ram plate, with fast closing and high accuracy. Siempelkamp also provides complete solutions, which include peripheral systems for handling, loading and unloading as well as post-processing. Booth F83. www.siempelkamp.com

CompositesWorld

CAMX 2017

Structural adhesives: Shorter fixture times Scott Bader North America (Stow, OH, US) is featuring two new Crestomer grades recently added to its structural adhesives range: Crestomer Advantage 10 in 380-ml cartridges, with a 50% shorter fixture time of only 70 minutes (compared with Advantage 30); and Crestomer 1150PA, available in 25-kg pails

and 200-kg drums for use with dispensing equipment, also with a 50% shorter fixture time of 5 hours compared with Crestomer 1152PA, which is a long-established grade with Lloyds, DNV and RINA marine approvals. Both new grades are primarily aimed at structurally bonding smaller-sized composite components and improving productivity. All Crestomer products are urethane acrylate-based structural adhesives in a styrene monomer. Scott Bader notes that they were originally developed for bonding GRP and marine ply substrates, but that with suitable surface preparation, they also can be used to bond aluminum and stainless steel parts. All grades are highly thixotropic and, therefore, do not sag during application on vertical surfaces, and they exhibit good gap-filling capabilities. Booth N16. www.scottbader-na.com

The

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Additive manufacturing equipment Additive manufacturing and 3D printing specialist Stratasys Inc. (Eden Prairie, MN, US) is emphasizing the manufacture of molds and mandrels made with its fused deposition modeling (FDM) materials and equipment. Also in the Stratasys booth are detailed and custom composite layup tools, the Stratasys Fortus 450mc 3D printer and finished examples of 3D printing tooling applications. Booth S43. www.stratasys.com

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Nonwovens for advanced composites

Thermoplastic and thermoset materials

Technical Fibre Products Inc. (TFP, Schenectady, NY, US) is exhibiting new nonwoven fabrics. The first is a novel PTFE nonwoven that acts as a release material and breather fabric and offers a combination of hydrophobic and non-stick properties. Also new for 2017 is a range of lightweight nonwovens with increased flexibility, smoothness and fiber volume. These new materials, designed for advanced composites, have been compressed to deliver a higher density, reduced thickness and smaller pore structure for a given areal weight. They have been designed to give improved conformability when working with complex mold shapes and, due to the thinner structure, increase the achievable volume fraction. The veil is available in a range of fiber types and areal weights. TFP is introducing a nano-functionalized nonwoven, created on TFP’s commercial nanocoating line in Schenectady. The incorporation of nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes or nanofibers, into or onto a nonwoven can provide multiple benefits including enhancement of surface conductivity, EMI shielding, thermal management and structural properties. Booth L79. www.tfpglobal.com

TenCate Advanced Composites (Morgan Hill, CA, US) is highlighting new thermoplastic and thermoset prepreg technologies. On display are several related aerospace and high-end industrial applications. The first application is an HP Spectre Ultrabook computer case manufactured with TenCate’s Cetex TC920 polycarbonate/ABS carbon fiber laminate. TenCate says this high-volume application demonstrates the versatility of thermoplastic composites in cost-competitive applications, such as laptops, tablets and handheld consumer devices. The final details of the lower case are injection overmolded for manufacturing efficiency. TenCate’s Cetex polycarbonate/ABS carbon fiber laminates provide UL-94 fire safety without the use of secondary fillers. Also in TenCate’s booth is a Thermoplastic Composites Research Center (TPRC, Enschede, The Netherlands) part developed with the assistance of GKN/Fokker (Papendrecht, The Netherlands). This TPRC part uses scraps of TenCate’s Cetex TC1100 PPS thermoplastic prepreg to manufacture an aerospace-grade aircraft access panel. New from TenCate is TC380, a toughened, out-of-autoclave-capable, high-compression-after-impact (CAI) epoxy prepreg for aerospace applications. TenCate notes that with older-gene-ration toughened epoxies, the toughening mechanisms essential for CAI performance often degrade the critical properties of service temperature, open-hole compression strength and moisture resistance. TC380 uses a proprietary toughening mechanism that does not degrade the modulus of the epoxy, maintaining service temperature and open-hole compressive strength, while providing good compression-after-impact performance. On the thermoplastics side, TenCate recently launched Cetex MC1322, a PEKK-based, chopped fiber bulk molding compound (BMC) aimed at compression-molded commercial aircraft applications. TenCate also is highlighting Cetex TC1225, a PAEK-based thermoplastic prepreg with a lower processing temperature, which is said to enable cost-effective overmolding with higher temperature PEEK resins for finer details and integrated structures, such as rib stiffeners. TenCate is showing a TPRCproduced ortho grid-stiffened panel where the carbon fiber-reinforced ribs were injection overmolded on the TC1225 PAEK-based laminate. Booth N2. www.tencateadvancedcomposites.com

Test equipment for fibers Textechno (Mönchengladbach, Germany), a manufacturer of test equipment for fibers, yarns and rovings, is showcasing ROVINGTEST, which measures the most important properties of rovings simultaneously. ROVINGTEST can be used to characterize all yarns and rovings made from carbon and glass fibers. One parameter assessed by ROVINGTEST is the friction properties of rovings when in contact with metal or ceramics, and, related to that, it can alert the user to the existence or generation of broken filaments, e.g., due to contact with surfaces. Moreover, the friction from roving to roving can be measured, which is an important parameter for simulating draping and forming processes. Spreading behavior and homogeneity of filament orientation also can be measured, which is particularly important in the production of organosheets and tapes. Booth B52. www.textechno.com

See us at SAMPE Booth # E42

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CompositesWorld

CAMX 2017

Textile specialties for composites Textile Products Inc. (TPI, Anaheim, CA, US) is a specialty composite textile manufacturer, dedicated to the development and production of custom fabrics. It is featuring its experience with a variety of yarns, including carbon fiber (standard, intermediate and high-modulus), aramid, quartz, glass and metallic wires. These include the ability to handle fragile, difficult-toweave yarns, such as those made from ceramics and nickel-coated carbon fibers. Also featured are custom fabrics for aerospace, transportation, communications, marine, industrial, recreational and construction applications. TPI notes that it was one of the original suppliers to be certified to BMS 9-8 by The Boeing Co. (Chicago, IL, US), more than 40 years ago. Booth T6. www.textileproducts.com

Large-scale 3D printer for modeling, tooling & fixturing

over the entire table surface. Thermwood’s print gantry features an advanced, Thermwooddeveloped, vertically mounted Melt Core print head that melts and meters the polymer bead and can process filled thermoplastic composite materials at very high temperatures. Programming and control is provided by LSAM Print 3D, a slicing software solution designed specifically for LSAM that operates within Mastercam, which means it works with any CAD file format compatible with Mastercam. The output is a print file that can be loaded directly into the print gantry control on an LSAM machine and will provide the CNC programs necessary to operate the machine and make the part. No additional software or post-processor is required. Booth Q23. www.thermwood.com.

W yoming T est F ixtures INC.

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Thermwood Corp. (Dale, IN, US) is exhibiting its line of 3- and 5-axis CNC routers as well as its new Large Scale Additive Manufacturing (LSAM) systems. The latter uses a two-step, near-net-

Fastener Double Shear Test Fixtures NASM 1312-13

Amsler Double Shear Test Fixture ASTM B 769

shape production process in which the part is first 3D printed, layer by layer, to slightly larger than its final size. The part is then trimmed to its final size and shape, using a CNC router. The process operates in free space and does not require molds or tooling. Thermwood’s new LSAM is, in fact, used to produce mold tooling, as well as masters, fixtures, patterns and plugs for foundries and thermoforming shops, and for product developers in a variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive and boating. LSAM’s high-wall, overhead gantry features a 10-ft wide, 5-ft high (3m by 1.5m) work envelope. Length of the work envelope can be as short as 10 ft/3m but as long as 100 ft/30.5m or more. LSAM systems include a print gantry and a 5-axis trim gantry. Both gantries operate

Fastener Single Shear Test Fixture NASM 1312-20

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We provide quotes for a variety of grips, fixtures, and jigs. We carry over 40 types of fixtures in stock, available for immediate delivery. Email or call us today. We look forward to hearing from you.

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2960 E. Millcreek Canyon Road President Salt Lake City, UT 84109 50 years of Phone (801) 484.5055 Composite Testing Experience Fax (801) 484.6008 email: [email protected] www.wyomingtestfixtures.com CompositesWorld.com

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Industrial ventilation systems Ventilation Solutions (Oak Ridge, TN, US) is emphasizing its custom industrial ventilation systems for composite fabrication facilities as well as for the industrial manufacturing and warehouse industries. Applications include industrial air-moving, emission control, dust control, air handling and HVAC systems. Processes and materials specific to composites include glass fiber, gel coats, lamination, closed molding, grinding, sanding, dust collection and more. In addition, Ventilation Solutions offers consulting services that ensure that manufacturing facilities are code-compliant, safe and contaminant-free. Booth U50. www.ventilationsolutions.com

BOOTH L79

ADVANCED NONWOVENS FOR

COMPOSITES

Personal protection stretch fabrics

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Virtek Vision International Inc. (Waterloo, ON, Canada) is introducing to North America its Iris 3D laser templating and spatial positioning system, with the company’s newest Vision

Positioning System (VPS) technology, which features an integrated laser with stereo cameras. Designed for projection onto a tool for hand layup applications, VPS introduces a new feature called FlashAlign, which eliminates manual target alignment. With the new VPS series, users are said to be able to set up the system in as little as 1/20th of the time previously required. Virtek says the robustness and intelligence of the technology enables more efficient assembly, significantly improves workflows and leads to increased productivity. Booth L51. www.virtek.ca

12-14 SEPT 2017

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Laser-based ply placement system

CompositesWorld 01/06/2017 14:16

VitaFlex (Burlington, NC, US) is exhibiting its line of Soft-stretch Hoods for use when laying up glass fiber materials and when performing sprayup. The hoods are made with PPE that is said to provide effective barrier protection against micron-sized particles, glass fibers and paint or coating overspray. Made of latex-free elastic nonwovens, the Soft-stretch Hood securely covers the entire head, face and neck for a comfortable form-fit. VitaFlex notes that most protective clothing is made with a nonwoven polypropylene (PP), which tends to be stiff. VitaFlex applies a nonwoven “elastication” technology to create elastic fabrics from regular rigid nonwovens without adding latex or other elastomers. The result is a latex-free, elastic nonwoven fabric that offers a soft, stretchy structure while maintaining the breathability and barrier functionality of nonwovens. A limited number of free samples of Soft-stretch Hoods will be available to VitaFlex visitors at CAMX Booth T74. www.vitaflexusastore.com

CAMX 2017

Universal testing machine with two test areas

Composite materials testing services

Zwick USA (Kennesaw, GA, US) is displaying solutions for composites testing, including demonstrating a 100-kN AllroundLine universal testing machine that offers dual testing areas for maximum throughput. The AllroundLine testing machine also is equipped with a temperature chamber that features design elements that facilitate easy operation without compromising safety. The temperature chamber features an air-feed system that

Westmoreland Mechanical Testing & Research (WMT&R, Youngstown, PA, US; Banbury, UK) is emphasizing its materials testing capabilities for the aerospace, automotive, medical and nuclear industries. WMT&R says it has earned a reputation for having the capabilities to test high volumes with quick turnarounds and accurate results. WMT&R is Nadcap- and A2LA-certified and approved by more than 60 companies in the aerospace, automotive, medical, and power generation industries. In the UK, WMT&R is accredited to UKAS ISO/IEC 17025 and Nadcap standards. Booth Q62. www.wmtr.com

RM-1100 Polyimide Composites 700°F Service – Export Approved

delivers consistently uniform temperature distribution. In addition, preconfigured control parameters enable the desired temperature to be reached quickly and precisely. The temperature chamber includes a guide rail system that moves the unit into position when needed and removes it from the test area when not in use. Intelligent testing features in the testXpert III testing software detect the chamber’s position and automatically activate the corresponding safety device, protecting operators and the customer’s investment. Zwick offers the AllroundLine system for composites testing in 100- and 250-kN versions. The AllroundLine system performs more than 20 types of tests in compliance with more than 100 test standards. To keep the time required to change fixtures to a minimum, Zwick has introduced the dual testing area. It allows customers to avoid moving heavy, cumbersome grips every time a new test setup is required. Instead, the large grips can stay in place while smaller accessories and fixtures can be exchanged in the side test area. Booth B36. www.zwickusa.com

COMING TO AN ENGINE NEAR YOU! Contact us to learn more about our Polyimide and Bismaleimide Prepregs, Adhesives and Resins

www.renegadematerials.com (937) 350-5274 CompositesWorld.com

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Lightweighting for heavy-class payload delivery Orbital ATK’s Next Generation Launch (NGL) system has been targeted for the intermediate- and heavy-class commercial space launch market. The segmented rocket, which features a carbon fiber case, will be powered by a solid fuel main stage and a cryogenic upper stage. The company intends to build two versions of the NGL, with a maximum payload capacity of 5,250 to 8,500 kg. Source | Orbital ATK

Composite cases fuel commercial space venture Launch vehicle supplier Orbital ATK is looking to break into the burgeoning commercial space market with a rocket motor that features an all-carbon-fiber composite casing. By Michael LeGault /Contributing Writer

»

Best known as the supplier of the solid rocket boosters used on NASA’s previous Space Shuttle program, Orbital ATK’s (Dulles, VA, US) primary line of business has always been its solid-fuel booster systems that power a variety of US military nuclear missiles and interceptors. Recently, in an effort to branch out, the company has taken aim at the intermediate- and heavy-class space launch market with the introduction of its Next-Generation Launch (NGL) system. The rocket’s primary components, including the solid-fuel motors and composite case, are currently undergoing testing at ATK’s facility in Magna, UT, US. The project is part of the US Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. Its goal is to develop new US-built booster launch systems that will effectively end current reliance on the Russianbuilt RD-180, which has been the only rocket that could provide the launch capabilities the US requires. In parallel with Air Force strategic objectives, Orbital ATK is looking to leverage the technological synergies envisioned in the 2014 merger of Alliant Techsystems (ATK), with its experience in 58

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solid fuel propulsion, and Orbital Science, with its expertise in launch vehicle systems. The NGL is expected to demonstrate the combined company’s capability to craft total vehicle solutions, thus paving the way to a larger footprint in the commercial space market.

CFRP for solid fuel main stage The NGL will illustrate that thesis with a hybrid launch system that comprises a segmented solid-fuel main stage and an upper stage powered by a cryogenic engine. The basic segment, referred to as the CASTOR 300, is 3.66m wide by 9.5m long. Its exterior case, of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP), is built with a unique joint system, which provides the flexibility to manufacture three different rocket systems, depending on launch and payload requirements: a single segment, the CASTOR 300; a CASTOR 600, comprising two segments 19m in length; and a CASTOR 1200, combining four segments, at a total length of 38.4m. The company is planning to build two versions of the combined first and second stage launch system: the 500 Series and the

CompositesWorld

Next-Generation LaunchNEWS Vehicle

Trial wound case undergoing final evaluation Orbital ATK’s first 3.66m diameter by 9.5m long Castor 300 carbon fiber case is shown during manufacture via a proprietary filament winding process at its facility in Magna, UT, US. Hexcel’s HexTow IM7 12K fiber is wet wound with a proprietary resin, CLRF-100, also developed in house. After winding, the case is removed from the mandrel and EPDM rubber is wound on the case’s inner diameter, providing an insulative layer of uniform thickness. The CF case and insulation is co-cured in an autoclave; the final thickness of the carbon layer is 25.4 mm in the main cylinder region and 66 mm near the joints, which are used to connect combinations of the segments. The completed case is currently undergoing final testing. The company plans to begin full-scale manufacturing in late 2018 or early 2019. Source | Orbital ATK

500 XL Series. The former, for use in a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO), features a solid-fueled CASTOR 600 (two-segment) first stage and a CASTOR 300 second stage, with the cryogenic upper portion, and a payload capacity of 5,500-8,500 kg. The 500 XL Series comprises a CASTOR 1200 first stage and a CASTOR 300 second stage, with a payload of 5,250-7,000 kg, designed for geostationary equatorial orbit (GEO). The 500 Series will be equipped with a 5m diameter by 15m long payload fairing, while the 500 XL Series will have an identical fairing or one measuring 5m diameter by 20m long. John Slaughter, the company’s VP of commercial programs, says the NGL has completed critical design reviews of the first and second stages, a procedure that finalizes the basis for design of the solid rocket motors. It has also built the first CASTOR 300 CFRP case at its refurbished 6,132m2 case production facility in Utah. The company uses a proprietary filament winding process it developed in-house to manufacture the case. This fabrication process, Slaughter reports, has become one of the company’s core competencies. First, PAN-based HexTow IM7 12K carbon fiber (Hexcel, Stamford, CT, US) is wet-wound employing a proprietary CLRF-100 epoxy resin, also developed by Orbital ATK. The fiber, a high-tensile and high-modulus aerospace-grade qualified to the NMS 818 CF Specification (NCAMP), has a density of 1.78 g/ cm3 and a filament diameter of 5.2µ. Notably, when winding is complete, but before final cure, the case is removed from the mandrel and a peroxide-cured EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) insulation layer is wound on the case’s inner diameter. Although it’s conventional practice to apply the EPDM first down on the mandrel, then overwind it with the carbon fiber, anomalies can be introduced into the rubber surface during demolding,

caused by friction at the rubber/mandrel interface. Orbital ATK’s two-step alternative, made feasible by the large diameter of the case, improves consistency in the rubber layer’s thickness. The rubber is then cured in the case in an autoclave at an unspecified temperature. Total postcured thickness of the case’s carbon fiber wall is about 66 mm near the joints and approximately 25.4 mm in the cylinder region. Orbital ATK has previously used CFRP in the manufacture of components for its space vehicles, most recently in the S.S. John Glenn Cygnus spacecraft, which completed its supply mission to the International Space Station this spring. The spacecraft’s circular aft deck structure is designed with a CFRP skin; a CFRP/ aluminum honeycomb core sandwich panel comprises the rigid substrates of the vehicle’s solar panels. The company also has used CFRP in the cases built in Utah for the Titan GEM and Orion solid-fuel rocket motors. The carbon fiber cases being built for the NGL, however, are unique in several respects. “This is the largest

CompositesWorld.com

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composite case we’ve ever built,” says Slaughter. In turn, the size of the casing’s joined segments, and the loads it will experience in operation, also required a robust joint design. After it is completed, the casing for the CASTOR 300 segment will be subject to several full-scale tests. In one test, the case is locked in a fixture, filled with water, and the water is pressurized, using a mechanical piston. The case must withstand these high pressures to be cleared for operation — specifically, for the NGL, a Read this article online | test pressure of >1,280 short.compositesworld.com/OATK-EELV psi. In a separate test, using another fixture, engineers induce dynamic transverse and shear loads on the case like those induced by propulsion in an actual launch. Lastly the solid propellant, a mixture of oxidizer, fuel and binding polymer, is loaded into the case for static testing. The “live” motor is horizontally attached to a test stand abutting a thrust block to prevent movement, and then is fired. To date, the Air Force and Orbital ATK have invested a combined US$200 million on the NGL project. Orbital is currently producing and installing tooling with plans, upon successful completion of the final phase of testing, to begin full-scale manufacturing in late 2018 or early 2019, with certification test flights planned for 2021.

Launching into heavy orbital traffic The NGL development work is coming amid a flurry of new commercial space hardware activity as the main players in this arena seek to provide larger payload delivery capability with shorter turnaround times. In June, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX, Hawthorne, CA, US) delivered a 2,722 kg payload to the International Space Station via its Falcon 9 rocket, set a goal of two launches per month this year and is conducting tests on a larger version of Falcon 9, the Falcon Heavy. United Launch Alliance (ULA, Centennial, CO, US) is testing and building the new Vulcan line of launchers to replace its workhorse Atlas V and Delta IV rockets. Orbital ATK’s initial plans for the NGL entail capturing four or five US national security satellites a year, projecting a cost reduction to the US government of US$600 million over 10 years via manufacturing economies of scale and other process and procurement improvements. If it does, and if work on the NGL, thus far, is an indication, it will, composites will be a key to its success.

Michael R. LeGault is a freelance writer located in Houston, TX, US, and the former editor of Canadian Plastics magazine (Toronto, ON, Canada). [email protected]

September 27, 2017 • 2:00 PM EST PRESENTED BY

How to Produce Affordable Carbon Fiber Automotive Parts

zoltek.com

EVENT DESCRIPTION: PRESENTERS

There is a misconception that manufacturing carbon fiber parts can be prohibitively expensive. This webinar will focus on utilizing low cost manufacturing techniques to turn an economical carbon fiber into an affordable part that maintains advanced properties needed in automotive and other industries. We will explore specific manufacturing techniques along with the pros and cons of each. Our team of experts will help you find solutions to the challenges you face..

PARTICIPANTS WILL LEARN: • Common Challenges to Traditional Manufacturing Processes

CHRIS THOMAS

Director of Automotive Business USA

TOBIAS POTYRA

Director of Automotive Business for Europe

• Three Manufacturing Methods to Prevent These Challenges • How These Processes Can Be Put to Work For You

REGISTER TODAY FOR WEBINAR AT: http://short.compositesworld.com/Zoltek927 60

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SEPTERMBER 2017

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8/9/2017 8:13:49 AM

Your Composite Curing Oven Specialists

Interior Supply and Return Ducts with Interior Lighting

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Plant Tour: BENTELER SGL, Ort im Innkreis, Austria This high-volume CFRP structures pioneer makes industrialization and multimaterial assembly look easy. By Ginger Gardiner / Senior Editor

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» Long before “snap-cure” resins and high-

Vast resources, volume production pressure resin transfer molding (HP-RTM) BENTELER SGL’s 10,000m2 became composites industry trends, production facility in Ort BENTELER SGL (Ried im Innkreis, Austria) im Innkreis is devoted to was forging a path away from hand-laid high-volume production of prepreg toward more automated processing composite parts and multiof composite components for production material assemblies using intelligent automation. automobiles. Since its beginnings, in fact, Source (all images) | BENTELER SGL RTM has been firmly embedded in the company’s DNA. BENTELER SGL is located alongside aerocomposites powerhouse FACC (see Learn More, p. 69). Both evolved from ski manufacturer Fischer GmbH, which launched its RTM-based Vacuum Ski technology in 1985. Fischer Composite Technology (FCT) was spun off in 2001 and began production of RTM “hang-on” parts for Porsche (Stuttgart, Germany) the following year. FCT was acquired in 2009 by the BENTELER SGL joint venture, established in 2008 between BENTELER Automotive (Paderborn, Germany) and SGL Group (Wiesbaden, Germany). Beyond its history of innovative composites production, BENTELER SGL is itself a unique composite of automotive and carbon fiber expertise. BENTELER Automotive develops and produces components and modules for chassis, body and engine/exhaust systems as well as systems solutions for newer technologies, such as electric vehicles. SGL, one of the world’s leading industrial-grade carbon fiber manufacturers, created with BMW AG (Munich, Germany) the supply chain that now supports the latter’s volume production of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) vehicle structures (see Learn More). True to the definition of a composite, however, both companies have retained their distinctive

CompositesWorld

BENTELER SGL, Ort im Innkreis NEWS

characteristics and strengths within BENTELER SGL. Each has a managing director co-leading the joint venture and each fully supports the company with its broad resources and acumen. The resulting autocomposites production offers capabilities that exceed the sum of its partner companies.

Automated, industrialized composites BENTELER SGL headquarters are in the original Ried im Innkreis FCT plant, now expanded to 7,000m2 and automated for prototyping new production processes (Fig. 6, p. 67). Although low- to mid-volume production is still accommodated there, CW toured only the production facility in Ort im Innkreis. The Ried site is typically not open to visitors, because the large 2,000m2 Technical Center frequently has confidential projects running. During CW’s visit, a new hoodset for a premium automotive OEM was being ramped to full-rate production. The Ort facility tour begins in its upstairs offices and conference room, hosted by BENTELER SGL’s joint managing directors. Helmut Ascher came to BENTELER SGL from BENTELER Automotive in 2014, having served there as a plant manager since 2003, most recently for aluminum structures in Holland, MI, US, and then as an executive VP at BENTELER Automotive in Paderborn, Germany, from 2010. Robert Ernst-Siebert came to BENTELER SGL in 2015, having been with SGL since 2007, first as a market analyst for new business development, then as product manager for ceramic composites and, subsequently, director of sales for carbon fiber and composites. Built in 2012, the 10,000m2 Ort im Innkreis facility sits on a 42,000m2 site that offers room to expand, including additional surrounding acreage. “We are not a company that produces 10 to 100 parts,” Ernst-Siebert points out. “We are the leading company in terms of high-volume composite components via automated production, and we offer a full supply chain, from fibers to painted parts.” Ascher notes that daily business operations are integrated with BENTELER Automotive, “so we understand and are geared to automotive production standards.” He adds that proficiency in how to ramp production “enables us to be a bit faster, if new materials are required. This is also because SGL is more than a supplier, adjusting materials and completing required development and testing. This makes a difference in our capabilities and speed.”

FIG. 1

Managing complexity robotically

The Audi MSS rear wall (top photo) integrates 27 RTM parts made from 42 preforms and 242 supplied components. Automated assembly cells (middle) and bonding jigs (bottom) complete the module’s 17 bonded joints and installation of bonded and mechanical fasteners. CompositesWorld.com

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Despite the SGL connection, however, not all production at BENTELER SGL involves carbon fiber reinforcement. One of its signature products, in fact, automotive leaf springs, are reinforced with glass fiber. “We always look to select the right technology, which fits best with respect to targeted properties, production volume and cost,” says Ernst-Siebert. This applies not only to reinforcements but processes as well. BENTELER SGL production has used woven and noncrimp fabrics (NCF), tailored fiber placement preforms (see Learn More), braiding and filament winding. Automating and scaling manufacturing to fit parts and programs is really the essence of BENTELER SGL. “Our core competencies include product and process development and automated preforming,” notes Ascher. “We are also a leader in RTM and wet pressing, enabling us to produce high volumes with short cycle times.” Additional areas of expertise include prepreg pressing, sheet molding compound (SMC), adhesives technology, CNC machining and assembly. FIG. 2

History of high-volume success

Gallery of structures

BENTELER SGL’s gallery of complex CFRP structures and assemblies includes the Porsche 911 GT3 rear decklid (top), which integrates spoiler and >10 major components into a Class A-painted module, and the Lamborghini Aventador rocker/A-pillar (above), comprising an upper and lower structure, including RTM hollow structures made with braided reinforcement.

FIG. 3

Adding foam in-mold to beat NVH

This CFRP spare wheel well is formed using one-shot RTM and foam core to reduce noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) vs. previous SMC design. 64

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From upstairs, the tour heads downstairs and through a composite parts gallery on display in the building lobby. A CFRP seat for the BMW M3 CRT features two preforms that use recycled carbon fiber and a paper honeycomb core. A rear decklid for the Porsche 911 GT3 integrates a rear spoiler/wing and at least 10 other major components into a fully finished, Class A painted part delivered to the OEM production line (Fig. 2, at left). Next is a CFRP-reinforced steel B-pillar, part of a prototype qualification program with an OEM, which developed BENTELER SGL’s Hybrid Patch Process. Capable of producing A- and B-pillars, front walls, door trunk beams and sills, this process uses an automated preforming-and-cutting cell to build tailored prepreg patches — from both glass and carbon reinforcements — which are then pressed and cured onto prefinished steel parts. Adjacent is a U-shaped CFRP front-end strut brace developed with BMW. The brace features structural sandwich construction, produced using RTM and polyurethane resin. Another strut brace BENTELER SGL developed for this customer also uses a braided preform and delivers high strength and stiffness, but features epoxy resin, a Class A “clear carbon” surface and hybrid construction — bonded to aluminum. “We have more than several parts in production for the BMW i3 and i8 models,” says Ascher, “for structural components.” This theme of complex, multi-material assemblies is illustrated again in a chassis module for a major OEM, which replaces steel with glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) for weight savings. “BENTELER can make the whole assembly, including the GFRP leaf springs,” Ascher notes. A rocker/A-pillar for Lamborghini (Saint’Agata Bolognese, Italy) comprises an upper and lower structure, the latter integrating two CFRP parts made with braided carbon reinforcements and a meltable wax core to create hollow parts that are light yet able to withstand impact and deliver key performance

CompositesWorld

BENTELER SGL, Ort im Innkreis NEWS

FIG. 4

500,000+ leaf springs per year

The Volvo leaf spring production line fills the west end of BENTELER SGL’s Ort im Innkreis facility, including post-cure oven (bottom left), machining cells (above) and 100% check — including bend test — of every spring before being labeled and readied for delivery (top left).

in crash testing (Fig. 2). Ascher says the epoxy RTM process is low automated manufacturing cells for Daimler springs and a much volume, “but very complex. The issue is managing CTE [coeffilarger production line, which has produced more than 500,000 cient of thermal expansion] in this larger part, so the cure must composite leaf springs per year since 2015, for all Volvo vehicles be a bit longer vs. HP-RTM.” The upper and lower pieces are that are based on the new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) joined with epoxy adhesive. “This was a good project for us from platform. a learning point of view,” he explains. “We use these projects to Standing in front of a production cell, Ascher explains, “The build our expertise.” specific leaf spring being produced will The gallery tour finishes with a CFRP door change through the day per computermodule in production since 2013, used for controlled production management Leaf spring lines in the prodthe Porsche 911 GT3 and one other model, system. Everything is JIT [just in time].” uction hall have turned out and a foam-cored CFRP spare wheel Within the cell, an automated cutting well developed as a demonstrator for a machine, supplied by BENTELER more than 500,000 springs high-end OEM (Fig. 3, p. 64). Featuring Mechanical Engineering on the left, alterfor Volvo vehicles alone. complex geometry and formed in one nates between cutting rolls of unidirecshot, using RTM, the part uses foam tional (UD) fabric and NCF. A robotic arm core to impart stiffness and reduce noise, picks and places cut plies into a preforming vibration and harshness (NVH), the latter an added function station at right. A quality assurance (QA) kiosk sits across from driving new composites applications in multi-material structhe preform station. “If it detects an issue, it automatically fixes tures. “The original SMC solution did not provide sufficient NVH,” it,” says Ascher. “For example, if the material orientation or placeAscher explains. ment is not accurate, it will move the material.” The tour walks north, passing on the right pits in the floor Leaf spring production that are pre-wired and ready for new presses in anticipation of As the tour exits the lobby, it proceeds through a door midway future growth. Turning left, the all-white, self-contained Volvo along the southern wall of the massive production hall. As he leaf spring line fills the west end of the building. Currently the leads the tour through an assortment of CFRP parts being readied world’s highest-volume autocomposites production line, it is a for shipment and an array of gluing jigs used to produce parts massive, industrial cell, arranged linearly from material input for Audi, Ascher explains that the building is split between leaf at the west, through cutting, preforming and RTM, to rows of spring production to the left and CFRP production on the right. machining cells at the east, followed by testing cells. “We bendThe former consumes roughly one-third of the hall, comprising test every spring,” notes Ascher. Located midway along the CompositesWorld.com

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make these parts in a fully automated way with both lines integrated and running together, this is a challenge.” All of the robotic arms are sourced through BENTELER, which also supplied a majority of the Volvo leaf spring line’s machinery. “We have our own division in BENTELER Automotive internal mechanical engineering, which builds our equipment in-house,” Ascher explains. “All of our process control software is developed internally as well.” Only three technicians must be on the floor during production on this line, but others operate behind the scenes, monitoring system performance and re-engineering it, where necessary.

Structured for continuous improvement

FIG. 5

Tracking products and data

BENTELER SGL uses barcode, RFID and GPS-based systems to track materials and tools (above) to maintain efficient production and each part’s digital thread.

length is a mass-capable oven for post-curing the leaf springs (Fig. 4, p. 65). The process requires no manual steps, yet manages nine combinations of upper and lower tools and mates them with multiple machined hole configurations for spacers and bushings. As a result, it can output the appropriate leaf spring variants in response to an ever-changing mix of large and small vehicle orders (see Learn More). Walking up onto a mezzanine where the resin storage, heating, metering and mixing equipment is arranged, the tour turns to face west. From that vantage point, it is clear there are actually two mirrored leaf spring production lines. Rolls of glass fiber UD fabric enter and are processed in dual automated cutting stations. In each line, a robotic arm transfers cut plies onto stacking tables and then moves completed stacks into a dual-cavity press where they are consolidated into leaf spring preforms. On the other side of the preform press, a second set of robotic arms transfers preforms into one RTM press for each line. These robots run on a linear track from the RTM press to multiple machining cells (Fig. 4, p. 65). “Making a leaf spring out of composite is not rocket science,” says Ascher, “but how to set up this equipment and 66

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Leaving leaf spring production, the tour stops by an enclosed control room, located mid-span on the north side of the hall, that functions as a “war room” for the whole plant. There, metrics are tracked for logistics and employment, and to support efforts for continuous improvement — keys to ensuring performance at the site, in production, maintenance and safety. “This is a daily management area to have the right focus and find quick solutions,” says Ernst-Seibert. “We plan ahead. This expertise comes from BENTELER Automotive.” “This also serves to inform employees so they have a big picture and can see how to contribute to success,” adds Birgit Held, VP corporate communications/marketing for BENTELER International AG. “We also show and discuss ideas for improvement. It’s about people — those working at this site know its operations and issues best. We need to benefit from their ideas, so we provide a structural loop for this.” She says that employee ideas are awarded each year, and progress in addressing and implementing ideas is monitored. “For example, if it is taking too long for an idea to be answered, then it may go to the managing directors,” Held explains, noting that reaction and answering time should not be too long.

CFRP production The tour resumes, entering the CFRP production area. To the left is an automated cutting station with a long table. Up to 10 layers of material can be cut simultaneously as required for parts in production — four to seven plies is normal. A robot pulls rolls of reinforcement from an inventory shelf along the north wall. Each roll is scanned into the digital enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, which tracks inventory and overall production, but also builds a digital “paper trail” for each part. There will be a barcode on the end of each part to log material and roll data. The precut material stacks are placed onto a cart that is then rolled a few feet to a heated press, where they are consolidated into a preform. The parts in production during the tour were transferred in and out of the press manually, but Ascher notes, “If the volume is high enough, we automate.” Preforms are then fed into two HP-RTM presses. The machine shop for equipment maintenance lies just beyond the CFRP production area, in the building’s northeast corner. Across the aisle from it is the wet pressing area (see Learn More). “Under-floor parts for automotive are a good shape for

CompositesWorld

BENTELER SGL, Ort im Innkreis NEWS

wet pressing,” says Ascher. Like the Volvo leaf spring line, resin storage and mixing/dosing functions are situated on a mezzanine to conserve space and enlist the help of gravity to feed resin to the presses. The single-process cell comprises two wet pressing lines with integrated robots for automated transfers. The presses form the rectangular cell’s two rear corners. A dosing robot, its centerpoint, applies resin to preforms and transfers these to two tables, one for the leftward press and another for the press on the right. Two other robots, one in front of each press, transfer the wetout preforms from the tables into the presses and then back out after cure to finished-part trolleys. Every part in the wet pressing line is inspected — checked for flatness, dimension and shape — and then trimmed and machined.

CFRP machining and MSS assembly BENTELER SGL’s machining area sits at the production hall’s east end. Its four CNC machining bays house two conventional milling machines and two waterjet systems. The tour now turns back toward the west, where a long row of six production cells comes into view. These are used to assemble the Audi Modular Sportscar System (MSS) platform’s rear shelf and B-pillar as an integral reinforced sandwich component (Fig. 1, p. 63). This component is distinctive for several reasons: First, a planned common architecture for multiple Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini models, the MSS rear wall integrates 27 RTM parts

FIG. 6

Wet pressing line

BENTELER SGL’s wet-pressing cell is also set up for efficiency, featuring fully automated dual lines, with integrated parts inspection.

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made from 42 preforms, including left and right struts, four backplane components and two components each for left and right upper B-pillars. It’s used for the Lamborghini Huracan and Audi R8, and received a 2016 JEC Innovation Award for BENTELER SGL and teammates Audi (Ingolstadt, Germany) and Evonik (Essen, Germany). For this part alone, BENTELER SGL fabricates more than 311,000 preforms and 200,000 composite parts per year at Ort im Innkreis. Second, the manufacturing process for the MSS composite elements — named ultra-RTM — includes developments in fiber forms, fast-cure resins and low-density foam cores with integrated fasteners. According to Audi, the combination of these technologies enables exploitation of differential construction for high-volume production, achieving the lightweight and performance of a monocoque without being

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restricted to long cycle times and, thus, small-series production. Reportedly, the main challenge is infiltrating the complex, foam-cored, insert-integrated parts with resin within a short processing window. The key is process control during resin injection via in-tool sensors, which BENTELER SGL has obviously mastered. Third, it’s a showcase example of BENTELER SGL’s ability to manage the many facets of multi-material manufacturing. “This is the most complex part that we build right now,” Ascher notes. Indeed, production of the MSS module manages four derivatives, using 242 supplied components, many made from aluminum, and requires 17 bonded joints achieved through 146 adhesive operations. Part development began in 2009 and production commenced in 2013. “This part makes a difference vs. our competitors,” says Ascher. “We know how to integrate aluminum into the part’s structural function and how to automate complex assembly with bonded and mechanical fasteners. Both partners built extensive knowledge through this development.” The CFRP parts are bonded with polyurethane, but bonded fasteners and mechanical fastening also are used in final assembly. Bins full of fasteners can be seen, positioned across from the automated assembly cells. In one of the cells, a robot is applying polyurethane adhesive. The cell’s automated door opens, a worker manipulates a metal bonding jig, closing its two wings and back section onto the main composite piece. The jig will hold and locate this piece while adhesive is applied, and subsequent pieces are located and held in place during adhesive cure. The assembly is built up in subsequent cells, with some including installation of fasteners.

Future materials, processes, and parts Although epoxy and polyurethane dominate production at BENTELER SGL, thermoplastics are an option. “For us, there is no preference for thermoset or thermoplastic,” says Ascher. Ernst-Seibert adds, “We adjust ourselves to market needs and we can do this quickly. We’re not afraid of new materials or processes,

BENTELER SGL, Ort im Innkreis NEWS

but our focus is on structural and semistructural parts. Thus, HP-RTM is an expertise. So we can produce structures with Class A finish but we can also use thermoplastic HP-RTM if necessary. The key point for us is the part and its design. We excel when the design and production is complex.” This adaptability is also exemplified, Ascher notes, by another capability: “We have a fully automated wet pressing process installed here, delivering very short cycle times for low- to mid-complex geometry.” He notes it is a good process for thin-walled components, “but this is not the end of wet-pressing technology. Currently, it cannot handle undercuts, in which case we would go to RTM. But we are working to develop this capability in wet pressing.” With regard to parts, Ascher sees continued growth in leaf springs and large, integrated structures for high-end vehicles and sports cars. Ascher says the biggest growth market is in China, “and they are willing to pay for the technology and to be a leader.” Although it offers significant opportunities, the US automotive market, Ascher says, remains

cautious about composites. Regarding concern about a reliable CW senior editor Ginger Gardiner has supply chain, Ernst-Siebert notes an engineering/materials background that SGL’s carbon fiber production and more than 20 years of experience plant in Moses Lake, WA, US is not in the composites industry.  [email protected] only for BMW, but open to supply other automotive OEMs and tier suppliers, as announced in 2016. BENTELER SGL also is ready to aid further development in the US or elsewhere. Says Ascher: “We can reduce the complexity for companies wanting to move forward with CFRP applications and apply proven technology in huge volumes, based on our significant experience and capabilities.”

AUTOMATED FIBER PLACEMENT MACHINES LEADING THE PRODUCTIVITY CHALLENGE

Read this article online | short.compositesworld.com/BSGLTour Read more online about SGL’s role in BMW’s CFRP vehicle part production in “BMW Leipzig: The epicenter of i3 production” | short.compositesworld.com/ BMWLeipzig Read CW’s FACC Plant Tour online, titled “FACC AG: Aerocomposites Powerhouse” | short.compositesworld.com/FACCTour Read more about Volvo leaf spring production in “500,000 parts per year? No problem!” | short.compositesworld.com/500000 Read more about Tailored Fiber Placement (TFP) in “Tailored Fiber Placement: Besting metal in volume production” | short.compositesworld.com/7QEhsvZ0 Read more about wet compression molding (wet pressing) in the following: The CW Blog titled “Wet compression molding” | short.compositesworld.com/wetcomp The CW tour of the BMW 7 Series Plant in Dingolfing, Germany | short.compositesworld.com/BMW7Series

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SMC: Old dog, more tricks In the sheet molding compound renaissance, the advent of new resins and compounds are broadening the definition and application of this versatile family of composites.

By Peggy Malnati / Contributing Writer

»

Originally defined as a sheet-form, compression-molded, B-stageable thermoset composite, sheet molding compounds (SMCs) comprised of unsaturated polyester (UP) or vinyl ester (VE) matrices (or blends of the two) reinforced with chopped glass fiber, plus additives and mineral fillers, have found wide use for more than 50 years in many industries. And unlike others, this very atypical form of prepreg needs no cold storage during transport and prior to molding, but can be stored at room temperature. In Part 1 of CW’s SMC update (May 2017; see Learn More, p. 77), a variety of newer reinforcements and fillers were shown to have improved SMC performance, most notably by reducing compound densities to levels that make SMC competitive, weight-wise, with aluminum and steel, a game-changer in automotive applications. In Part 2, the multiplication of resin and compounding options for this versatile class of composites are challenging conventional assumptions about what we mean by SMC. Indeed, the line separating this material and continuous-fiber prepregs has blurred to the point that there are those who wonder, “Do we need a new definition for SMC?” (See the Side Story on p. 72).

New matrix technologies: Higher mechanical and thermal performance Alongside the significant changes to reinforcements and fillers in the SMC recipe, work continues to broaden SMC beyond its conventional reliance on UP, VE and hybrid UP/VE matrices. Many resin suppliers and compounders now say they’ve developed 70

and commercialized hybrid SMC: Composites trendsetter in resin systems that contain two, transportation and more three and even four or more For more than a half century, polymer systems, while others sheet-molding compound (SMC) has are working on unconventional been a well understood and broadly single-resin matrices. Some of applied composite technology, this work is intended to make used in industries as diverse as SMC more effective in true automotive, rail, aviation, marine and building/construction. But structural applications. VE, recent technological advances in for example, is a fully satureinforcements, fillers, matrix resins, rated polymer (with no open and compounding and processing valences) so it doesn’t bond techniques have significantly broadwell to carbon fiber without ened a once narrow definition. new work on sizings. Another Source | Navistar International Corp. reason is the desire to reduce or eliminate volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particularly styrene, which, in turn, has an impact on compounding. One additional resin in the mix is polyurethane (PUR). Since the early 2000s, small amounts of PUR have been added to conventional SMCs to help improve toughness and reduce blistering and paint-pop issues. However, PUR could be a matrix for SMC in its own right, owing to its higher mechanicals, damage tolerance, chemical resistance, moldability and excellent adhesion to numerous reinforcements and fillers. The one impediment to that status is that PUR has, historically, cured too quickly to be practical

CompositesWorld

SMC Renaissance,NEWS Part 2

for conventional SMC compounding. However, a multi-year development project aimed at creating a stronger, tougher composite system to meet the railway industry’s stringent flame/smoke/ toxicity (FST) requirements provided the opportunity to give it a try. Partially funded by the provincial government of Ontario, Canada, the project involved research institute Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research (FPC, London, ON, Canada), resin supplier Huntsman Polyurethanes (Auburn Hills, MI, US), and fiberglass source Johns Manville (Denver, CO, US). Three key elements made the project feasible. The first was Huntsman’s prior work to chemically decouple PUR viscosity build from resin “snap cure.” This permitted formulators to build in both a long latency/outlife at low viscosity, which ensured thorough infusion and fiber wetout of even large parts, and a rapid cure (see Learn More). The second was FPC’s work, along with co-owner Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Research (F-ICT, Pfinztal, Germany) and machinery OEM Dieffenbacher GmbH (Eppingen, Germany) on the direct-SMC (D-SMC) process, where compounding occurs very close (physically and temporally) to molding without the need for the 48- to 72-hour maturation period that is common with conventional SMC. The chemistry of the VITROX resin system that Huntsman is supplying more or less necessitates making PUR SMC via a direct process. “The great thing about urethanes is they react with everything, but the bad thing about urethanes is that they react with everything, too,” quips Dr. Michael Connolly, program manager – urethane composites at Huntsman Polyurethanes. “Still, VITROX chemistry allows us to separate out snap cure at high temps vs. an early maturation stage … and to separate exotherm control from molding,” he adds. “That feature has proven useful for a lot of composite processes.” SMC is now one of them. The third element to the project’s success was Johns Manville’s work on sizing chemistry. Since calcium carbonate (the most common SMC filler) and some urethane catalysts can be incompatible, alternative fillers (in this case, glass microspheres and milled glass) had to be used. In fact, specific grades of chopped and milled glass and glass microspheres were selected so as not to inhibit the reaction of the PUR matrix, because some sizing chemistry also can be an issue with the reactive PUR matrix. “Standard SMC fiberglass sizing needs to be styrene-soluble for good wetout, but that doesn’t

Rapid-cure SMC for rail? An area of important change is work to broaden SMC beyond conventional formulations. This front and back view of a seat frame (top and middle) exemplifies work by a group including Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research (London, ON, Canada), Huntsman Polyurethanes (Auburn Hills, MI, US) and Johns Manville (Denver CO, US) to develop fast-curing polyurethane SMC (PUR SMC) via the direct-SMC process for the railway industry. Early materials (bottom photo) have demonstrated good mechanicals and anti-flame-spread values and are VOC-free, but have not yet met railway industry smoke requirement. Source | Huntsman Polyurethanes CompositesWorld.com

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Prepreg-compatible epoxy SMC Another interesting area of research is being done in the area of epoxy SMC. Hexion Inc. has recently commercialized a B-stageable, 100% epoxy grade specifically designed for automotive SMC, with high mechanical properties, no styrene, and low VOCs. Inherently compatible with epoxy prepreg, epoxy SMCs can be co-molded with them to achieve “tailored” parts. The new system is said to be a low-viscosity formulation with good flow and excellent fiber wetout for high fiber volume fraction with either glass or carbon fiber and has been specifically modified to match the conventional maturation step of VE and UPSMC. It recently was molded into an automotive seat frame and parts reportedly filled completely, including ribs and bosses. Source | Hexion Inc.

work with PUR resin systems,” explains Dr. Klaus Gleich, senior research associate-Corporate R&D, Johns Manville. “We had to watch the film former and other sizing components, because depending on chemistry of the glass sizing system, it can inhibit or kill a catalyst or cause foaming. You always have to adjust glass chemistry for new resins systems, so we had to modify sizing chemistry to optimize fiber wetout and coupling and to avoid inhibiting the PUR reaction. Fortunately, we’d already done development work with urethanes in LFI [long-fiber injection], so it wasn’t too difficult. You want the composite very light and structural, but you also want it affordable.” Of 15 initial formulations of fire-retardant PUR SMC that were produced and tested, four were found to have comparable or superior performance to VE SMC, but with much faster cure times. Daniel Park, FPC research engineer, also reported tensile strength increases of 23% (118 MPa), tensile strain-at-break increases of 25% (an elongation at break of 1.7%), and 40% higher energy absorption as measured by Dynatup impact vs. UP SMC formulations. The composite also showed 25% higher Dynatup impact vs. VE SMC formulations with similar fiber content and filler levels, which were used as controls. Grades with a Class A surface are said to be encouraging but still need work to improve finish. They work well in the D-SMC process where the material is compounded and then molded within a short time, with no maturation step. Although they are in an early stage of development, PUR SMC systems have demonstrated good mechanical performance and flame-spread values and are VOC-free. They do not, however, yet meet the railway industry’s smoke requirement. More work is

SIDE STORY

Do we need a new definition for SMC? Recent changes in and variations on sheet molding compound (SMC) formulations have taken it some distance from its historical beginnings and conventional recipes. Do we then need a new definition for this product? Or will the old one still work with minor modifications? Nomenclature can be a tricky thing in industries where product and process complexity guarantees the use of abbreviations — something certainly true in both the automotive and plastics/composites markets. Add to that the creative marketing of those who wish to uniquely brand their companies’ newest material or process variant, and the industry’s communications are soon awash in interesting terminology that might or might not be meaningful, consistently applied or correctly understood. Toward a consistent definition, Dr. Klaus Gleich, senior research associate – corporate R&D, Johns Manville (Denver, CO, US), points out, “If you go back to the origins of the term ‘prepreg,’ then all these materials are prepregs. Any preimpregnated fiber-reinforced, semi-finished material is a prepreg. If you take a composite pipe and overmold it, then the pipe is a prepreg. Even GMT [glass-mat thermoplastic composite] is a prepreg.” He adds that practically speaking, and regardless of the type of resin and reinforcement used, the biggest difference between SMC and “true” prepreg is that prepreg is typically stored in a freezer, but SMC is stored and used at ambient temperature. Steven Hardebeck, technology director North America – composites and John Ilkka, business development manager – advanced materials at PolyntReichhold LLC (Durham, NC, US ), however, both contend that products that

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contain continuous reinforcement (unidirectional or weaves, glass or carbon fiber) are not SMC. “Regardless of the process you use to make it, if it’s continuous fiber, it’s not SMC,” argues Hardebeck. Ilkka adds, “I believe the SAMPE [Society for the Advancement of Materials & Process Engineering] guys would probably agree with us.” “I don’t know who should take responsibility for this in our industry, but I think there would be great value in coming together around a common language,” comments Terrence O’Donovan, VP – marketing and sales, Core Molding Technologies Inc. (Columbus, OH, US) and current chair of the Automotive Composites Alliance (ACA) of the American Composites Manufacturers Assn. (ACMA, Arlington, VA, US). “As an industry, composites is still immature and evolving, it’s still more experimental and novel than commercial and uniform. That’s both good and bad,” he adds. O’Donovan, who spent the first 20 years of his career in the steel industry, has a unique perspective on the topic. “In the early days, we faced the same thing in the steel industry,” he recalls. “Everyone had their own chemistry, their own unique mix of steels, and they were out promoting them as something unique and different.” Eventually, the industry came together around the need for standardization through the American Iron & Steel Institute (Washington, DC, US). “We definitely don’t want to take away the tailorability of fiber, resin and processing,” he notes, “but if we want to be accepted and we want our customers to have confidence we’re all talking about the same thing, we’re going to have to come together as an industry.”

CompositesWorld

SMC Renaissance, Part 2 NEWS

Structural SMC/prepreg hybrid A collaborative R&D project between Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, MI, US) and Magna Exteriors (Troy, MI) has led to development of an innovative prototype composite subframe. An important element of the car chassis, the subframe provides attachment locations for both engine and wheels while also contributing to rigidity and crash management. Compression molded of hybrid carbon SMC plus carbon prepreg, the part reduces mass by 34% and part count from 45 to 6 vs. the previous stamped steel assembly. The two composite subcomponents and their four metallic inserts are assembled via both adhesive bonding and structural rivets. Prototypes are reportedly undergoing vehicle-level testing at Ford. Source | Magna Exteriors

needed, but because the formal project has come to an end, that work will have to wait until additional funding and new partners can be found. Other research on the agenda includes evaluating additional filler systems as well as unfilled structural systems with higher reinforcement levels vs. the preliminary formulations. Park notes that the current PUR SMC systems FPC tested are at the practical limits of glass content (60 wt%). “Carbon fiber-reinforced PUR or epoxies or even vinyl ester are promising because part and mold design know-how for SMC are already well understood, and the process allows you to do near net-shape forming of a 3D, quasiisotropic part at very low scrap rates relative to other carbon fiber composite molding processes,” he adds. Connolly says that FPC and Huntsman did additional screening work after the formal study ended to evaluate PUR with 50K carbon fiber tow from Zoltek: A Toray Group Co. (Bridgeton, MO, US) in the D-SMC process. He says the work looks very promising, with the carbon/PUR SMC showing comparable or somewhat better tensile and flexural strength than large-tow carbon fiber/ VE SMC. Demold times were as low as 2.5 minutes at 130°C and 2 mm part thickness to yield a resin Tg of ~125°C. More work is underway to evaluate molding of 3D designs, conduct extended

freezer-storage studies and further explore impact testing. “We’d love to cooperate with interested companies for glass or carbon fiber [SMC] technology development, as there is only so much technology push we can do on our own,” Connolly notes. “We need some pull now. We don’t care where the pull comes from, but the most obvious choice would be from the molder/compounder level.” Preliminary work suggests that PUR SMC may find a fit in applications that require greater durability and toughness. Interesting research also is underway in the epoxies arena. VE, itself, is synthesized from an epoxide, so epoxy-modified VEs and VE/UP blends have been available for some time. However, resin supplier Hexion Inc. (Columbus, OH, US) has recently commercialized a 100% epoxy grade specifically designed for automotive SMC. In addition to high mechanical properties, another advantage of epoxy SMC is that it is inherently compatible with epoxy prepreg: The two products can be co-molded to achieve a “tailored” composite part. The new system — EPIKOTE resin TRAC 06605 and EPIKURE curing agent TRAC 06608 — is said to be a low-viscosity formulation with good flow and fiber-wetting characteristics, specifically modified for the SMC process. It can be supplied with an internal mold release agent (HELOXY TRAC 06805) to expedite demolding.

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FEATURE / Advances in SMC

Reportedly, the system is styrene-free, low in VOCs and fully compatible with other epoxy composites on the market. Further, it has been formulated to offer excellent wetout and maximum fiber volume fraction (FVF), and it works with all common SMC reinforcements, including fiberglass. Hexion reports good quality in molded parts at up to 55 vol% reinforcement, using automotive grades of fiber. Typical molding conditions are 3 minutes at 150°C or 5 minutes at 140°C, with the lower-temperature option yielding the better surface finish. The Tg of this low-viscosity system is ~100°C, so molded parts are said to be able to survive E-coat (electrophoretic painting/rust proofing) processes — at least on European if not North American lines — and can handle paintline temperatures as well, as long as parts are shielded and wellsupported during the processes. “It was quite a product design challenge to create a B-stageable system that directly replicates the maturation step typical of UP and VE systems in pure epoxy resin,” notes Sigrid ter Heide, global market development manager, Transportation EPCD, Hexion BV (Rotterdam, The Netherlands). The current formulation is driven by temperature and needs 7 days of maturation at room temperature or 3 days at 30°C. Recently, the new system was trialed using 45 vol%/57 wt% carbon fiber, Pyrofil 15K with 0.4% epoxy-compatible sizing from Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon Fiber and Composites Inc. (Sacramento, CA, US) on an automotive seat-frame structure with a surface area of 0.35m2. The initial charge area was 25%

and, reportedly, parts filled the mold/part geometry completely, including ribs and bosses. “There definitely is a market need — and many market requests from OEMs and molders — to develop a system like this,” adds ter Heide. “The industry had the capacity to develop such a material, plus epoxy is well known for its compatibility with carbon fiber for higher strength applications.” A. Schulman, which reports it has produced glass/epoxy and carbon fiber/epoxy SMC since 1987, has recently introduced four grades of “next-generation, styrene-free, low-VOC” epoxy SMC reinforced with 3K- and 12K-tow chopped carbon fiber as well as continuous-fiber mat. The new materials are said to be built on technologies historically used in aerospace, military and defense markets, but specifically formulated for automotive SMC. The grades offer higher mechanicals than carbon fiber-reinforced VE SMC and have a Tg that comes in between Tan Delta and storage modulus values of 125°C and 160°C respectively, which should make them compatible even with higher temperature North American E-coat lines. Customers in Europe and North America reportedly are now sampling these materials. In addition, the company also produces SMC grades with phenolic, as well as high-temperature polyimide and bismaleimide resins reinforced with carbon or glass or both for aerospace and oil and gas customers. Additionally, Magna Exteriors (Troy, MI, US) reports that since 2008-2009, the company has used in-house compounded epoxyurethane hybrid SMC, based on Derakane VE resin from Ashland

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SMC Renaissance, Part 2 NEWS

LLC (Dublin, OH, US). Depending on application performance and cost requirements, Magna also uses hybrid-UP and modifiedVE chemistry from several suppliers.

significant capital expenditures. There are pros and cons associated with each approach. In the pursuit of low- or no-VOC resin systems for both SMC and true prepreg compounding, Polynt-Reichhold LLC (Durham, NC, New compounding changes: US) has led the charge. “Five years ago, 90% of the resins we made The move to low- and no-VOCs for SMC and prepreg were styrenated,” says John Ilkka, PolyntTraditionally there have been two methods for compounding Reichhold’s business development manager – advanced materials. SMC — more common and lower tempera“Our leadership at the time chalture solvent-based compounding or higher lenged our R&D team to look at altertemperature hot-melt compounding, native ways to create polymers without Compounding of SMC is which requires specialized equipment styrene. While we considered other changing in reaction to EU and is similar to that used by prepregreactive diluents, like vinyl toluene or vinyl and North American VOC gers. Compounding of SMC is changing benzene — which also are currently under reduction mandates. and is doing so in direct reaction to scrutiny — our management was concerned recent European Union and North that if we went down that path and regulaAmerican VOC reduction mandates, tory authorities expanded the list of prohibited specifically, those aimed at styrene emissions. Unfortunately, solvents, then we’d be back to square one again. Because of that, styrene — the low-cost but highly effective diluent that formulawe’ve opted to take the harder route and create a less expensive tors and compounders favor for solvent-based compounding to system without reactive diluents.” reduce resin viscosity for good fiber and filler wetout, improve “Our strategy has been focused on the structural side, on delivhandling, drive crosslink density, increase shelf life, reduce autoering snap-cure, room-temp storage composite solutions with polymerization issues and enhance UV stability — isn’t easily zero VOCs that work with either glass or carbon and that emphareplaced. Resin suppliers and compounders now face a difficult size molding productivity for SMC and prepreg applications,” adds choice: Either find non-styrene diluents that work well enough Steven Hardebeck, Polynt-Reichhold technology director North for them to continue using solvent-based compounding methods, America – composites. “Fortunately, the initiator and cure mechaor switch to hot-melt processing methods that will require nism is the same between our older styrenated SMCs and the

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FEATURE / Advances in SMC

new hybrid systems, so we can match conventional SMC cycle times without losing productivity.” The end-result of all the hard work says Hardebeck is no-VOC systems that don’t require refrigeration, offer longer outlife, improve productivity, are E-coat compatible and are less costly. On the other hand, this work didn’t come easily. “We’ve had to adjust chemistry and go with multi-polymer systems that allow us to get a product that’s good at wetout and can be handled, has the processing characteristics molders want and, when cured, provides the thermo-mechanical characteristics the customer needs,” he adds. “That forced us to move into high-temperature liquids that are solid at room

temperature and hot-melt applications featuring three and four polymers.” He notes that the company has filed patents on some of the work and that Polynt-Reichhold has “some very smart polymer chemists who’ve met almost every challenge we’ve sent them.” Commercial applications of Polynt-Reichhold’s no-VOC VE SMC include the battery box and tray on the 2014 Chevrolet Spark electric vehicle from General Motors Co. (GM, Detroit, MI, US), which are molded by Continental Structural Plastics (CSP, Auburn Hills, MI, US) (see Learn More, p. 77), and floorboards on the 2016 Chevrolet Corvettes from GM that are produced by Molded Fiberglass Corp. (MFG, Ashtabula, OH, US). “VOC emission requirements won’t go away,” states Dr. Mike Siwajek, CSP VP R&D. “They may be slower to phase in here [in the U.S.] than in China and Europe, but you can see emissions [requirements] tightening all over the world.” He notes that many systems www.wickert-usa.com today meet current requirements, and that CSP as well as others are working on alternative chemistries — including thermoplastics. He does caution that such modifications, including moving to COMPOSITE MANUFACTURING hot-melt systems, have their effects on “Solutions for components compounding, molding and handling — beyond standard” in some cases, part properties improve, but in others, they can suffer. “Since styrene chemically crosslinks unsaturated polyester and vinyl ester systems, when you make styrene go away, the crosslinks Your (Materials/Parameters) + go away unless you make it up with some absolutely open catalysts,” he adds. Component Engineering = “Currently, both hot-melt and solventTurnkey Modular System based [compounding] approaches to lowering styrene come at increased costs to the compounder, and hence to the molder and OEM,” notes Terrence O’Donovan, VP - marketing and sales, Core Molding Technologies Inc. (Columbus, OH, US). “As a compounder and molder, we favor a solution based on alternate resin systems.” He feels that because the known approaches currently bring higher cost, that molders and OEMs need to demonstrate a commitment to the end result — lower residual styrene (and VOCs) — by accepting some cost increases in the short term. “If contact: Wickert USA that happens, then commercialization 2195 Arbor Tech Drive CAMX Orlando will move more quickly,” he predicts. Hebron, KY 41048 September 11 - 14, 2017 “When you eliminate styrene and 859 525 6610 x157 Booth #G51 go to a hot-melt system, handling and [email protected] processing can become challenging,” notes Robert Seats, North American technology director at Ashland. “The

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prepreg folks know how to handle hot melts, but trying to translate that technology to an SMC machine can be trickier because hot-melt systems process at significantly higher temperatures than traditional paste. On the other hand, with hot melt, you can lay down significantly more pounds of material per hour to get higher productivity.” “When you’re talking about styrene emissions, it’s important to remember that on the SMC side, we’re using a closedmold process,” adds Mark Harber, business manager, AOC LLC (Collierville, TN, US). “That means it’s relatively easy to engineer out styrene emissions for both the worker and the environment.” Because SMC is molded at high temperature, he explains, that fact can help solve part of the problem. VOCs are flashed off, captured and incinerated during the molding process. AOC’s approach, therefore, is to work with non-styrene diluents, such as vinyl toluene and acrylates. Harber adds, “If you’re looking at something other than traditional styrene, you might be able to make SMC more UV stable. There can be a downside, but there also can be an upside to these changes.” “This is a very exciting time for composites,” adds CSP’s Siwajek. “After 45 years, we have a solution, and people need to tell customers, ‘Don’t lose heart, these technologies are filtering out, and carbon fiber is knocking on the door.’” Core’s O’Donovan expands on this, with the auto industry in mind: “For intermediate-volume programs, studies have shown that SMC composites are the economical choice against steel

Read this article online | short.compositesworld.com/OldDog2 Read Part 1 of CW’s update on sheet molding compound technologies in “SMC: Old dog, new tricks” | short.compositesworld.com/OldDog Read more about Huntsman’s work to decouple polyurethane viscosity build from resin “snap cure” in the following: “A new “tunable” polyurethane could revolutionize composites” | short. compositesworld.com/tunablePUR

and aluminum. With all the advances in resins and fibers that are driving down density while maintaining or improving strength, SMC composites are a legitimate choice for new applications.”

Contributing writer Peggy Malnati covers the automotive and infrastructure beats for CW and provides communications services for plastics- and composites-industry clients. [email protected]

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Preforming goes industrial: Part 2 Automated preforming isn’t only for 2D and 2.5D parts. Innovators are taking successful aim at building 3D preforms at production speeds.

By Ginger Gardiner / Senior Editor

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In CW’s July 2017 feature, “Preforming goes industrial, Part 1”, CW looked at a variety of processes, each based on automated tape laying (ATL) and/or automated fiber placement (AFP), that have been amended to perform within the 1- and 2-minute cycle-time window required for high-volume (e.g., >100,000 parts/yr) automotive applications. However, much of the automation in preforming to date has employed cutting, placing and forming of woven and/or noncrimp fabrics (NCF). This second installment discusses techniques — TFP: 3D preform enabler both digital and mechanical — that can be applied to speed the forming Shape Machining Ltd.’s (Witney, UK) composite parts production gets of such stacked fabrics into threeautomated (see photos, above) using dimensional (3D) shapes without digital design (bottom insert photo), wrinkles or fiber distortions, but also commingled fibers (e.g., carbon and spotlights methods, including rollpolyamide) and the modified embroiforming derived from metal tube dery technology that is the foundation of tailored fiber placement (TFP). and beam fabrication and the latest The resulting ShapeTex preforms developments in tailored fiber place(main photo) are ready for pressing ment (TFP) technology, that impart into thermoplastic parts (top insert 3D shape as an inherent part of the photo) or for use as inserts in injection preforming process. overmolding processes. Source | ShapeTex CompositesWorld

Automated Preforming,NEWS Part 2

FIG. 1

Active wrinkle/defect prevention

Active interlayers are metal sheets — placed between plies at the outer molded edge during preforming — which are stimulated with piezo actuators to reduce friction (above). Active interlayers can reduce or eliminate wrinkles and other defects in complex geometry preforms when combined with tailored clamping of discrete plies (shown above left). Based on a draping simulation and subsequent forming limit diagram, active interlayers were developed to achieve wrinklefree preforms for a Mercedes-Benz E-coupe model decklid, applying diagonal force to 0°-90° NCF layers and 0°-90° force to ±45° NCF layers (a and b, bottom left). CIKONI (Stuttgart, Germany) developed it into a low-cost automated preforming system for mid-range part volumes with a 3-minute cycle time, including automated cutting and handling. Source | CIKONI GmbH

Savings through simulation Composites consulting company CIKONI (Stuttgart, Germany) has applied its expertise in composites design, finite element (FE) analysis and advanced simulation to offer solutions for automated preforming. “Typically, preforming is thought of as a passive process, where you apply pressure and produce a preform,” says CIKONI co-founder Dr. Farbod Nezami. “But with our approach,” he contends, “you can act upon the preform to dramatically improve its quality and also the weight reduction and performance of the finished part.” One part of CIKONI’s approach is called active interlayers. These are metal sheets placed between the plies at a preform’s outer edge, which are then stimulated with piezo actuators to reduce friction. When combined with tailored clamping of discrete plies, the active interlayers can reduce or eliminate wrinkles and other defects in preforms with complex geometries. The active interlayers are not part of the finished preform, but instead are removed and reused. “This approach is not appropriate for every situation,” Nezami advises. “You need to have a certain degree of design complexity and a need for high quality.” Although the interlayers are not expensive — just laser-cut sheet metal and very low-cost actuators — using them is a multi-stage process that relies on computer aided engineering (CAE). Nezami explains, “We use FE-based draping simulation to produce a forming limit diagram which helps us to identify and assess areas of risk for wrinkles and/

or fiber waviness.” CIKONI then tailors the arrangement and forces imposed by the active interlayers to remediate only these areas. A recent case history is CIKONI’s work with Mercedes-Benz (Sindelfingen, Germany) on an E-coupe model decklid. The woven carbon fabric preform, surrounded by active interlayers, can be seen in Fig. 1 (above). CIKONI performed a draping simulation that identified the need for dart cut-outs in both the 0°/90° and ±45° NCF layers (Figs. 1a & b). The subsequent forming limit diagram was then used to design the active interlayers, which were clamped in different areas (green funnels and hashed boxes in Fig. 1b). “These clamping areas were tested via iterative simulations and then optimized experimentally,” explains Nezami. “We were able to remove the initial fiber waviness completely and reduced the size of wrinkles from 11 mm to 3 mm, so that they remained only outside of the main load-carrying and visible areas.” Although Nezami argues that active interlayers are only one possible solution, for MercedesBenz, CIKONI developed it into a low-cost automated preforming system for mid-range part volumes with a 3-minute cycle time, including automated cutting and handling.

3D preforming vs. 2D and 2.5D Thorsten Groene, managing director of the preforming technology company Cevotec (Taufkirchen/Munich, Germany), contends that most automated preforming processes output a 2D preform that still requires a forming step to achieve a 3D composite part. “It is difficult to achieve different thicknesses within the preform with

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FEATURE: AUTOMATED PREFORMING, PART 2

FIG. 2

Robotic patch placement for fast 3D parts

Cevotec’s (Taufkirchen/Munich, Germany) SAMBA automated preforming cell uses two choreographed robots to position tailored-length unidirectional patches onto complex 3D tooling, ready to be molded into 3D parts with no further consolidation or forming steps required. Source | Cevotec

typical blank-building technologies,” he argues. Cevotec’s SAMBA process, he counters, produces 3D fiber preforms with different fiber orientations and thicknesses directly from the CAD file in one step, with no additional forming operations necessary nor a need for draping tools. Launched as an “industrial preforming system” at JEC World 2017 (Mar 14-16, Paris, France), SAMBA is based on fiber patch placement (FPP) technology, with an integrated software suite called ARTIST STUDIO. SAMBA uses a pick-and-place robot and a second tool-manipulation robot to precisely place tailored-length fiber patches at calculated positions along load paths, using a form-adaptive patch gripper to position the patches onto complex 3D molds (Fig. 2, above). Precise cutting of the patches is achieved via laser, and two industrial camera systems continuously inspect 80

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and document the quality and placement of each patch. Groene says the system produces more than one patch per second, using 30% less material than fabric preforms, yet achieves up to 150% greater stiffness and strength. “This is a new option for series production that was not available before,” he adds. Software also is a key part of Cevotec’s approach. “When you think about developing preforms for complex composite parts, the software is key to hardware and process efficiency,” Groene explains. “Larger parts, especially, are composed of more patches than you can manually handle. Our ARTIST STUDIO software uses powerful algorithms with ‘fiber intelligence’ to create high-performance laminates,” he continues. “The entire part geometry can be loaded into our ARTIST STUDIO software. Based on just a few, intuitive user parameters, the software automatically creates an

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FEATURE: AUTOMATED PREFORMING, PART 2

FIG. 3

Continuous-process complex parts

In COPRO Technology’s (Braunschweig, Germany) continuous preforming process, opposing rollers on linear tracks change the width, taper and cross-section of bindered dry fabrics or prepregs into C-, T-, Z- and closed-profile preforms, complete with joggles, oriented ply build-ups and drop-offs and local reinforcement patches. Source | COPRO Technology GmbH

optimized patch laminate and a set of machine data for SAMBA. this area, and this is what is placed onto the 2D or 2.5D preform. You don’t need to develop anything else. We’ve removed quite a When you subsequently complete the 3D forming of the blank, the few steps from the process to maximize efficiency.” fibers will move and conform into this area.” He cautions that this Another FPP distinguisher, already demonstrated by Cevotec movement also depends upon the type of material placed to form in series production (see Learn More, p. 85), is the ability to effithe preform. ciently produce curvilinear paths in the preform. “You cannot do For thermoplastic preforms, Dobiasch contends that robotic this with tape laying,” Groene insists. placement can achieve true 3D shapes, “but consolidation “We are producing 2D layups because this is requires a second step and you must production in automotive today,” maintains work in 2.5D to hit a 1-minute takt Dr. Matthias Meyer at Broetje Automation time. We have not seen 100% consoli(Rastede, Germany). “We can have a touch dation of thermoplastic tows during For thermoplastic preforms, of 3D in our layers, but truly 3D layup is layup of true 3D shapes.” Dobiasch contends that too cost-intensive for the auto industry.” FILL Gesellschaft (Gurten, Austria) is robotic placement can Compositence (Leonberg, Germany) working to further develop its AFP achieve true 3D shapes. also claims an ability to achieve system for 2.5D and 3D preforms, aiming preform geometry between 2D to reduce forming steps required before and 3D — i.e., 2.5D — a concept molding. This system reportedly will be already widespread in CNC machining able to process a range of materials, including and computer graphics. “This is the maximum we can reach, prepregs, thermoplastic tapes or dry fiber tapes.  depending on the geometry of the preform, because the diameter Continuous 3D preform processing line of the compaction roller and size of the placement head prevents Another process that claims true 3D preforms with no further reaching every angle for fiber placement,” Thomas Dobiasch, head forming steps has been developed by COPRO Technology (Braunof sales, explains. However, Compositence’ patented edge fixation schweig, Germany). A spin-off from the German Aerospace for accelerated 2D placement provides a kind of “work-around” for Center (DLR) facility in which it is located, COPRO emerged from achieving 3D layups. “It allows us to pull fibers into areas that we research with Airbus and aerocomposites suppliers to automate cannot reach due to the size of the AFP head,” says Dobiasch. “Our preforms for aircraft door frames. Its patented continuous process software calculates the total fiber length needed to conform into 82

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Automated Preforming,NEWS Part 2

FIG. 4

TFP scrims: wash- or melt-away convenience

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Orienting fiber in shapes other than just a straight line, ShapeTex preforms are stitched to a substrate (e.g., thin fiber scrim, recycled fiber veil, fabric) some of which can be washed away prior to resin transfer molding or melted during hot pressing of commingled laminates. Source | ShapeTex

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now extends to fuselage frames, wing and empennage stringers as well as nonaerospace parts, such as automotive sills, rails and struts, wind turbine blade spars, and frames for trailers and industrial machines. The process uses rollers to feed, shape and consolidate layers of reinforcements, eliminating preform tooling while enabling fast production of profiles. C-, T- and Z-profiles and typical closed shapes are enabled, but so are shapes with variable curvature, cross-section, width and thickness. “We use roll-forming like in the metals industry,” says COPRO managing director Henrik Borgwardt, “but we can make more complex shapes.” “The input reinforcements depend on the profile geometry and structural design,” says co-founder Arne Stahl, “but for stringers and beams, we can use anything on a roll. The rollers sit on linear tracks so they can move from side to side to change the width and taper of the profile.” (Fig. 3, p. 82). “We can also achieve joggles in this way,” he adds. Joggles are bump-outs or local changes in the profile’s shape enabling it to conform to its mating surface (i.e., stringer to wingskin) throughout thickness changes (e.g., ply buildups and drop-offs).

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FEATURE: AUTOMATED PREFORMING, PART 2

“For consolidation, the rollers provide compaction and we have used infrared heating to tack the bindered dry fabrics or prepregs,” says Borgwardt. “We’ve also used inductive heating for faster process time and thicker laminates.” COPRO has processed straight profiles with as many as 10 layers at speeds of 400 mm/sec, and curved profiles, with as many as four layers, at a rate of 50 mm/sec for more complex shapes, such as door surround frames, which use as many as three layers of biaxial or triaxial NCF (e.g., ±45° or ±45°/90°). The COPRO approach handles localized shaping. But can it provide local reinforcements? “We can start and stop input bands like an ATL head,” says Stahl. “We do the same for stringer flanges, feeding in 0° unis from extra side spools, or start extra layers before a joggle and stop after a joggle. We can also combine with a pick-and-place robot for other types of patches.”

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TFP evolves CW reported on the use of tailored fiber placement (TFP) for preforming in 2013 (see Learn More). “The first automotive composites application for TFP was 15 years ago in the engine brackets of the Bugatti Veyron,” says Tailored Innovations (Highland, MI, US) founder Tommy Fristedt. He notes that more than 100 TFP machines, adapted from industrial embroidery equipment, have been installed for preforming composites in Europe and Asia. TAJIMA GmbH/Filacon Systems (Winterlingen, Germany) has a license to sell the machines. “TFP allows orienting the fiber in shapes other than just a straight line,” says Fristedt, “for example, as reinforcements for holes and hard points for attachments.” It can use glass, carbon, aramid and polymer fibers in a range of tow sizes. “We have processed heavy fiber, up to 610K, from Oak Ridge National Laboratory [Oak Ridge, TN, US],” he adds, “but, of course, this has to be combined with knowledge of how to achieve resin impregnation to achieve a good preform design.” Patrick Schiebel, a research engineer at Faserinstitut Bremen eV (FIBRE, Bremen, Germany), has worked with TFP for 12 years and is now developing preforms that use a single thermoplastic as reinforcement and stitch fiber. “We have produced load-optimized preforms, which are quickly thermoformed into parts,” he explains. “The Airbus A350 window frames, made using TFP, are processed in four hours, using RTM, but require only half an hour with thermoplastics.” These preforms also may be overmolded to integrate bosses, ribs and attachment points into the final part. “We’ve made preforms using this technique with polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and polyaryletherketone (PAEK from Victrex [Cleveleys, UK],” says Schiebel. He points out that the preconsolidated preform must be heated again to get a good interface with the overmolded plastic. Using the lower melt temperature PAEK as preform and overmolding with PEEK works well (see Learn More). “You can also use PA6 and PA66,” adds Schiebel, who also reports making preforms with curved paths as small as 10 mm in diameter.

Automated Preforming,NEWS Part 2

Shape Machining Ltd. (Witney, UK) also is using TFP to produce thermoplastic composite preforms (Fig. 4, p. 83). “Our technology came from working with Stuttgart University,” says managing director Peter McCool. His company is producing ShapeTex preforms using SYNERGEX commingled fibers from Coats (Uxbridge, UK). “Our most popular materials are carbon fiber/polyamide for automotive, carbon fiber/PEEK for aerospace and carbon fiber/polypropylene for recreational applications,” says McCool. Because the technology is based on stitching, a substrate is required, but he maintains there are many options available. “We can apply to a thin fiber

Read this article online | short.compositesworld.com/PreformPt2 Read more about Fiber Patch Preforming online | short.compositesworld.com/Kiteboard

low annual production volumes. “The number of inquiries we’ve CW senior editor Ginger Gardiner has an had is staggering,” notes McCool. engineering/materials background and “There is a great deal of interest in more than 20 years of experience in the the ability to produce optimized composites industry.  [email protected] composite parts in an industrialized way while minimizing waste.” For more detailed discussions of these and other preforming processes, standardized drapability testing, preform simulation software and solutions for aerospace and wind energy structures, please see the CW Blog’s Preforming series online | short.compositesworld.com/AutoPFBlog.

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scrim, recycled fiber veils or anyone’s fabric,” McCool explains. “We can wash it away prior to RTM and also use a variety of backing materials that are compatible with hot pressing of commingled laminates.” With a background in Formula 1 racing and carbon fiber prepreg, McCool appreciates TFP’s ability to align fibers only and exactly where needed. “There is no fabric to trim or cut,” he says, “so there’s very little waste. With our advanced FEA capability, we can be quite smart in the development of efficient preforms.” The company is scaling up one automated production line for aerospace and another for automotive. “For the latter, we’re starting a project aimed at 15,000 parts per year,” says McCool, noting that each machine is equipped, standard, with a dozen identical stitching heads, enabling it to produce as many as 12 preforms, simultaneously. “We can also lay down larger tows for higher throughput.” He says Shape has already demonstrated hot pressing capability for high-quality parts and is ramping that to

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Early aerospace composite material makes a comeback These fiber metal laminates combine aluminum with fiberglass prepreg, offering many advantages for fuselage structure. The GKN Aerospace Fokker business makes the panels in Papendrecht, The Netherlands. Source (all image) | Fokker business of GKN Aerospace

Fiber-metal laminates in the spotlight Interest in FMLs is growing again as aeroengineers search for lightweight solutions adaptable to new narrowbody commercial aircraft. By Sara Black / Senior Editor

»

There is no doubt that composites have earned their way into aerospace structure, as evidenced by The Boeing Co.’s (Chicago, IL, US) and Airbus’ (Toulouse, France) leap to composite wing and fuselage structures in the 787 and the A350 XWB, respectively. But recent questions about whether those same composites could be practical replacements for the thin aluminum fuselage skins found on aging narrowbody, single-aisle aircraft, such as Boeing’s 737 and the Airbus A320, have helped revive interest in already certified hybrid materials called fiber-metal laminates (FMLs) that combine metal and composite products and are designed to take advantage of the best qualities of each material class.

Genesis in fatigue performance Riveted aluminum aircraft structures are vulnerable to fatigue cracking. FMLs were the result of a long investigation into ways to improve aluminum fatigue performance by bonding multiple thin layers of the metal with polymer adhesives. “Our company began 86

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developing metal bonded structures, consisting of thin aluminum sheets hot-bonded together, from the early 1950s, a technique that helped reduce weight and crack growth in aircraft,” says Maarten van Mourik, director of programs at GKN Aerospace’s (Redditch, UK) Fokker business (Papendrecht, The Netherlands). The transition to a metal/composite hybrid, however, came about 30 years later, during work done by Fokker in cooperation with researchers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft, Delft, The Netherlands). “To further increase fatigue performance, in the early 1980s, our technologists started investigating the addition of fibers to the adhesive bond lines.” The Fokker/TU Delft collaboration led to the concept of fiber-metal laminates (FMLs) as a distinct class of hybrid composites for aircraft structure. After the demise of the original Fokker Aircraft company in 1996, focused research continued at TU Delft, in close cooperation with Alcoa (New York City, NY, US), Dutch chemical company Akzo (now AkzoNobel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

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and Airbus, with support from the Dutch government as well as European Union-supported projects. These activities were vital in evolving the FML concept to a level where it ultimately became a new structural material with design principles that gave it distinct advantages over aluminum, says van Mourik. FMLs generated considerable interest in the aircraft industry when introduced in the late 1980s, due to their performance and weight savings potential. They were ultimately certified and adopted by several airframers in primary structure. First known as Arall (Aramid Reinforced Aluminum laminate) aimed at wing applications, then as Glare (Glass fiber-reinforced aluminum) for fuselage structure, and more recently as High Static Strength Glare, FMLs have been investigated by numerous OEMs, including Boeing, which considered FMLs as reinforcement material for the longeron of the A10 close air-support aircraft. Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, MD, US) successfully investigated the potential of Glare FMLs for weight savings and increased life for lower wingskins on Hercules C130 aircraft. FMLs also found use in the C130 flaps, in the aft cargo door of the McDonnell Douglas C-17, in the Airbus A400M frames, and, beginning in 2000, in the Airbus A380’s upper fuselage and tail leading edges. But van Mourik points out that the original purpose for which these hybrid laminates were developed is still a concern: “Fuselage structure, as shown by the Aloha Airlines Flight 243 accident (see Learn More, p. 93), is susceptible to fatigue damage and failure due to pressurization cycles, and can really benefit from FMLs.” And as OEMs begin to evaluate materials for new narrowbody commercial aircraft, interest in this material has re-ignited. In response, GKN Aerospace’s Fokker business is developing, with partnerfirms Airbus, Premium Aerotec GmbH (Augsburg, Germany) and Stelia Aerospace (Toulouse, France, see Learn More), both of which also produce FML panels for Airbus, automated manufacturing methods to meet the anticipated demand.

0° direction = rolling direction of aluminum layers 90° direction

AL layer UD prepeg layer with fibers in 0° direction UD prepeg layer with fibers in 90° direction AL layer UD prepeg 90° UD prepeg 0° AL layer

FIG. 1 An advantageous multi-material mix FMLs address fatigue, a serious structural integrity issue on aircraft, by bonding together alternating layers of treated aluminum sheet (AL) and fiber/epoxy UD prepreg as shown in this diagram typical of GLARE construction.

FIG. 2 Building big panels seamlessly This representation shows how splicing connects layers, where edges meet, to create larger panels.

A synergistic combination Fokker’s FMLs address fatigue by bonding alternating layers of treated aluminum sheet and fiber/epoxy prepreg (see Fig. 1, above right). When TU Delft researchers substituted glass fiber for the aramid fiber employed in the first-generation Arall panels of the 1980s to create Glare, the choice proved serendipitous. The S-2 Glass, sourced from AGY (Aiken, SC, US), was more compatible with aluminum properties, and improved the laminate’s fatigue performance as well as impact, corrosion and fire resistance, without hindering the aluminum’s good lightning strike properties. The glass layers stopped crack growth, eliminating the need for expensive titanium crack-stopper straps previously used at highly loaded airframe locations. And, the glass fibers increased the material’s elastic strain capacity, enabling it to absorb more impact energy. Further, impact damage resulting from ground operations or abrasion would be visible on the surface, something not always true in the case of compositesonly fabrication.

FIG. 3 Doubling up for doors and fasteners A close-up of a completed panel that contains a door opening shows how the FML is built up with doublers to meet projected loads and fastener locations.

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1 A  luminum sheet is decoiled from the supplied rolls in this machine, which cuts sheets to length and flattens them.

3 W  orkers begin manual layup of an FML panel. Fokker says automated methods for this step have been developed and will be implemented soon.

2 P rimed, cut aluminum sheets are re-rolled, with a protective paper layer, which prevents metal-to-metal contact, and are then covered in protective black plastic for storage until needed in fabrication.

4 F ML panel layup occurs in aluminum female panel molds. Note the registration pins and the laser ply layup lines projected onto the layup.

Today, the structure and the manufacturing process of FML have evolved. Van Mourik and Fokker employees Pim Tamis, Cees van Hengel and Peter Kortbeek described the following materials and process steps developed and currently used to form the A380 panels. FML manufacture starts with rolls of bare aluminum sheet from a variety of suppliers, 1.2-1.5m wide, with sheet thickness ranging from 0.3-0.4 mm. GKN Aerospace’s Fokker business uses both Al2024 aerospace-grade aluminum, an aluminum-coppermagnesium alloy with high corrosion and fatigue resistance, and Al7475 aluminum, the highest-strength and highest-toughness alloy available, which comprises aluminum-zinc-copper-magnesium, for its current FML offerings. Airbus, van Mourik notes, also has successfully investigated aluminum-lithium FML, for maximum performance, with Dutch technology partners. For unidirectional 88

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glass fiber/epoxy prepreg, the most common supplier is Solvay Composite Materials (Alpharetta, GA, US) from its Heanor, Derbyshire, UK, facility. In the initial step, a custom-built machine decoils the aluminum from rolls, flattens the sheeting and cuts it to lengths of up to 11m for some panels. Next, the cut sheets are milled in accordance with the overall design. For example, cuts are made for window openings and to define the outlines of stringers or ribs that subsequently will be bonded to the panel. Milled sheets are then transferred via a handling system to the chemical treatment area, where degreasing with a solvent is followed by “pickling” to remove any oxide layers on the aluminum. Sheets are then anodized in an electrochemical bath of chromic acid, which creates a new, controlled oxide layer, which ensures a good

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7 C ompleted panels are milled to ensure a smooth surface.

5 Completed layups are autoclave-cured for 3.5 hours. Cure temperature depends on the laminate type in production.

6 A completed cured panel undergoes C-scan inspection.

8 A completed panel with stringers attached undergoes final inspection.

surface for bonding. (The company notes that it is working on next-generation “greener” chemical options for anodizing.) Next, the treated sheets are transferred to an area where automated equipment sprays them with primer, a step called bond priming. Primed, cut sheets are re-rolled, with a protective paper layer preventing metal-to-metal contact, and covered in protective black plastic for storage until needed in fabrication. Panel layup occurs by hand in aluminum female panel molds (for large, relatively flat panels) or on jigs for smaller, more complex parts with cutouts. Laser projection systems, sourced from Virtek Vision International (Waterloo, ON, Canada), guide layup by indicating exactly where sheet overlaps will occur, in coordination with registration pins on the jigs and molds. A prepared aluminum sheet is first down in the mold and,

depending on the size of the final panel, is overlapped with an additional sheet or sheets by approximately 25 mm. Epoxy film adhesive (the same epoxy as employed in the glass fiber prepreg) in the overlap holds the splices together. This allows considerably larger panels than standard aluminum plate aircraft builds, explains van Mourik. “Splicing joins the sheets together for much larger panels, which helps simplify aircraft manufacture since fewer panels are needed. We can produce panels up to 44m2,” he says, “and are really limited only by the size of the autoclave.” Fig. 2 (p. 87) shows how panel designs can be built up by splicing the FML laminates with additional epoxy film adhesive, to create larger and/or complexly curved parts, and, he adds, to optimize panel weight distribution.

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Fiber-metal Laminates NEWS

FIG. 4 Preparing for singleaisle program automation This robot is fitted with a manipulator designed to place both aluminum sheets and prepreg sheets into a contoured mold, such as the one pictured here to form 3D parts. The photo shows a robot with a shorter manipulator but next to it (unseen) is a robot with a larger manipulator, and the two robots can be paired and operated in sync to put down lengthy sheets. Although this technology’s status was TRL4 — still very much in the R&D phase — at CW presstime, Fokker is certain that automated layup of this type is feasible at speeds high enough to accommodate single-aisle commercial aircraft production rates.

Glass/epoxy prepreg in widths of 460 mm is placed over the initial aluminum sheet in the orientations dictated by the design. As shown in Fig. 1, the glass prepreg plies are typically oriented in a 0°/90° configuration, but any fiber orientation can be employed to meet a specific design case. Prepreg roll edges are typically butted to cover larger panels, but in some cases, controlled overlaps are allowed for double-curved panels. Layup continues, with alternating plies of aluminum and prepreg, as required,

to build up the panel’s thickness. The thinnest FML laminate is 2/1, or two aluminum layers sandwiching a prepreg layer; much thicker laminates up to 33/32 are possible for highly loaded areas. “The most common FML designs are 3/2, 4/3 and 5/4 laminates,” explains van Mourik. “The benefit of these designs is that the fibers take the load if the aluminum microcracks, which suppresses crack growth. We can design panels of varying thickness by fuselage location, depending on the loads, for

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example, around windows or doors or at frame locations where fasteners will be used — additional layers can be added internally, or additional FML layers can be bonded on the outside of a panel, as doublers.” Layups are vacuum bagged, then transferred to the autoclave. Cure takes 3.5 hours at 120°C for standard Glare (up to 180°C for High Static Strength Glare), with a ramp rate of 2-5°C/min at 11 bar. Following cure and demolding, panels undergo C-Scan inspection, followed by another round of milling, to ensure a smooth surface. Finally, panels are painted, then expedited to customer assembly locations.

A new generation of hybrid material FML panels are ultimately thinner than aluminum alone because they perform better

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in fatigue — so weight is at least 15% to as much as 25% less than aluminum alone. Because of the lighter weight, panels can be made larger, spanning larger areas of the fuselage. Larger, thinner panels provide cascading benefits throughout the airframe, because fewer brackets, supporting ribs and fasteners are required, and assembly can be accomplished faster. The use of Glare on the upper fuselage of the Airbus A380, for example, saved more than 1,000 kg, compared to aluminum, and the material has performed better than aluminum alone with regard to lightning strike and under the tension loads imposed on the fuselage by passenger cabin pressurization cycles during aircraft service. Van Mourik points out that the economics of FMLs fit best with heavily scheduled commercial aircraft, where “FMLs reduce cost of ownership for airlines because of better fatigue performance, and much longer inspection intervals can be put in place, which saves on maintenance.” Longer fatigue life and weight savings, he notes, aren’t as critical to owners of business jets or general aviation aircraft. There is one sticking point: For now, Airbus is the sole customer for glass-reinforced FMLs, due primarily to arrangements made with the OEM when it invested in the material’s development. Also, patents have limited its applications to aircraft built in Europe, although that situation might change, going forward. Nevertheless, van Mourik asserts, “We believe the properties of FML and its additional interlinked advantages make it the best fuselage material, with the best design principle.” And it may be the ideal material choice for new narrowbody aircraft fuselage structure, he explains. “Fiber-reinforced polymer composites require a minimum thickness to resist damage,” he points out, “so while they made sense for larger twin-aisles, they are not the logical choice for smaller narrowbody craft,” says van Mourik, adding, “That minimum skin thickness takes away composites’ weight advantage.” FMLs also offer some distinct processing and cost advantages.

Fiber-metal Laminates NEWS

Comparing the manufacturing process of FMLs with current composites, FML manufacture employs aluminum molds where today’s large, typically carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) structures often require costly Invar tooling. Further, FML cure temperatures are much lower than those required for CFRP. This, in combination with the lower raw material cost and greater automation, can bring FML applications for primary structures into the cost range of aluminum, which is at least half that of a composite design.

costs down. FML has huge innovation potential for functional integration of systems.” Sara Black is a CW senior editor and has For a company that believes in served on the CW staff for 19 years. [email protected] taking advantage of what each of the available aerospace materials can offer a customer in a finished product and desires to develop optimized production processes, FMLs offer an ideal opportunity to cultivate both. 2017_RTS_AD_Tool_A_4.375x6.875.pdf

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Read this article online | short.compositesworld.com/FMLsRBack Read more online about the Aloha Airlines Flight 243 accident | short.compositesworld.com/AAFlt243 Read more online about metal fatigue as a factor in Comet aircraft crashes | short.compositesworld.com/MFComet FML manufacturing also is discussed online at the CW Blog in “The resurgence of Glare” | short.compositesworld.com/REGlare

FMLs, like metals, also avoid the add-ons needed for composites to provide electrical functions, such as lightning strike mesh, electrical shielding and return paths. FML manufacture will become less expensive, going forward, as GKN Aerospace’s Fokker business continues work on an industrial automation project, with Airbus Premium Aerotec GmbH and Stelia Aerospace. Smart, automated and robotized production technology will enable higher-volume production rates and increase affordability for OEMs. The company continues to improve FML with “disruptive” concepts, including embedding heating elements for deicing, embedding antennae within the laminate to replace drag-inducing exterior antennae, and producing “wired” FML with embedded electrical systems for structural health monitoring. Concludes van Mourik: “Our automated concepts will continue to bring

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COMPOSITES COMFORT WHEELCHAIR TRAVELERS Long-carbon fiber thermoplastics replace aluminum in more forgiving front casters.

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› Disabled people who require wheelchairs for mobility typically feel every bump in the road. As their chairs encounter obstacles others might consider insignificant — cracks and uneven surfaces — they experience jolts that can cause fatigue and, for some riders, cause pain that requires medication. The rough ride, according to Frog Legs Inc. (Ottumwa, IA, US), is traceable primarily to the wheelchair’s front casters. Founded in 1997 by Mark Chelgren, the company started up after a chance encounter with a quadriplegic rugby team. A discussion about their wheelchairs led Chelgren to develop an alternative to the rigid casters used for the wheelchairs’ front wheels. Instead of fixed forks that require the wheel to move up and over obstructions — bouncing the rider in the process — Chelgren designed his forks with a patented pivot point and wedge-shaped shock absorber, fashioned from aluminum, that allows them to move smoothly over impediments in an arc path, functioning much like airplane landing gear. In 2016, Chelgren felt he and Frog Legs could produce a better product by switching from machined aluminum to an even lighter alternative. “We are always being pushed to lighten our products. People with disabilities are greatly affected by any additional weight.” That effort led them to carbon fiber composites and to PlastiComp Inc. (Winona, MN, US), a supplier of long fiber-reinforced thermoplastics and technologies. PlastiComp provided not only the material, but also assistance to ensure the material change would be successful. “We looked at a different type of manufacturing process than machining. Injection molding allowed us to have a much more complex shape, and carbon fiber composites really gave us advantages in what our design parameters could be,” relates Chelgren. Rather than settle for “black aluminum,” a new fork design was created, one that would be almost impossible to machine or forge in metal, he adds. Toward that end, Frog Legs took advantage of PlastiComp’s application design and performance analysis services throughout its product development cycle. “In my opinion, PlastiComp became our partner in making a better product,” says Chelgren. “It was a collaborative process — we weren’t going it alone.” The second-generation caster wheels make use of two PlastiComp long carbon fiber-reinforced composite materials. A long carbon fiber-reinforced nylon 6/6 composite is used in the wheel forks, and a long carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic polyurethane makes up the wheel hub. PlastiComp developed the reinforced polyurethane to enable it to chemically bond with the urethane used for the outer rolling surface of the wheel. Says Chelgren, “With an aluminum hub, the dissimilar materials never fully bond and can slip.” Six months of development were followed by a few months of testing. During that time, the new design passed RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America, Arlington, VA, US) industry standard tests, which subjected the casters to severe impact and drop forces. The resulting pair of Frog Legs casters made from PlastiComp materials weigh 33% (280g) less than the legacy aluminum casters. And, the new product can decrease vibration not only in wheelchairs but also in any type of caster-equipped rolling equipment, concludes Chelgren. CompositesWorld

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ADVERTISING INDEX

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Abaris Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

CAMX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Airtech International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 22

CGTech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back cover

Altair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Chem-Trend Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Amamco Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Cincinnati Testing Labs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Anderson America Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Composites One LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside front cover

Anguil Environmental Systems Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

CVC Specialty Chemicals Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Arkema Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Design Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Automated Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Desma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Baltek Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Dexmet Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

BASF Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Diatex S.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

BASF Corp., Aerospace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Eastman Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Burnham Composite Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Elliott Co. of Indianapolis Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

SEPTEMBER 2017

CompositesWorld

ADVERTISING INDEX / SHOWCASE

ADVERTISING INDEX

SHOWCASE

Ferry Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Fives Cincinnati . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Composites Testing Bearing Strength Compression Fatigue Flexure Mechanical Testing Peel Resistance Physical Properties Thermal Analysis

Geiss LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Greenerd Press & Machine Co., Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Grieve Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Gurit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Heatcon Composite Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Henkel Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Hexcel Composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Hexion Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Hufschmied USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

WMT&R WMT&R

World Leaders in materials testing WESTMORELAND MECHANICAL TESTING & RESEARCH [email protected] 724.537.3131 www.WMTR.com

HyComp Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Flame Retardant Adhesive

Ingersoll Machine Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

EP90FR-V meets FAR standard 14 CFR 25.853(a)

Janicki Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 LMG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

• Superior electrical insulation

LMT Onsrud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

• Ideal for potting and sealing

Magnolia Advanced Materials Inc. . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover

• Passes vertical burn test

Matec Instrument Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Material Testing Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 McClean Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 McLube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

+1.201.343.8983

Mecanumeric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

•

www.masterbond.com

Michelman Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Mokon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Nidaplast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Nordson Sealant Equipment Engineering Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Omax Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Pacific Coast Composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Precision Fabrics Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

616 INDUSTRIAL STREET, SUITE 101

Pro-Set Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

HOOD RIVER, OR 97031

Renegade Materials Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

541-359-2980

Roth Composite Machinery GmbH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

WWW.REALCARBON.COM

Santex Rimar AG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

CUSTOM CARBON FABRICATION

SciGrip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

PROTOTYPE DESIGN AND DEVELOPEMENT

SikaAxson US . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Smart Tooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 SPE Automotive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Staubli Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Superior Tool Service Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Wabash MPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Technical Fibre Products Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Walton Process Technologies Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

TenCate Advanced Composites USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Web Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

TMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Weber Manufacturing Technologies Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Torr Technologies Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Wisconsin Oven Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Unitech Aerospace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Wyoming Test Fixtures Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Vectorply Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Zund America Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

CompositesWorld.com

99

FOCUS ON DESIGN

Variable-axial composites open path to lighter composite structures CFRP recurve bow riser demonstrates design and manufacturing approach with potential to cut weight vs. aluminum by 50-75% while increasing strength and stiffness. By Ginger Gardiner / Senior Editor

»

Tailored fiber placement (TFP) is an automated preforming technology that uses modified CNC embroidery machines to create preforms for lightweight, load-optimized composite structures with practically zero waste. Equipped with multiple stitching heads, these industrial machines can perform 1,000 zigzag stitches per minute per head at a speed of 5 m/min. According to licensed supplier TAJIMA GmbH/ FilaCon Systems (Winterlingen, Germany), more than 100 TFP machines have been installed for producing composites in Europe and Asia. Parts manufactured include Airbus A350 window frames, helicopter longerons, bicycle brake levers and other sporting goods parts, as well as structural automotive components (see Learn More, p. 103). A TFP strength is its ability to produce fiber patterns to meet practically any load path, including curvilinear shapes with radii as tight as 5 mm. Because it can deposit continuous fiber with such a high degree of freedom, TFP is described as filling a gap between additive manufacturing and automated fiber placement (AFP). “TFP enables variable-axial composites,” says Dr. Axel Spickenheuer, head of the complex structures group in the Composites Department at Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research (IPF, Dresden, Germany), where TFP was developed. “Multiaxial composites are made of unidirectional layers, with each discrete layer having constant thickness and fiber orientation,” he explains. “In variable-axial composites, both thickness and fiber orientation may be locally adjusted to meet stiffness or bearing load requirements.” Spickenheuer’s group demonstrated computeraided modeling and efficient manufacturing of a variable-axial composite via the rec16 recurve bow riser. A recurve bow is identified by curved tips at either end, which increase the bow’s speed and the smoothness of its release. Widely used in target archery, it is the only style of bow permitted in the Olympics. Higher poundage recurve bows are used in field archery and bowhunting. The bow’s riser is the center structure 100

SEPTEMBER 2017

FIG. 1 Besting both aluminum and legacy CFRP bows This uniquely shaped composite riser, the central section of the rec16 recurve bow, uses four sets of two complex TFP preforms (see drawing, next page) and resin infusion to optimize riser weight and mechanical performance and bring bow response to levels not previously attainable. Source (All images) | Leibniz Institut für Polymerforschung

that connects the top and bottom limbs, and where the bow grip and sight are attached (see drawing, next page). The effort was so successful, the riser captured a 2017 JEC Innovation Award. But Spickenheuer points out, “Our objective was not to become a manufacturer of bow risers, but instead to demonstrate this design and manufacturing approach as a valid, cost-effective means of achieving next-generation composite parts.”

Five-step design process The recurve bow was, however, an excellent choice for a demonstration. Although risers for such bows are most often made from aluminum, and weigh 950-1,400g, they also are made from wood and carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP). However, most CFRP risers, weighing in at 1,000-1,350g, aren’t any lighter than aluminum. Speckenheuer’s team at IPF knew that, with TFP, they could do better. The design approach for the rec16 recurve bow riser began with identification of the structure’s load cases. A linear process was then followed, comprising five basic steps. The first step was completing topology optimization, using finite element analysis (FEA) software tools, including TOSCA (Dassault Systèmes, VélizyVillacoublay, France). Topology optimization (TO) uses numerical analysis to find the best distribution of material given an optimization goal — in this case, lightest weight — and set of design constraints (for the riser, 200N lateral load, 635 mm height). Applied to any material, not

CompositesWorld

Design for TFP

Top limb

Reaction forces (FR)

Preform A

Sight Grip

Preform B

Riser (635 mm) 60 kg draw force (FD = 200N)

Bottom limb

Reaction forces (FR)

TFP path 1 path 2

TFP Preforms for rec16 Recurve Bow Riser

› The CFRP rec16 recurve bow riser design

reduces riser weight by 40%, to only 600g compared to the 960g version constructed of aluminum.

› The linear design process enables replacement of highly loaded aluminum parts with superior performing, lighter weight composites.

› Demonstrated cost-effective manufacturing

using TFP and resin infusion, including molded-in metallic inserts for attaching bow limbs integrated into the one-piece riser. Illustration / Karl Reque

just composites, it begins by taking a basic volume of isotropic material and removing from it to maximize the objective. For example, a bracket no longer comprises solid planar pieces, but instead, material is placed only along load paths, resulting in a very organic-looking structure, similar to a tree limb. Based on the TO results, students from the University of Applied Science, Faculty of Design (Dresden, Germany) worked with the IPF group to develop an initial shape (Fig. 2, p. 102).

In Step 2, the TO result was developed into a 3D model, using Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks. This model was used to complete a principal stress analysis, using ANSYS finite element (FE) software (ANSYS Inc., Canonsburg, PA, US). The main load case for this FEA stress analysis was a typical recurve bow draw force of 60 kg or 200N. In Step 3, the results of the principal stress analysis were used to draw an initial fiber pattern, using 2D CAD software.

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FOCUS ON DESIGN

FIG. 2 Complex, asymmetrical path to performance The basic shape of the rec16 bow riser was developed from topology optimization results (top) and then refined using FEA software with 2D and then 3D CAD models (center and bottom). The bottom image shows the 3D CAD model from the bow’s front (as seen from the bow master’s target), highlighting the riser’s 3D, out-of-plane shape.

Materials and manufacturing

TABLE 1 Designing for TFP The five-step design process for variable-axial composite structures using Tailored Fiber Placement.

1. Topology optimization (isotropic model) 2. Principal stress analysis (isotropic model) 3. Initial fiber layout/TFP pattern design 4. FEA including local fiber orientation and thickness distribution 5. Final optimization of fiber pattern

This pattern was applied in Step 4 to derive a 3D FE model, using Advanced Optimal Path Software (AOPS) developed by IPF. AOPS features import and export functionality for several FE solvers, and can generate and export principal stress trajectory plots of an initial structural calculation to create an optimized TFP pattern. When the TFP fiber path had been refined to consider manufacturing aspects, AOPS became an FE pre-processor, generating a 3D variable-axial composite model that would account for specific local fiber orientation as well as the local variable thickness of the intended TFP part. This enabled a design loop, where every change of the curvilinear fiber layout led to a different FE model with specific structural properties. With this tool, composites engineers can manually optimize even complex curvilinear fiber structures to achieve the overall structural objectives. In Step 5, the basic fiber pattern of the riser’s 3D design was refined for the TFP manufacturing process by using EDOpath software (TAJIMA/FilaCon), which transforms the path data into a CNC-based stitch pattern that is readable by modern TFP machines. The final riser design called for eight carbon fiber preforms — four sets each split between preform A and preform B (see right side of drawing, p. 101) — which were stacked to achieve a symmetric laminate. 102

SEPTEMBER 2017

The fiber chosen to create the rec16 riser was 24K ultrahighmodulus (UHM) carbon by TohoTenax Europe GmbH (Wuppertal and Heinsberg, Germany) with a nominal linear density of 800 tex. It was applied and fixed with a 10-tex polyester stitching yarn onto a 108-g/m² woven glass fabric. The preforms were produced at IPF, using a TAJIMA dual-head machine (Fig. 3). The riser was resin infused, using epoxy resin. Because the molding process did not require high pressure, but only vacuum, less costly tooling could have been used. But because the riser structure features many openings and an out-of-plane 3D shape, and requires integrated metal inserts as well as a high-quality surface finish, an unsealed but closed aluminum tool was selected, i.e., multi-part molds were matched but not designed to seal as they would be for resin injection. The manufactured preforms were placed in the tool and infused with PoxySystems EP L + EPH L room-temperature-cure epoxy resin supplied by R&G Faserverbundwerkstoffe (Waldenbuch, Germany). No further trimming or machining was required.

Redefining designs, revolutionizing properties The CFRP rec16 riser design reduces weight to 600g, a 40% weight reduction, while increasing the mass-specific stiffness by 43%. “Manufacturing waste was also reduced,” notes Spickenheuer, “especially in comparison to milled aluminum risers.” Further iteration of the rec16 riser design is in process. “We did not achieve sufficient bending stiffness with the first preforms, which causes too much torsion in the upper arm,” Spickenheuer explains, “so we will increase the use of ±45° fibers.” “TFP makes it possible to place carbon tows in any orientation to match the highly stressed regions of the part architecture,” he points out. “The results are complex curvilinear structured preforms that are able to utilize the full potential of anisotropic carbon fiber composites.”

CompositesWorld

Design for TFP

FIG. 3 TFP at home with disruptive technology A Tajima dual-head TFP machine stitches mirror copies of Preform A for the rec16 recurve bow riser, using carbon fiber and polyester stitch yarn (top photo). Aluminum tooling was used to achieve the bow riser’s many openings, out-of-plane 3D shape and integrated metal inserts with a high-quality surface finish (center). Tooling costs for another project — a racecar’s CFRP rear wing attachments — were reduced dramatically by 3D printing a plastic master from which a silicon rubber lower mold was created and used to resin infuse the parts (bottom).

Spickenheuer’s team has since employed a similar five-step design process to redesign and replace two aluminum attachments for the rear wing of a racecar, using variable-axial CFRP. The original aluminum part weighed 397g. The main load case was a 750N downforce. Five TFP CFRP wing attachment designs were compared, as was a more conventional quasi-isotropic, multiaxial composite design. In numerical calculations, the best TFP variable-axial design increased mass-specific part stiffness compared to the multiaxial CFRP part by 68% and reduced weight by roughly 50%. However, compared to the original metal part, specific stiffness was increased by 236% while mass was cut by almost 75%. The TFP CFRP part was designed as a sandwich structure to improve out-of-plane bending stiffness. This was achieved by stitching one of the two required symmetrical preforms onto a 4-mm thick layer of Lantor Composites’ (Veenendaal, The Netherlands) Cormat XM, a glass fiber fleece that contains hollow polymer microspheres with a honeycomb pattern imprinted on Read this article online | the surface to promote short.compositesworld.com/rec16Riser resin flow. The second Read more online about TFP | preform was stitched short.compositesworld.com/7QEhsvZ0 onto a 108-g/m² woven glass fabric. Both preforms used the same UHM carbon fiber and polyester stitch yarn featured in the rec16 bow riser. A one-sided mold, adapted for the preforms’ nonhomogeneous thickness distribution, was used to avoid mechanical coupling between in-plane and out-of-plane responses. Because only a few parts were needed, tooling cost was minimized by 3D printing a plastic master from which a silicon rubber lower mold was pulled (Fig. 3, lower left image). The durable, heat-resistant material provided a self-releasing surface; no additional parting agent was required. The attachment preforms were bagged and infused with the same room-temperature epoxy resin used in the bow riser. A 10-hour cure was followed by a 10-hour postcure at 60°C. Finished parts were trimmed, holes were drilled and the parts were attached to the Elbflorace racer SophE, which won its competition in 2016. “We have demonstrated how to combine TFP variable-axial composites with an optimization loop that couples FEA and refinement of the fiber path,” says Spickenheuer, “and proven its ability to produce extremely lightweight, high-performance composite structures.”

CW senior editor Ginger Gardiner has an engineering/ materials background and more than 20 years of experience in the composites industry.  [email protected]

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