- Composites Manufacturing Magazine

Transcription

Preview of CAMX - The Composites and Advanced Materials Expo
CompositesManufacturing
September/October 2015
The Official Magazine of the American Composites Manufacturers Association
University
R&D
Automotive
Market
Update
Thermoplastics
Gain Traction
A M E R I C A N C O M P O S I T E S M A N U FA C T U R E R S A S S O C I AT I O N
www.compositesmanufacturingmagazine.com
Can You
See the
Face?
Composite
Façade
Honors an
Aboriginal
Leader
It’s the
Lean
Mean
Process
Machine...
Redux
It’s the Lean Mean Process Machine….Redux.
A three-day event with over 20 closed mold and advanced process demos in a massive enclosed
staging area. Building real-world parts, from aerospace nose cones and mini nacelles, to marine
dashboards and the coolest long boards you’ll see anywhere! Watch a Light RTM work cell in action,
see time-lapse video showing a 3D-printed mold go from concept to reality in hours, and talk to
closed mold and advanced process experts. Leave with new ideas and insights, and maybe even a
tricked-out skateboard if you win this year’s raffle.
Experience it LIVE at Booth #S94 during CAMX 2015 in Dallas, October 27-29.
Presented LIVE by Composites One, the Closed Mold Alliance and our industry partners
September/October 2015
The Official Magazine of the American Composites Manufacturers Association
8
10
Features
Composites in the Fast Lane .................................. 14
Automakers are featuring CFRP in an increasing number of applications, from body
structures to wheels. And research centers across the globe are finding ways to enhance
carbon fiber-based materials and manufacturing techniques, all in the hopes of
increasing composites usage in the auto industry.
By Mary Lou Jay
A Peek into the Future............................................. 20
20
Market Segments
Architecture........................................... 8
Composite Façade
Sports & Recreation .............................10
CFRP Hydroplane Hulls
Departments & Columns
From the ACMA Chair ....................... 2
Best Practices ....................................... 4
Inside ACMA ...................................... 42
Ad Index ............................................. 47
Postcure Chatter .................................. 48
Universities throughout the United States are working on innovative R&D projects.
Read the latest lab news from MIT, USC, University of Central Florida, Purdue,
Missouri University of Science and Technology, and Washington State University.
By Patrice Aylward and Melissa O’Leary
Thermoplastics Are on the Rise.............................. 29
Short cycle times, tough resins, processing possibilities and recyclability. These top the
list of reasons why thermoplastic composites are gaining market share.
By Susan Keen Flynn
Deep in the Heart of CAMX..................................... 34
CAMX, the Composites and Advanced Materials Expo, hits the Big D this October.
And the lineup of conference sessions and exhibitors is as big as Texas. Plan for the show
with this CAMX preview.
By Evan Milberg
About the Cover: Swanston Square, Melbourne. Photo credit: Peter Bennetts
From the ACMA Chair
Composites
Manufacturing
Volume 31 | Number 5 | September/October 2015
CAMX Hits the Big D
F
rom Oct. 26 – 29, we will host our second annual
Composites and Advanced Materials Expo (CAMX) in
Dallas. Attendees will network with major players across
the industry, participate in live demonstrations, see product
and equipment displays and discover new products and
technologies. You do not want to miss the composites event
of the year! I’m looking forward to connecting with my customers and
peers and spending a few days learning about what is new in
the industry. Keeping up with recent developments can be difficult, so seeing them all
first-hand in one place makes efficient use of my time.
I’m particularly excited for this year’s general session keynote speaker, Dr. J. Gary
Smyth, executive director of global research and development at General Motors. He
will provide a viewpoint of the automotive industry’s use of composites, lessons learned
from the Corvette’s long-term use of composites and insights into the transformational
change going on in the auto industry today. (Before you head to CAMX, check out the
update on the automotive industry on page 14.)
A newcomer to CAMX is the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing
Innovation (IACMI). This organization is embarking upon programs to drive step change
growth in the composites industry. Attendees will learn what the IACMI center means to
the industry, what projects it is working on and who is involved in driving its success.
In response to feedback from last year’s conference, we have extended the dedicated
exhibit hall hours and streamlined the conference program so there is less overlap in
session topics. Concurrent sessions will cover everything from business issues and
regulatory affairs to the latest in materials research and manufacturing innovations.
If you missed the inaugural event last year, you will certainly be impressed with
CAMX. From my experience last fall, I know how important it is to plan your time
wisely. The exhibit hall is huge, with nearly 550 companies. Review the list before you
arrive to ensure you visit the companies you want to see, plus have time to peruse the
hall for new ideas. Networking is important, too, so use the social networking and
appointment setting tools at MyCAMX Planner, available at camx15.mapyourshow.com/.
Dallas is a great venue for the conference, with easy access from most destinations and
plenty of restaurants and entertainment. Can’t wait to see you in the Big D!
Jeff Craney
Crane Composites
ACMA Chairman of the Board
jcraney@cranecomposites.com
2
Official Magazine of the
American Composites Manufacturers Association
Publisher
Tom Dobbins
tdobbins@acmanet.org
Editorial
Managing Editor
Susan Keen Flynn
sflynn@keenconcepts.net
Communications Coordinator
Evan Milberg
emilberg@acmanet.org
Advertising Sales
The YGS Group
717-430-2282
Tima.Good@theygsgroup.com
Editorial Design & Production
Keane Design, Inc.
karol@keanedesign.com
keanedesign.com
All reprint requests should be directed to
The YGS Group at 717-399-1900.
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Arlington, Va 22201
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Online: www.acmanet.org
Composites Manufacturing (ISSN 1084-841X) is
published bi-monthly by the American Composites
Manufacturers Association (ACMA), 3033 Wilson Blvd.,
Suite 420, Arlington, VA 22201 USA. Subscription rates:
Free for members and non-members in the U.S., Canada
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pb.com. Copyright© 2015 by ACMA. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reprinted without permission from the publisher. ACMA, a nonprofit organization
representing the composites industry worldwide, publishes
Composites Manufacturing, circulation 9,000, as a service to
its members and other subscribers. The reader should note
that opinions or statements of authors and advertisers appearing in Composites Manufacturing are their own and do not
necessarily represent the opinions or statements of ACMA, its
Board of Directors or ACMA staff.
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Best Practices
Composite Structural Connections
A
s the polymer composites industry
continues to grow, questions
arise concerning connections between
composites and between composites and
other materials such as metals, wood,
concrete or plastics. This column will
briefly discuss the current industry
methods for making these connections
from the point of view of a registered
design professional practicing in the
pultrusion industry. It will focus on
two common types of composite
connections – mechanical connections
and a combination of mechanical and
bonded connections.
Mechanical Connections
Mechanical connections, which utilize
traditional fasteners such as bolts, screws,
rivets and pins, are currently the preferred
connection method between composites
and between composites and other
materials such as steel, concrete and wood.
Published test data is readily available for
the typical, hex-head bolt as well as screws,
rivets and pins, all of which can be carbon
steel, stainless steel or even polymer
composites. Nylon rivets and pins are
available as well.
In designing these mechanical
connections, engineers most often refer
to them as bearing-type connections
where the connector “bears” against the
composite inside the drilled-hole; forces
are transferred between the composite and
the connector at the surface around the
circumference of the drilled hole. Testing
and calculations can be easily produced to
determine strengths of these connections.
In bearing-type connections, bolt shear
seldom controls in pultruded composite
connections since stainless steel bolts are
the norm and have greater shear strength
than the composite’s pin-bearing strength.
Mechanical connections provide
resistance to tensile and compressive
forces, but what about the well-known
rigid, or semi-rigid, steel connection
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5
Best Practices
(“moment connection”) that offers
rotational strength, bearing and shear
strength and stiffness in a mechanical
connection? Although the pultruded
composites industry would benefit from
having a semi-rigid composite connection
method, it hasn’t yet been formally
developed. While it can be achieved – and
has been done in composite design and
manufacturing – it is very difficult and
isn’t common practice in our industry.
An additional example of a mechanical
connection is integrating pultruded
composites, or even traditional materials,
into molded parts. This integration
has been in practice for many years,
and opinions vary on the best method.
A mechanical connection between a
pultruded shape and a molded shape can
be achieved by fully encapsulating the
pultruded composite in the molded part
so that the connection will not solely
rely on bonding one or more pultruded
surfaces to the molded part during the layup process. Forces are ideally transferred
6
between the parts, normal to the composites’
surfaces. Note that epoxy and resins are often
an exception to this due to their bonding
capabilities to many materials.
Mechanical and Bonded
Connections
A common method for increasing the
strength and durability of a traditional
mechanical connection is to use adhesives.
Epoxy resins are known for their
bonding capabilities to many materials,
therefore epoxy adhesives are often used
in connections between composites and
between composites and other materials
assembled with bolts and adhesives. Twopart urethane adhesives are available with
reliable results as well. The adhesives are
applied to the prepared mating surfaces,
and the connection is assembled with
the completing step being permanent
installation of the mechanical fasteners.
Strength capacities of this connection
are generally higher than mechanical
connections because the load is transferred
from one member to the next over a
greater area.
A less common method for connecting
pultruded shapes is to bond the parts
together using epoxy resins or similar
resins. Reliability of bonded connections is
more difficult to achieve in the field due to
variability in ambient conditions. It can be
successfully performed, and interest and
experience in this method is increasing.
Pultrusion manufacturers and molded
fabricators have information available
for performing each of these connection
types: You can call them, purchase a
professional publication or download a
well-tested guide. Their recommendations
will most often include years of successful
practice and details supported by
laboratory test data.
The guest columnist for this issue’s “Best
Practices” column is Stephen E. Browning,
P.E., a structural engineer with Strongwell
Corporate in Bristol, Va. Email comments
to sbrowning@strongwell.com.
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Architecture
Swanston Square apartment tower
features an image of indigenous tribal
leader William Barak on its south side.
More than 400 GFRP panels of varying
sizes are attached to the building to
create the image. The panels were made
using mouldCAM’s ShapeShell™ building
material.
Composites
Gain Face
Time
8
Photo Credits: Peter Bennetts
I
nside, it’s a typical upscale apartment
building. Outside, the newly completed
Swanston Square mixed-use tower in
Melbourne is not ordinary at all. Viewed
from a distance, the building’s southern
façade reveals the face of William Barak,
an important elder of the indigenous
Wurundjeri tribe that originally owned the
land on which the apartment sits. It’s as if
Barak’s 32-story-high image is gazing out
over the modern city.
“We’re interested in the idea of buildings
that tell a story,” says Jesse Judd, project
director at ARM Architecture, the
Melbourne-based firm that designed the
building. The image is created by placing
white panels of different heights on the
building, which produce the illusion of
light and dark lines and collectively form
the face. The project was only possible
through the use of a highly-customized
GFRP, which enables the panels to be
cost-effectively manufactured to exacting
and differing dimensions. “Composites
were quite a good fit for this variability,”
says Judd.
Early in the project, ARM Architecture
investigated using aluminum panels.
But test fabrication revealed that was an
expensive choice because of the amount of
labor involved in machining, welding and
finishing prior to painting. Ultimately, a
composite solution was less than half the
cost of aluminum.
ARM Architecture relied on a photo
and several paintings of Barak for its
rendering of the tribal leader. The firm
then partnered with mouldCAM, a
global manufacturer of complex shapes
and composite structures. mouldCAM
designed, engineered and fabricated the
panels. There were more than 400 doublecurved panels, each 5½ inches thick and
15 feet long. They ranged in height from
one to seven feet, with shorter heights
used where darker lines were needed.
The monocoque panels use structural
skins to carry the load across all sides,
much like a shell does for an egg. The
panels were independently tested and
taken up to a load of 6.4 kilopascals
without any signs of cosmetic or
structural damage and without any
residual deformation. Strength was critical
Photo Credit: Peter Bennetts
because the panels are vertical cantilevers,
anchored only at the top and extending
out from the building as far as eight or
more feet.
The panels were attached to the
building on each floor at the edges of
the balcony slab with custom-designed
steel bolts and brackets. They are angled
out to minimally obstruct the view from
apartments, with the panels essentially
acting as quirky-shaped frames of the
cityscape.
While strong, the panels are also
lightweight – another important
characteristic because each one had
to be hoisted into place and fastened
to the building. Using a GFRP panel
made assembly easier and safer for
construction workers, who didn’t have
to wrestle heavy panels into place
hundreds of feet above ground.
The panels rely on the free form version
of mouldCAM’s structural composite
technology, ShapeShell™, a product
that took the company nine years to
research, develop, test and refine. “It is a
matrix of reinforcement, vinyl ester resin
and adhesives that has been developed
to address the needs of the construction
industry,” says Toby Whitfield, group
managing director of mouldCAM.
ShapeShell is impact and corrosion
resistant. It’s also fire retardant, meeting
specifications pertaining to flame spread
and smoke propagation as set forth in
Australian building codes.
Each panel has a foam core that was cut
to precise specifications on a CNC router.
The panels were fabricated via vacuum
infusion and post cured at 70 C for six
hours at an off-shore contract facility.
Afterward, each panel was numbered so
construction crews would know exactly
where to place them on the apartment
building to create Barak’s face.
Design, documentation, testing and
certification of the project took four
months, with manufacturing lasting
another six months. Completed in late
2014, the Swanston Square building has
won awards and attracted attention. That’s
Composite panels on the apartment building’s façade frame the residents’ views of
Melbourne.
not surprising, given that what’s on the
outside is so different from a run-of-themill apartment tower. “It’s an absolute
knockout of a building,” says Judd.
Hank Hogan is a freelance writer based in
Albuquerque, N.M. Email comments to
hank@hankhogan.com.
For more stories like this, visit
CompositesManufacturingMagazine.com
and check out the Architecture articles
under the “Market Segments” tab.
Building At-a-Glance
The eye-catching Swanston
Square building will capture
the attention of the more than
1.6 million people that visit
Melbourne annually. Here are
some quick facts about the
building:
Opened: 2015
Height: 377 feet
Apartments: 536
ShapeShell™ Panels: 406
Barak Portrait: 980+ square feet
9
Sports and Recreation
Improved Hulls for Hydroplane Racers
The world’s fastest racing boats,
unlimited hydroplanes, skim across
the water at speeds over 200 mph.
Accidents happen, and the ability
to easily replace a hull with a single
composite piece could mean returning
these boats more quickly to the water.
Photo Credit: H1 Unlimited
M
10
Photo Credit: Cameron Aircrafts
urdo Cameron, a former airline
pilot and composites enthusiast,
may have found a way to make
the extreme sport of hydroplane racing
faster and more thrilling. The owner
of Cameron Aircrafts is working with
North Idaho College’s (NIC) Aerospace
Composite Technician program to
develop a new manufacturing process for
the racing boats, using CFRP to create a
strong, lightweight, cost-effective hull.
Typical replicas of classic hydroplane
boats are made up of roughly 6,000
pieces. But Cameron’s replica of the Miss
Spokane, a vintage unlimited hydroplane
that ran from the late 1950s to the early
1960s, uses a hull made in two pieces.
“If you damage a piece – which you do
with these boats all the time – you can go
back to the mold and recreate that piece
and then bond it back into the boat,”
Cameron explains.
Today’s vintage hydroplanes are generally
featured in demonstrations rather than
true races, scaled back to a mild 130 to
140 mph – rather than achievable speeds
Using vacuum infusion to create a
hydroplane’s bottom in a single composite
piece should prove more cost-effective
than traditional means of manufacturing
these racing boats – and lead to
potentially better performers.
closer to 200 mph – in order to reduce
the chances for damage. Cameron saw a
way to combine his passion for vintage
boats with the speed of today’s unlimited
hydroplanes, the fastest boats in the world.
Now, Cameron is sharing his passion
with local students. The former flight
instructor serves on the board of NIC’s
composites program, which seeks to build
skilled trade workers. This boat project
provides a unique learning opportunity.
Cameron quips, “Teaching composites is a
lot like teaching people to fly: it’s a handson business.”
In this case, those extra hands are helping
create all graphite, high-temperature
molds capable of producing high-temp
epoxy pieces for hydroplanes. One mold
forms the bottom and sides of the boat,
while a second mold creates the top deck.
Each piece can be produced in under an
hour, but speed isn’t the big benefit: it’s the
cost. The one-piece hull is less expensive
to produce – and repair – than hulls
made of multiple pieces and materials.
(Today, most hydroplanes are made from a
combination of aluminum, GFRP, CFRP
and graphite composites.) For national
sponsorship, teams must have a minimum
of two hulls on hand. Using these molds
leads to faster repairs; in case of damage,
a one-piece mold allows fabrication of the
entire damaged area. And with minimal
glue joints and less overall weight (a
reduction of 50 to 60 percent compared
to traditional boats, Cameron says), added
benefits include a better overall strength
and load paths.
“I feel the bigger the part, the better
the load characteristics, the better the
handling,” Cameron says. The massive
parts of the Miss Spokane replica run
roughly 31 x 13 feet. With few pieces,
Cameron expects these boats to have
better load transfers. “Part count is
everything in composites. Let’s get the part
count down, get the fasteners out of there
and make it in one piece,” he says.
To test this theory, two racing teams
have donated the use of their hydroplanes
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for the school to cast the molds that will
form the basis of the vacuum-infused
hulls. For Cameron, vacuum infusion is
the means of making this project a costeffective venture for boat owners and other
racing enthusiasts. His early work with
composites – including a replica of a P-51
Mustang aircraft – relied on autoclaves.
After some convincing, Cameron turned to
vacuum infusion processing as a far cheaper
alternative, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Cameron offers two tips for working with
vacuum infusion. First, proper planning
prevents poor performance. Second, “It’s
temperature, temperature, temperature and
vacuum.” By that he means that keeping
the workspace, mold and materials infusing
at a steady 77 to 80 F, in combination with
a heated airtight tool, helps to turn out
consistently good parts.
For a mere $1,500, Cameron designed a
sine wave oven that allows him to heat the
composites on the bottom while a metal
tool attached to the top of the oven creates
the vacuum. Cameron works closely
with composite engineers from Vectorply
and uses unidirectional fiberglass from
Vectorply and SAERTEX.
“I’ve come around to using the vinyl
ester resins with an epoxy backbone,”
Cameron says. “When it comes to
infusion, I’ve not found a great epoxy
infusion resin that will do big parts.”
Cameron explains that the strength in
most composites comes from the fiber
itself. He’s now found that it’s possible to
use a vinyl ester with an epoxy backbone
and get the same allowable that he would
with an epoxy on the structure.
Despite the seemingly finished nature
of the molds, there’s room for flexibility
with each boat. While hydroplanes a few
decades back relied on an aluminumclad bottom and Teflon paint to create
a smooth surface, today’s racers feature
slots on the bottom called fish scales. The
molds allow for customization of these
slots as well as various venting options.
There’s another option that Cameron
is exploring – getting steel out of the roll
cage. Each hydroplane is built with a
steel cage around the cockpit to protect
the driver if the boat flips, and Cameron
would like to see these replaced with
a composite product. He explains his
reasoning with a comparison to the
automobile industry: the full-body steel
frames of the 1950s might have kept the
car intact following an accident, but not
necessarily the driver. Today’s quick-tocrumple cars are designed to redirect crash
forces and better protect the occupants.
Cameron expects that composites can, in
this way, help better protect hydroplane
racers, if costs can be minimized.
First, however, Cameron’s composite
hydroplanes need to get off of the ground
and into the water. He is in the process of
assembling his vintage boat and working
with interested owners to make use of his
molds to create a modern turbine vehicle.
Making these ultra-fast classic hulls
available at a price point more speed-lovers
can handle might be just what it takes to
inject new interest into this thrilling sport.
Megan Headley is a freelance writer based
in Fredericksburg, Va. Email comments to
rmheadley3@gmail.com.
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For more stories like this, visit
CompositesManufacturingMagazine.com
and check out the Sports & Recreation
articles under the “Market Segments” tab.
ACMA Launches LinkedIn Group
ACMA has a new group on LinkedIn! This group
will serve as a forum where individuals at all levels
of the composites industry can come together
to share ideas, ask questions, find business leads and
engage with ACMA members. To join, go to LinkedIn
and search for “American Composites Manufacturers
Association” to access the group. Feel free to take part in
an ongoing discussion or start your own!
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04/12/13 2:34 PM
Photo Credit: BMW Group
Composites in the F
The industry
is evolving
quickly to meet
automotive
lightweighting
demands.
By Mary Lou Jay
D
eadlines are looming for CAFE fuel efficiency standards
in the U.S. (54.5 mpg fleet average by 2025) and for
Europe’s required reductions in CO2 emissions (40
percent decrease for fleets from 2007 to 2021). In response,
automakers and OEMs are working more closely than ever with
the composites industry to produce lighter, more efficient vehicles
to meet the new requirements.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) a 10
percent reduction in vehicle weight can improve fuel efficiency by
6 to 8 percent or increase the range of a battery-electric vehicle
by up to 10 percent. Compared with steel, composites can offer
a mass reduction ranging of 25 to 30 percent for glass fiber
14
systems and 60 to 70 percent for carbon fiber systems. So it’s not
surprising that Persistence Market Research predicts the global
composites automotive market will more than double in size in
the coming years, going from $3.06 million in 2014 to $7.01
million in 2022.
“The CAFE standards are really what’s been driving the
growth of composites,” says Laura K. Gigas, senior product
manager, Ashland Performance Materials. “Composites are
lighter than steel, and they have other qualities like corrosion
resistance and the ability to consolidate multiple steel parts into
one composite part.”
BMW’s new Series 7 models feature a lightweight body structure
with elements of CFRP, ultra-high tensile steel and aluminum.
Fast Lane
Lightweight and cost effective
Although carbon fiber has grabbed much of the attention in
the automotive world, OEMs today are using a wide range of
composites in their vehicles.
Sogefi, working with Owens Corning, unveiled the first
composite material coil springs for automotive suspension
systems last fall. Audi will use the GFRP coil for its massproduced A6 Avant 2.0 TDI ultra. The composite coils weigh 40
to 70 percent less than traditional springs made of steel and will
reduce the weight of the vehicle by approximately 9.7 pounds.
They also will reduce noise and decrease CO2 emissions up to
1.1 pounds per 0.62 miles.
Chevrolet will use Continental Structural Plastics’ TCA
Ultra Lite SMC, a polyester-based Class A SMC with a
specific gravity of 1.2, in 21 body panel assemblies in the 2016
Corvette. Components include doors, deck lids, quarter panels
and fenders. The use of composites will save money, since
tooling costs for composites for production volumes under
150,000 can be as much as 50 to 70 percent less than those for
stamping steel or aluminum.
Ford researchers have been experimenting with both injection
molding and compression molding for composite components
made from chopped fibers. “The properties look very, very good
for future applications,” says Matt Zaluzec, global materials
& manufacturing research – VES Technical Advisory Board,
Research & Advanced Engineering at Ford.
But random fiber composites provide less predictable, less
reproducible results than composites made with continuous fiber.
That’s not an issue in body panels, but it is essential in structural,
safety-critical components. Ashland is working with resins
and processes such as prepregs and high pressure resin transfer
molding (HP-RTM) to improve the structural stability of both
glass and carbon continuous fiber composites.
Hyundai: Using a CFRP Frame
Automakers like CFRP because of its weight (70 percent lighter
than steel and 40 percent lighter than aluminium), high strengthto-weight ratio, stiffness and corrosion resistance. For its new
Intrado crossover, Hyundai is using a rigid CFRP structure in
combination with lightweight steel.
At the core of the Intrado’s frame are CFRP sections that begin
life as beams containing overbraided carbon fiber and flexible
foam cores. Hyundai says the composition makes laying-up and
bending into shape easy – no pre-forming steps are necessary while the enclosed foam reduces frame mass and cost. A vacuumassisted RTM process is used to create the final material.
Precisely-shaped, continuous loops made from CFRP form selfcontained modular frames for the roof, hood and door aperture
on either side of the car. Hyundai bonded the carbon loops along
their lengths, rather than at cross-sections, to make the frames
stronger and reduce torsional stresses.
The seals of opening panels shut directly against these frames,
further reducing weight and showcasing the CFRP whenever the
doors, hood or trunk are opened. Body panels are made from
advanced, super lightweight steel, but the strength and rigidity
of the central CFRP frame structure means Hyundai could make
them from any material.
A “floating” center console beam, also made of CFRP, runs the
length of the Intrado. This beam provides the vehicle with its
unique strength, connects the passenger areas and powertrain
to the CFRP frame and serves as a mounting point for essential
controls and protective padding.
Hyundai says the unique qualities of the Intrado make it more
repairable than typical CFRP structures, as damaged sections
or parts can be replaced without the use of expensive tooling
or ovens. The Intrado’s minimalistic, self-supporting skeletonlike frame structure is highly stable and extremely lightweight,
Photo Credit: Ford Motor Co.
Wheels on the new mass-produced Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang are made from CFRP, which cuts the weight in half compared
to aluminum.
saving 70 percent weight compared to a conventional chassis
and around 30 percent on the overall vehicle weight without
compromising safety attributes, according to the company.
Ford: Bonding Composites with Aluminum
A CFRP passenger cell will anchor Ford’s new GT highperformance, limited-run supercar, scheduled for production
in late 2016. The vehicle will include aluminum front and rear
subframes encapsulated in structural CFRP body panels. The
CFRP in the GT’s chassis tub and bodywork will be hand laid.
Ford also will use CFRP in a mass-produced car, offering CFRP
wheels as a standard feature on its Shelby GT350R Mustang. The
one-piece wheel is half the weight of an equivalent aluminum
wheel (18 pounds versus 33 pounds). Australia’s Carbon
Revolution worked with Ford to develop the wheel, which
includes a thermal barrier coating and a special durability coating
to resist corrosion. The team also developed several new processes
to produce the wheels’ high-gloss black finish.
Carbon Revolution manufactures the wheels by placing fabrics
woven with carbon fibers into a mold, infusing the mold with resin
and then curing it at high temperatures. The resulting one-piece
wheel ensures maximum strength and eliminates the need to bond
or glue the wheel’s spokes and barrel components together.
The GT350R also features an injection-molded, CFRP grill
opening reinforcement (GOR). Although the material costs
are higher than lightweight steel or aluminum, composites
reduce weight and can be formed into a single part. The capital
expenditure is less overall because instead of 15 stamped parts that
require joining, the GOR is made in one piece with a single tool.
Ford is pressing ahead with carbon fiber on other fronts as well.
16
In April it signed a joint development agreement with DowAksa
to advance research on high-volume, automotive-grade carbon
fiber. The goal is to produce cost-effective composite parts that
are much lighter than steel, but also meet automotive strength
requirements.
BMW: Building Composite & Metal Hybrids
Building on the carbon fiber technology introduced in the
BMW i vehicles, the German automaker’s new Series 7 luxury
sedans feature a lightweight body structure with elements of
CFRP, ultra-high tensile steel and aluminum. According to
BMW, the combination increases the strength and rigidity of
the vehicle’s passenger shell while substantially reducing weight
(up to 287 pounds). BMW incorporated CFRP in the B and C
pillars, rocker panels, roof bows and rails, transmission tunnel
and rear deck.
BMW is producing the Series 7 at its Plant Dingolfing, using
wet pressing for components made only with carbon fiber.
For hybrid parts, the pressing process involves impregnating
carbon fiber fabrics with resin before placing them, still wet, in a
molding die with steel sheet. The two materials are then pressed
and hardened, combining them into a hybrid component.
Speeding Up Carbon Fiber Adoption
Automakers and OEMs would be likely to incorporate more
carbon fiber into their vehicles if the composites industry could
overcome problems like cost and cycle times. The industry is
investing time and money in research to solve these problems.
Dow Automotive Systems, for example, has reduced traditional
20- to 30-minute molding cycle times to less than 60 seconds
Photo Credit: Carbon Nexus
Australian-based Carbon Nexus, which researches and develops carbon fiber-based materials and manufacturing techniques, has 11
industry partners from nine countries. It has produced 75 different batches of carbon fiber for research trials, equaling approximately
five tons of material and 2,250 bobbins.
with its VORAFORCE 5300 epoxy resin. “We were able to bring
new chemistries to this industry that would enable fast processing
of structural composites to be able to meet the manufacturing
volumes the OEMs are interested in,” says Peter Cate, associate
marketing director, new business platforms. VORAFORCE
5300 offers both super-low viscosity (10 millipascal seconds)
and viscosity latency. It will work with both RTM and wet
compression molding systems.
Government-backed research centers are investigating ways
to overcome the obstacles, too. Carbon Nexus, part of the
Australian Future Fibres Research and Innovation Centre at
Deakin University, is the world’s only open access carbon fiber
manufacturing and research facility. “End users can come and
learn and try things out,” says Derek Buckmaster, Carbon Nexus
director. “It’s a big benefit for them, because until now they had
to rely on their suppliers, who may not have a great interest in
this kind of development.”
The center has two processing lines. One, focused on
fundamental research, is capable of producing small quantities of
carbon fiber materials. The second, an industrial-scale pilot facility,
can make 110 metric tons of carbon fiber material annually.
On the applied research side, researchers at Carbon Nexus
are currently working with one OEM interested in minimizing
production and processing costs for carbon fibers. The facility
also is partnering with Carbon Revolution – producer of
the CFRP wheels for Ford’s GT350R – and with Quickstep,
Australia’s largest exporter of CFRP composites. Quickstep
now has a division focused on developing and optimizing their
process technology for the automotive industry. In addition,
Carbon Nexus has signed an agreement with DowAksa to work
on some automotive development projects.
Basic research at Carbon Nexus involves four areas: reducing
the cost of carbon fiber, improving its performance, reducing
cycle time and improving surface treatment and sizing to
enhance carbon fiber performance.
The facility has already made some significant improvements
in the amount of energy used for the oxidation and
carbonization processes. Eighteen months ago, the basic
operating energy consumption for the carbonization line was
822 kW; researchers have now reduced it to 377 kW, less than
half the initial expenditure.
“This is not focused on inventing new equipment to do the
process,” says Buckmaster. “It’s focused around optimizing the way
you use the equipment. We think that’s going to be most relevant
to the companies who are manufacturing carbon fiber today.”
To further reduce costs, Carbon Nexus researchers are
investigating precursors with higher carbon content in hopes
of gaining better yields as well as lower cost and bio-based
precursor materials.
In the U.S., Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is home
to the DOE’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility, which has a
390-foot-long processing line and can produce up to 25 metric
tons of carbon fiber a year. ORNL recently 3-D printed the
50th anniversary version of the Shelby Cobra, using 20 percent
carbon fiber reinforced ABS material.
While ORNL will continue to conduct its own carbon fiber
research, it is now a key part of a larger endeavor, the Institute
for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI).
demands of high-volume automotive
production. (Zaluzec says he’d like
to see some entrepreneur do for the
composites industry what Andrew
Carnegie did for steel, building
multiple plants across the country.)
And while OEMs are intrigued by
the possibilities in CFRP and other
composites, they are also interested in
the breakthroughs in other lightweight
materials. “I love the materials industry
because we have more options today
than we’ve ever had; our product
development engineers can choose
from steel, aluminum, glass fiber or
carbon fiber composites,” says Zaluzec.
“We’re material agnostic, so every
material will be considered. We want
the right material on the right product
at the right time.”
Ironically, one of the benefits of
composites – the vast range of material
and resin choices and formulations
– puts them at a disadvantage in this
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory 3-D printed the 50th anniversary version of the Shelby
competition. “People know steel,
Cobra, using 20 percent carbon fiber-reinforced ABS material.
they know aluminum, they know the
mechanics and the different grades and
Launched in June, IACMI comprises 123 partners/members,
specifications,” says Kevin Richardson, global marketing manager
including ACMA, manufacturers, material suppliers, government
of long fiber thermoplastics (LFT) at PPG Industries. “But when
and academia, who are involved in advanced composite research,
you get into composites, they are made up of a number of raw
development and production. Automotive manufacturers like
materials and those raw materials can be changed or modified as
Ford, Honda R&D and Volkswagen are IACMI members; so
far as percentages. So you don’t have that nice little book that you
are composite industry companies like Ashland Performance
can open up and say composite A is going to get this performance
Materials, Continental Structural Plastics and Materials
and composite B will get this.”
Innovation Technologies.
Because automotive engineers and designers don’t understand
IACMI will focus on three areas of applied research –
the properties of composites, they don’t take advantage of their
automotive, compressed gas storage and wind. The goal is
full potential. “You just can’t swap out a part and put a composite
to move new technology out of the research lab and into the
one in its place,” says Keith Bihary, corporate sales director,
production line within two to three years. For the automotive
Molded Fiberglass Companies. “It really needs to be designed
industry, researchers will do initial work at ORNL and then
up front to get the real benefits of parts consolidation, proper
move to the labs at Michigan State University, which has 4,000
material selection, etc. It needs to be happening early on rather
to 5,000-ton presses capable of producing full-scale components.
than after the fact.”
Since the DOE is a primary sponsor of IACMI, much of
The composites industry needs to keep pushing to educate
the research will involve removing entrained energy in glass
engineers and to find the answers that the automakers need. “It
and carbon fiber composites. The 10-year goal is to reduce
will be too late if we wait three or four years; somebody else will
manufacturing costs by 50 percent, reduce energy costs by 75
come along with the solution,” says Gigas. “It’s not just about
percent and increase the recyclability of composites to more than
bringing them a material or a resin; it’s bringing them solutions
95 percent.
to their challenges, and that’s who’s going to win.”
“It’s all with an eye to mass production – 100,000-plus
platforms is the goal,” says Craig Blue, CEO of IACMI. “So we’re
Mary Lou Jay is a freelance writer based in Timonium, Md.
also going to be looking heavily at cycle times and reducing cycle
Email comments to mljay@comcast.net.
times south of two minutes.”
Winning Business in a Competitive Industry
There are other issues that the composites industry must
address to win full acceptance in the automotive industry.
Composite manufacturers must find cost-effective resins that
produce little or no VOCs. The industry must also ensure
that there is a sufficient supply of carbon fiber to meet the
18
Get the Inside Scoop on Auto
To learn more about what these developments mean,
make sure to attend CAMX in Dallas on Oct. 27 at 9
a.m. to hear GM’s Dr. J. Gary Smyth’s insights on the
growth of composites in the automotive industry.
In experiments on an indoor track, MIT’s cheetah robot
hurdled over obstacles up to 18 inches tall – more
than half the robot’s own height – while maintaining an
average running speed of 5 mph.
University research and
development projects prove
composites drive innovation
and solve problems.
By Patrice Aylward and Melissa O’Leary
Photo Credit: Sangbae Kim
A Peek into
the Future
A
cross the world, composites are being increasingly
recognized as the material of the future. Helping to shape
that belief is the cutting-edge research and development
being conducted at universities and research centers.
In this issue, Composites Manufacturing highlights research
projects at six American universities that demonstrate innovation
and potential real-world applications. Imagine a world where
recycled composites get a second life, bridges withstand
earthquakes and robots contribute to rescue missions. Here’s
a peek into some of the research projects trying to make these
things – and more – a reality.
Robotics on the Run
Project: Robotic cheetah made from CFRP
School: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Location: Cambridge, Mass.
Principal Investigator: Sangbae Kim
Armed with composite legs, feet and body frame, MIT’s
pioneering robotic cheetah can run and jump in an
extraordinarily animal-like and efficient manner. This is big
news for robot research as most “legged” robots are quite slow,
according to Sangbae Kim, associate professor of mechanical
engineering at MIT.
Kim began the robotic cheetah project six years ago with the
goal of developing fundamental technologies for transportation
that will allow legged systems to replace or augment wheeled
systems. This is important, he stresses, because most of the earth
is covered with non-flat surfaces – from curbs and stairs to hills
and mountains. Yet, he notes, our current foundational mode of
transportation – wheeled vehicles – is best suited for flat surfaces.
Kim and his team began the project by studying animal biology
and biomechanics. He points out that mountain goats can climb
70 degree slopes and lions can safely jump off heights equivalent
to a three-story building. And they do so with material that is
much weaker than engineered materials. For example, Kevlar®
aramid fiber is 20 to 30 times stronger than tendons, says Kim.
“We have engineering material that far exceeds animal material,
but somehow we cannot build machines like a gazelle or a deer –
these very thin-legged animals that can run, jump and land and
are still very robust,” he says. “We still don’t know how to build
machines that can handle that kind of impact.”
The robotic cheetah required research in three main areas – its
motor, control mechanism and structure. Kim and his team
developed an electric motor optimized with a transmission and
a light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) sensor system that allows
the robot to “see” and autonomously jump over objects. The
cheetah’s structure is made from composites.
Fabricated by ProTech Composites Inc. in Vancouver, Wash.,
the body frame is made of ½-inch thick carbon fiber high-density
foam sandwich panel that is CNC milled to create its shape and
to add mounting holes for aluminum fasteners. Kim selected this
construction because it is both light and stiff.
Kim says it’s critical that the robot’s legs mimic the way
that bones and tendons work together to reduce the stress of
impact. The cheetah’s legs are made of a stiff, 3-D printed core
made from a polycarbonate-ABS industrial thermoplastic (the
bones) and bidirectional, woven carbon fiber and Kevlar® (the
tendons). The woven reinforcements are soaked in super glue
and hand-wrapped around the core.
Although Kim used epoxy resins and polyurethanes to build
earlier versions of the legs, he now soaks the reinforcements in
super glue before wrapping. “That’s a faster and easier way to
create a surface composite on a 3-D printed part,” he explains.
That’s especially important because the legs, which get the most
wear-and-tear, need to be rebuilt every few days.
The cheetah’s feet have an outer GFRP skin – or ‘shoe’ – that
is made using a 3-D printed mold, the lab’s vacuum chamber
and room temperature vulcanizing polyurethane. This stiff outer
shoe is then filled with a very soft rubber. The result is a tire-like
structure that can absorb much of the impact when the cheetah
lands. The legs and feet used to be fabricated in one piece, but
because the legs have to be replaced frequently they are now
fabricated separately and attached to the legs with zip ties.
The 70-pound cheetah runs 13 mph and can sense and jump
over 18-inch obstacles. It’s capable of much more, but the team
hasn’t yet figured out how to land it safely. “It could jump 60
centimeters very easily if you don’t care about landing,” says Kim.
Kim’s team continues to fine tune the robotic cheetah, which
was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) for four years. But the project isn’t just fun and
games: It has a larger mission than creating a cool robot. With
additional funding, Kim believes that a legged rescue robot
could be developed within five years to locate people in fires
or disaster areas. Other applications could improve mobility
for the physically disabled. Says Kim, “Imagine a wheelchair
that, instead of having wheels, has articulating legs or some
combination of the two so that you don’t need to worry about
finding a ramp.”
Salvaging the Scrap Heap
Project: Reuse of uncured scrap prepreg
School: The University of Southern California
Location: Los Angeles
Researchers: Gaurav Nilakantan and Steven Nutt
Could medical parts, snowboards and composite structures
soon be made of scrap prepreg composites? The possibility is
getting closer as the University of Southern California’s M.C.
Gill Composites Center wrapped up a research project on the
reuse and upcycling of uncured scrap prepreg material. According
to Gaurav Nilakantan, who served as a senior research associate
at the center, uncured scrap prepreg is primarily disposed of in
landfills at a high cost to the environment. And the volume of
uncured scrap prepreg is likely to grow given the increased use of
carbon fiber in the aerospace and automotive industries.
“There is a need for reclamation techniques that will keep
scrap prepreg out of the waste stream,” says Nilakantan, now
a research scientist at Teledyne Scientific. “U.S. environmental
regulations on mandated levels of reuse and recycling are ramping
up, creating a compelling need for upcycling processes that can
quickly be brought to market.”
Through the National Science Foundation G8 Funding
Initiative on Materials Efficiency and Sustainability, of which
reuse and recycling of composite materials is a major thrust, the
M.C. Gill Composites Center set out to develop novel strategies
to reuse ply cutter scrap and out-of-spec prepreg material (such
as material beyond its out-time or freezer life), thereby realizing
The Gazelle™, a composite prosthetic foot, is the most complex
part made so far from upcycled prepreg by the team at USC.
their full commercial value.
The team cut the prepreg scrap into individual rectangular chips
of varying aspect ratios and geometries, and then compression
molded them into flat panels and non-flat structures. Additional
research investigated the conversion of chips into a continuous,
flexible sheet and roll forms. Next, the team characterized
the microstructure and mechanical properties of scrap-based
laminates and identified feasible applications.
“We assessed different methods of converting the random
shapes of uncured prepreg into chip form, first using a series of
rotary and lineal cutters,” says Nilakantan. A clicker die cutting
press also was trialed, which regularized the output and created
what Nilakantan found to be an optimal rectangular chip size
that’s 0.3 inches wide and between 1 and 2 inches long.
The team then researched the fabrication of sheets from the
scrap chips since a sheet form would facilitate faster production
and structural consistency through constant areal weight. In a
production environment, chips are uniformly dispersed between
sheets of backing paper and fed on a conveyor belt between
heated pinch rollers of progressively decreasing gaps to create a
uniformly thin sheet with a smooth surface. In a semi-continuous
batch process, multiple stacks of chips and backing paper are
compression molded under low heat and high pressure to create
sheets. A low temperature was required to partially liquefy the
resin film in order to bond the chips together, but ensure that the
prepreg did not fully cure. High compaction pressure was used to
generate a flat sheet. “Varying the parameters for chip geometry,
orientation and consolidation, as well as the thickness of the
final sheet, created the opportunity to customize for different
applications we had in mind,” says Nilakantan.
The prepreg sheet, Infinipreg, can be processed through
conventional methods such as vacuum bagging, hot pressing and
autoclaving, although compression molding proved to be the most
effective process for forming new shapes. Laminates fabricated
from the scrap prepreg chips demonstrated excellent stiffness and
strength retention compared to virgin prepreg counterparts.
In addition to their green appeal, scrap prepreg sheets can be
processed with temperature ramps higher than that specified by
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From left: Jihua Gou, a professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department and director of the Composite Materials
and Structures Laboratory at the University of Central Florida, displays the digital manufacturing SDM machine alongside John
Sparkman and Xin Wang, two graduate student research assistants in the lab.
the suppliers of virgin prepregs, which reduces overall cure cycle
times. This upcycled scrap prepreg material form, which is ready
for commercialization, holds the promise of reduced costs given
the lower expense of the reclaimed material compared to virgin
prepreg and the relative ease of manufacturing.
One of the initial prototypes manufactured by the USC
research team was a composite prosthetic foot – called the
Gazelle™ – made completely from uncured carbon fiber/epoxy
scrap converted to sheet form. Other products manufactured
included cell phone cases, skate boards, cylinders and foam-based
sandwich structures for shipping containers.
The project wrapped up in July, and a technical paper will be
published this fall with details on the effects of chip architecture
and process parameters, an analysis of mechanical properties
versus virgin prepreg and various other parameters that affect
performance. “The technical publication should help commercial
processors decide if upcycled scrap prepreg is right for their
project platform,” says Nilakantan.
Expanding 3-D Printing Processes
Project: Digital nanocomposites
School: The University of Central Florida
Location: Orlando, Fla.
Principal Investigator: Jihua Gou
Though applications for additive manufacturing have been
on the rise since the early 2000s, the method for creating
objects by laying down computer-directed layers of material is
still most associated with small consumer-oriented projects or
larger demonstration projects. Jihua “Jan” Gou, a professor in
the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department and
director of the Composite Materials and Structures Laboratory
at the University of Central Florida, hopes to expand additive
manufacturing – also referred to as 3-D printing and digital
manufacturing – into large scale markets like aerospace,
electronics, biomedical and automotive. To do that, Gou and
a team of graduate student researchers created a new digital
manufacturing process called spray deposition molding (SDM).
SDM uses multiple nozzles, contained in a vacuum chamber
with a heated base, to create layers of material. One nozzle
sprays nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes (CNT),
carbon nanofibers, graphene flakes or carbon black that have
first undergone sonication (applying sound energy to agitate
particles), in a solvent with the aid of a dispersant. Another
nozzle sprays a thermoplastic or thermoset polymer solution.
The nozzles, which are controlled along the X and Y axis,
can spray materials on top of and around each other. They lay
the material onto the substrate (controlled on the Z axis) with
235 microns accuracy. Initially, Gou utilized a spray infiltration
process that used a vacuum to pull the solvent through a filtered
membrane. However, the process now uses an evaporation
method to remove the solvent.
There are several existing additive manufacturing processes:
Fused deposition modeling uses heat to extrude the thermoplastic
to build up the necessary layers, and PolyJet technology
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uses atomized droplets like SDM and UV light to cure the
resin. Three others – digital light processing, stereolithography
and selective laser sintering – use lasers as the processing
mechanism. In contrast, SDM deposits both nanomaterials and
polymers by evaporating the solvent from the solution. Gou says
that SDM also allows for the use of multiple materials to create
the desired composition, distribution and microstructure of a
nanocomposite. For example, SDM can create a nanocomposite
that contains both CNT and graphene in a side-by-side and/or
layer-by-layer structure.
According to Gou, one of the major challenges in developing
SDM was the accumulation of the nanoparticles in the nozzles,
which caused clogging and halted production of samples for
testing. Another challenge was developing an effective nozzle
control method to precisely deliver the right material to the
correct location at a specific time and in the right amount.
The project, which is funded through the Florida High Tech
Corridor (FHTC), began 18 months ago. During stage one,
Gou and his team designed, built, tested and evaluated the SDM
machine. That work is now completed, and they are moving on
to stage two – material formulation for improved printability and
final properties. The first test product fabricated by SDM was a
shape memory polymer nanocomposite that was actuated using
Joule heating (passing an electric current through a conductor
to release heat). “The digital fabrication of the nanocomposites
to a desired location allowed for a better distribution of the heat
throughout the sample,” says Gou.
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commercialization, Gou says the new digital fabrication process
shows promise for a variety of industries. For example, SDM
could be used to fabricate digital nanocomposites for Joule
heating applications such as an aftermarket film for deicing
airplane wings without the use of chemicals. This composite
film could also function as a “power film” to provide controlled
heat to cure composite structures out of an autoclave. Other
applications may include flexible electronics for phones, watches
and other wearable devices and strain sensors for structural health
monitoring and damage detection of composite structures.
“Digital nanocomposites are the next generation of composites.
They will integrate structural performance with multifunctionalities all in a single manufacturing operation,” says Gou.
“The SDM process can tell the computer what composite product
you want and then produce it accurately and efficiently. In other
words, what you get will be exactly what you see on the computer.”
Building Better Bridges
Project: Hollow bridge columns
School: Missouri University of Science and Technology
Location: Rolla, Mo.
Principal Investigator: Mohamed ElGawady
The idea that hollow bridge columns could perform better
than solid concrete ones seems counterintuitive, but according
to research conducted at Missouri University of Science and
Technology that’s the case: Hollow columns covered by a GFRP
coating could extend the lifespan of a bridge.
Research funded by the Missouri Department of Transportation
and the Mid-America Transportation Center compared the
performance of hollow-core GFRP, concrete and steel bridge
columns to conventional rebar-reinforced solid concrete columns.
Mohamed ElGawady, associate professor of civil, architectural
and environmental engineering, developed a hollow bridge
column consisting of an outer GFRP tube with a steel tube
inside. During construction, self-consolidating concrete typically
used for bridge columns is poured into the gap between the inner
steel and outer GFRP tubes, forming a concrete wall shaped like
Photo credit: Sam O’Keefe/Missouri University of Science & Technology
Top-down view
of bridge column
designs. Left: The
hollow column
designed by
Missouri University
of Science and
Technology features
a GFRP exterior
tube and steel
interior tube filled
with concrete.
Middle: The tubes
prior to the addition
of concrete. Right:
A traditional solid
concrete and rebar
column.
a doughnut. The steel tube is entrenched into the reinforced
concrete footer with an embedded length 1.6 times the tube’s
diameter, while the GFRP tube ends at the footer.
Using pipe with fiber orientation at ±53º, ElGawady compared
the performance characteristics of solid concrete columns with
a hollow column design featuring a high-performance epoxy
and glass fiber matrix typically used in the oil industry and then
with tubes made from a lower cost iso-polyester FRP matrix
used for drainage pipes. “We tested different numbers of layers
and matrix systems of FRP to produce columns that would
cost-effectively respond to local requirements,” says ElGawady.
“For instance, columns incorporating 3/8-inch epoxy FRP tube
have more strength and durability for use in high-traffic zones,
while columns with 1/8-inch polyester FRP tube would be more
appropriate for low traffic zones.”
The elements of the hollow column work together to act as
a complete engineering system to achieve significantly higher
strain, strength and ductility compared to the solid reinforced
concrete column. The inner steel and outer GFRP tubes function
as a continuous confinement for the concrete shell, while the
steel tube also adds flexural and shear reinforcement. The
concrete shell delays localized buckling of the steel tube. The
outside GFRP tube improves corrosion resistance and provides
environmental protection. Additionally, characteristics of the
GFRP tube improve both collision and seismic performance.
Cost estimates for the hollow columns are higher than for
a reinforced concrete column. “While the upfront cost is
higher, the total life cycle cost should be much less, particularly
considering reduced repair and maintenance and improved
performance,” says ElGawady. The hollow column uses 60 to 75
percent less concrete material, reducing the column’s weight by a
minimum of 45 percent, thereby lowering transportation costs to
the construction site.
Pre-fabrication of the hollow bridge columns takes a few hours
in a much less labor-intensive process since the steel pipe and
FRP pipe serve as a stay-in-place framework for the poured
concrete. In comparison, a concrete bridge column takes 15 to 18
hours to manufacture.
The Missouri S&T report showed encouraging results for
GFRP’s potential use in bridge columns. Under extreme axial
and combined axial-flexural loads, the rebar in the conventional
concrete column ruptured at a drift point of 10.9 percent. In
comparison, the hollow GFRP column did not fail until it
reached a 15.9 percent drift point and did so gradually when
the steel tube finally buckled, followed by a rupture in the
GFRP tube.
For vehicle collision testing, the research team used finite
element modeling of heavy vehicles traveling at 35 kips (a
unit of force equaling 1,000 pounds-force) and high-speed
vehicles traveling at 70 mph, looking at peak dynamic force and
equivalent static force. Vehicle impact simulations indicated
that both designs would withstand the same amount of force.
Concrete bridge columns showed localized damage which would
require immediate repair. In comparison, modeling of impact
showed the force being transferred throughout the hollow
column’s structure, minimizing damage to the pillar.
ElGawady also conducted earthquake simulation tests
measuring the flexibility of the hollow bridge columns. The
expected average flex in bridges during moderate earthquake
conditions is 4 percent, but the hollow columns withstood a
flex of up to 15 percent. “This should make the hollow columns
using GFRP of particular interest in the 36 states where design
for seismic force is required,” notes ElGawady.
The report from Missouri S&T calls for additional testing of
fiber orientation, resin type and the use of thicker GFRP layers at
key points in the column to optimize the hollow column design.
The results are likely to create further interest in GFRP’s use for
bridges. “The United States has a rapidly aging infrastructure,”
says ElGawady. “Over one-fourth of all bridges are structurally
obsolete. With this new formation of columns, I see the potential
to exceed the typical 50-year lifespan of a bridge.”
A Second Life for Wind Blades
Project: Wind turbine blade recycling
School: Washington State University
Location: Pullman, Wash.
Principal Investigator: Karl Englund
Old wind turbine blades go to landfills to die. Yet a single FRP
blade contains between 14,500 and 22,000 pounds of material –
most of it glass fiber. That is a treasure trove of research material
for Karl Englund, associate research professor and extension
specialist at Washington State University’s Composite Materials
and Engineering Center.
Englund, who has been dubbed “the garbage guy” by colleagues,
has spent 10 years working on creating new composite materials
out of recycled carpet, wood waste, plastics and agricultural waste
from corn cobs to rice husks. Englund turned his attention to
wind turbine blades in late 2014 when he received a call from Don
Lilly, CEO of Global Fiberglass Solutions (GFSI) in Mill Creek,
Wash. “Don asked if I could help him figure out what to do with
decommissioned wind blades from wind turbines,” recalls Englund.
Englund was already keenly interested in end-of-life problems
with composites, in part because of neighbor Boeing’s recent
move to replace cheaply recycled metal airplanes with not-soeasily-recycled carbon fiber ones. He also had a 2014 research
26
grant from Washington’s Joint Center for Aerospace Technology
Innovation to study carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic
composite waste recycling. So he agreed to help Lilly.
“Carbon fiber and fiberglass composite waste provides a whole
stream of material that we are currently not utilizing but instead
sending to landfills,” emphasizes Englund. Recycled fiberglass
usually ends up as filler in concrete, he says, where it doesn’t
add much value. He hopes to change that. “The goal is to create
value-added products that do more than serve as filler – products
where the fact that they are recycled is icing on the cake,” he says.
He believes getting there requires a commercial partner like GFSI
to ensure the products are economically viable.
Founded in 2008 to create quality products from recycled
fiberglass, GFSI initially explored sourcing fiberglass from
decommissioned boats and Boeing aircraft before settling
on wind turbine blades. The company harvested its first
decommissioned blades from a wind farm in The Dalles, Ore., in
2010. GFSI harvests the 165- to 173-foot-long blades by cutting
them into large pieces that it transports on flatbed trucks, a
method that allows GFSI to offer blade recycling for significantly
less than the cost of sending blades to landfills with large trailers.
By the time Englund receives the blade material, it has been cut
into 2 x 2-inch blocks that will accommodate the lab’s shredders,
hammer mills and disc mills – equipment that was previously
used to break down wood products. Englund runs the blocks
through the shredders and mills to produce different particle sizes
in just a few seconds.
Englund then creates and tests panels made from different
combinations of the fiberglass particles, resins and fillers to
determine suitability for various products developed by GFSI.
Although details of the combinations are proprietary – or the
“secret sauce” as Lilly puts it – he acknowledges he uses bio-resins
with low to no VOC emissions and fillers include rock, minerals
and additives. The company uses a heated platen press to
consolidate the test panels, which are cured at room temperature
for 60 to 90 minutes and come out of the mold “as is.”
Englund says wind blades are great for research because each
Decommissioned wind blades are cut into large pieces and sent
to a lab at Washington State University, where they are cut into
2 x 2-inch blocks, ground into small particles and fabricated into
test panels for eventual use in new GFRP products.
Photo Credit: Purdue Research Foundation
Using SwiftComp composite simulation sofware developed at Purdue University are, from left, Bo Peng, a graduate research assistant;
Wenbin Yu, associate professor; and Ernesto Camarena, a graduate research assistant.
one contains so much material and that material is consistent –
typically a combination of structural balsa wood, resin and glass
fibers, with the bulk of the weight in glass fibers.
Englund believes this research may first lead to “low hanging
fruit” commercial products, such as panels for residential use
or other applications that will add value or replace wood-based
products. Meanwhile, GFSI, which plans to open its first plant in
Bothell, Wash., this fall, is in pre-production stage with some of its
products and is partnering with other manufacturers to produce
railroad and subway ties, decorative bases for utility poles, utility
poles, manhole covers, jersey barriers and roof cladding.
As the collaboration continues, neither side will run out of FRP
blade material anytime soon. GFSI has more than 125 wind
blades on hand, while Englund simply laughs when asked how
many blades he is working with. “It will probably take me the rest
of my life to finish working on one!”
Modeling Tool Comes of Age
Project: Composite simulation software
School: Purdue University
Location: West Lafayette, Ind.
Principle Investigator: Wenbin Yu
Until now, the complexity of composite structures required
cumbersome simulation programs to model their performance
characteristics. Finite element analysis (FEA) has often been
used for simulation, however the intricacy of a composite part
makes it more difficult to deliver accurate results. Wenbin Yu,
associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Purdue
University, has developed a high-fidelity simulation tool for
modeling of composite parts that is designed to unify structural
and micromechanics modeling.
Initial research into the theory behind a general-purpose
composites-specific computer simulation system was funded
by the U.S. Army Vertical Lift Center of Excellence. The
technology was further developed with funding from the U.S.
Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Yu’s initial systems
analyzed narrow categories of structural parts – slender
composite structures and composite plates and shells. A third
system conducted micromechanical modeling of composites.
In 2012, Yu began to consolidate the three predecessor
systems to develop a unified modeling system. The result is a
new approach to high-fidelity modeling of composites based on
a unified theory for multiscale constitutive modeling, as well as
the development of a general purpose micromechanics code for
heterogeneous materials. According to Yu, SwiftComp is based
on a theory which maximizes accuracy in the modeling process
at a given level of efficiency.
SwiftComp homogenizes composites of an arbitrary
microstructure using the variational asymptotic method to
calculate effective properties, such as thermal, elastic, electric
and magnetic characteristics for beams, plates, shells and
3-D bodies. According to Yu, the analysis implements a true
multiscale theory, which guarantees the best models at the
speed of engineering design capture both anisotropy and
heterogeneity of composite constituents at the microscopic
scale. SwiftComp is based on a new concept called the
Mechanics of Structure Genome, which fills the gap between
materials genome and structural analysis. “It enables engineers
to model composites as black aluminum, capturing details as
needed, which not only saves computing time and resources
without sacrificing the accuracy, but also enables engineers to
tackle complex problems impossible with other tools,” says Yu.
SwiftComp can be used independently as a tool for virtual
testing of composites or as a plugin to power conventional FEA
codes with high-fidelity multiscale modeling for composites.
“It’s a general purpose system and is not restricted to a specific
manufacturing technique,” says Yu. It can be used to model a
variety of applications, including rotor blades, wind turbine
blades, composite panels, corrugated structures, sandwich
structures, continuous fiber-reinforced composites, short fiber
composites, textile composites and more.
The composites simulation program is commercially
available, with exclusive licensing rights held by AnalySwift.
The engineering software also will be available through
technology provider Altair as part of its Altair Partner Alliance.
Yu says the program “could change the industrial practice of
computer simulation of composites to accelerate innovation by
shortening the design period, reducing experiments and further
adjustments, and ultimately, reducing the costs associated with
composites.”
Patrice Aylward is a communications consultant based in
Cleveland. Email comments to paylward@aol.com. Melissa
O’Leary is a freelance writer based in Cleveland. Email comments
to mhx144@case.edu.
Want to Hear About More Research?
CAMX 2015 will feature a Poster Session where the next generation of researchers, engineers and industry professionals
share innovations in material science and composites. Last year, more than 30 posters were on display. For more
information on CAMX, which will be held Oct. 26-29 in Dallas, visit thecamx.org.
28
Photo Credit: PlastiComp
Thermoplastics Are on the Rise
Topping the reasons why thermoplastics are gaining momentum are their
processing capabilities, recyclability and short cycle times.
By Susan Keen Flynn
I
f you’ve ever gazed out of the airplane window while waiting
to push back from the gate, you’ve probably seen large cargo
containers – or unit load devices (ULDs), as they’re called in
the industry – being placed onto the aircraft. For 30 years, ULDs
were made from aluminum. But 12 years ago, CargoComposites
introduced a new option. “We developed and patented a design
using a thermoplastic fiberglass polypropylene composite,”
says Tom Pherson, president and CEO of CargoComposites in
Charleston, S.C.
The body of the ULDs are made from ½-inch thick panels
comprising two fiberglass polypropylene skins that are
continuously laminated onto a polypropylene honeycomb core.
They are pressure formed to shape the edges, then machined,
trimmed and drilled on a CNC machine. The containers feature
a fabric door constructed of an ultra-high molecular weight
polyethylene composite – the same material used in bullet-proof
vests – with a special coating.
Thermoplastic ULDs are lightweight, durable and costeffective, three important characteristics for the airlines that
utilize them. Pherson says the average aluminum ULD weighs
180 pounds, while a thermoplastic ULD hits the scales at 127
pounds. That saves airlines more than $1,000 per container
each year on fuel costs, he adds.
“Airlines are waking up to the cost associated with ULDs,”
says Pherson. “For years, aluminum was fine until they started
looking at the economics behind the containers. Now they
are more conscious about fuels costs and carbon dioxide
emissions and looking for unique opportunities to save
money.” Thermoplastic composites offer that savings: Pherson
says his company’s ULDs provide “aerospace properties at
industrial economics.”
ULDs are just one niche product within the aerospace market
that rely on thermoplastic composites. The materials also are
found in airplane interiors and primary and secondary structures
of aircraft. Other major industries that use thermoplastic
composites include electrical and electronics as well as consumer
products. In addition, thermoplastic composites are making
headway in the automotive market.
The global marketplace for thermoplastic composites is
growing thanks to high demand from end users backed by new
industrial applications, according to a report released in June
by Research and Markets, a Dublin-based business intelligence
and market research provider. The report predicts that the global
thermoplastic composites end product market will reach $9.9
Photo Credit: Copyright 2015 TenCate
A4000
Wrightlon ® 5200
The TAPAS2 consortium is developing a 39-foot thermoplastic
torsion box for a tail structure for Airbus.
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excellent finish.
Widths up to 160 inches (4 m) without heat
seams.
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Elongation: 350%
Use Temperature:
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A4000
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INTERNATIONAL INC.
30
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billion in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.5
percent between 2015 and 2020.
Processing Possibilities
Thermoplastic resins are all around us in unreinforced
applications. They’re in water bottles, toys, grocery bags, window
frames and more. Combining them with reinforcing fibers
increases mechanical properties, just like with thermoset resins.
However, there are differences between the two types of resins.
Thermosets are converted from a liquid to a solid through
a chemical reaction that causes the polymer to cross-link.
When used to manufacture products, thermosetting resins are
cured with a catalyst, heat or a combination of the two. Once
cured, they can’t convert back to their original liquid form.
Thermoplastic resins are shaped or molded while in a heated,
semi-fluid state and become rigid when cooled. There are no
chemical reactions during processing, and thermplastics can be
remelted after solidification.
The majority of FRP composites use thermoset resins, but
thermoplastics are gaining a foothold. “Thermoplastics have two
characteristics that make them attractive,” says Arnt Offringa,
director of research and development for Fokker Aerostructures in
Hoogeveen, Netherlands. “One is the toughness of the resin. You
can design parts with less plies of material to make them lighter in
weight and lower in cost. The other is the processing possibilities.
You can remelt the resin and do things like welding or melting
together of things like simple preforms to make a single shape.”
These two advantages are key to many aircraft parts
manufactured by Fokker Aerostructures, such as the rudder
and two elevators for the Gulfstream G650, a twin-engine
business jet airplane. They were originally constructed of
aluminum, then later thermoset composites. A few years ago,
Fokker Aerostructures began making the parts from continuous
fiber-reinforced thermoplastics (CFRT), using a carbon/
polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) prepreg supplied by TenCate
Advanced Composites. The parts of the rudder and elevator,
including ribs and beams, were press formed, then joined
together via induction welding.
The G650 rudder and elevators require high torsional stiffness
and little bending stiffness. They are designed to allow buckling
at 70 percent limit load, which provides a weight advantage over
a honeycomb sandwich design. The transition to thermoplastic
composites yielded a 10 percent reduction in weight and 20
percent cost savings.
Recyclability and Other Benefits
Another benefit of thermoplastic composites is tied to an
industry hot topic – sustainability. “We can recycle thermoplastics
and give them a second life,” says Ed Pilpel, president of
Polystrand, a provider of CFRT materials based in Englewood,
Colo. “There’s a significant financial impact associated with
being able to either reprocess waste or bring material back to
use at end of life.” Thermoplastic material can be shredded and
compounded into pellets for injection molding of new products.
Polystrand is currently developing a product called Random
Oriented Polystrand (ROP) which will utilize the plant’s
secondary material and thermoplastic composite end-oflife products. They will be shredded into pieces resembling
cornflakes, dispersed on a continuous belt, and then fused
together with heat and pressure to form a structural panel with
mechanical properties similar in all directions. “When that panel
comes out, we can use it as an impact panel inside a truck or
freight train box car,” says Pilpel. The polypropylene fiberglass
panels will be about 65 percent fiber by weight. Pilpel anticipates
the first application will be truck skirts – long panels attached
to the sides of the trailers between the front and back wheels to
improve efficiency and reduce drag.
Aside from processing options and recyclability, other
advantages of thermoplastics include:
CargoComposites sells unit loading devices, which feature
Polystrand sandwich panels, to most of the major airlines.
• Long shelf-life
• High material toughness and impact resistance
• Excellent fire, smoke and toxicity properties
• Fast, low-cost processing and short cycle times
“You can pump out a part every 30 to 60 seconds via injection
molding, where with a thermoset it will take many minutes – or
even hours, in some cases,” says Eric Wollan, technical director
at PlastiComp, a provider of long fiber-reinforced thermoplastic
(LFT) composite technologies.
An Introduction to Thermoplastic Matrices
There are many options for thermoplastic resins, including those listed below. Commodity thermoplastics are the
most common and least expensive. Engineering thermoplastics are used for high-performance applications that
require heat resistance, chemical resistance, fire retardancy, impact resistance and other specific requirements.
Thermoplastic polymers also can be classified into two primary categories – semi-crystalline and amorphous –
based on differences in their molecular structure. Semi-crystalline polymers feature a highly-ordered molecular
structure. They are generally opaque, extremely tough, offer excellent chemical resistance and are capable
of withstanding mechanical loads above the glass transition temperature. The molecule chains of amorphous
polymers are randomly arranged and tangled. They are mostly translucent, soften gradually as the temperature
rises, have a low tendency to creep and warp and offer good dimensional stability.
Resin
Type
Category
Polyethylene (PE)
Commodity thermoplastic
Semi-crystalline
Polypropylene (PP)
Commodity thermoplastic
Semi-crystalline
Polyamide (PA) [nylons]
Engineering thermoplastic
Semi-crystalline
Polysulfones (PSU)
Amorphous
Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
Semi-crystalline
Polyethersulfone (PES)
Amorphous
Polyetherimide (PEI)
Amorphous
Polyetherketone (PEK)
Semi-crystalline
Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)
Semi-crystalline
Polyetherketoneketone (PEKK)
Semi-crystalline
Thermoplastic polyimide (TPI)
Semi-crystalline
Market Advances
Recent innovations within thermoplastics range from new
material formulations to expanded applications. Last fall,
PlastiComp introduced hybrid thermoplastic composite
pellets that combine long glass fiber and long carbon fiber
reinforcements. According to the company, this allows for more
uniform dispersion of fiber during injection molding than
post blending of glass and carbon fiber pellets manufactured
separately, where the difference in bulk density can lead to
separation.
PlastiComp tailors the levels of carbon fiber and glass fiber
to meet end use needs. “If the customer is more concerned
about impact strength, but wants some carbon in the material,
then we can push more glass into the composite,” says Wollan.
“If they are interested in stiffness, then we add more carbon.”
Hybrid LFTs have another benefit, too – lower cost entry into
carbon fiber.
“The hybrid fills in the gap between GFRP and CFRP. That’s
a huge step – and a very expensive one,” says Steve Bowen,
CEO of PlastiComp. “Our technology enables us to offer a
gradation of fiber ratios, all the way from 100 percent glass fiber
to 100 percent carbon fiber. You pick what works to optimize
both performance and economics.”
During the first quarter of 2015, a leading sports and
recreation company adopted the hybrid LFT technology for a
very thin-walled part. A fiberglass reinforcement wouldn’t have
met the structural demands of the part, but using only carbon
32
fiber was cost prohibitive. “They were able to boost stiffness
and still maintain cost targets by using the blended approach,”
says Bowen.
Among those on the cutting edge on the application front is the
Thermoplastic Affordable Primary Aircraft Structure consortium
(TAPAS). Originally launched in 2009, the consortium is now in
its second phase. The TAPAS2 program partners 11 companies
and research institutes in the Dutch aerospace industry with
aircraft manufacturer Airbus to advance material, production and
connection technology and develop thermoplastic applications,
including primary structural components.
TAPAS2 is moving forward two full-scale demonstrator
components begun in the first phase of the program – a
fuselage (built in 2012) and torsion box (built in 2013). Both
components include unidirectional carbon fiber prepreg from
TenCate, HexTow® AS4 carbon fibers from Hexcel and a
polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) matrix from Arkema. Processes
used include automated fiber placement, press forming and
welding.
The torsion box demonstrator has been successfully subjected
to a full-certification test program. Offringa, whose company
leads TAPAS2, anticipates that the technology for thermoplastic
skin fields of the torsion box will be brought to technology level
readiness (TRL) 6 this year and the entire torsion box to TRL
6 in 2017. (TRL measures maturity of a technology: TRL 6
has a fully functional prototype, while the highest level – TRL
9 – indicates the technology is “flight proven.”) The consortium
“Thermoplastics enable automobile manufacturers to produce affordable
structural components to substitute conventional metal solutions.”
expects the fuselage technology to hit TRL 4 (multiple
components tested with one another) in 2017. Ultimately, the
consortium hopes that Airbus and other aircraft manufacturers
will feature thermoplastic components in new narrow-body
aircraft.
Expanding into Automotive
While aerospace has been a leader in adopting thermoplastic
composites, automotive manufacturers are taking note
of the possibilities. “Thermoplastics enable automobile
manufacturers to produce affordable structural components
to substitute conventional metal solutions,” says Frank Meurs,
group director of TenCate Advanced Composites EMEA in
Nijverdal, Netherlands. “Shorter cycle times are just around the
corner, and overall production costs can be reduced through
automated volume production.” While most composites used
in automotive rely on CFRP with a thermoset epoxy resin,
companies are developing thermoplastic structural components
to make vehicles lighter and more efficient.
“The big wave of commercial growth is carbon fiber or
Thermoplastics
on the Move
Transportation is the
largest market for
thermoplastic composites,
with weight savings,
fuel economy and other
performance benefits
fueling consumption. Here
are just three applications
within the transportation
sector:
hybrid carbon fiber composites for automotive,” says Bowen of
PlastiComp. “These parts are going into development vehicles
in China and around the world, and production vehicles will
be the next wave. It finally seems to be within the three- to fiveyear horizon.”
As with any material, thermoplastic composites have their
share of shortcomings: It’s difficult to achieve high fiber
loading, the high-temperature tooling materials require an
investment and the technology is newer than thermoset,
so the knowledge base is limited. But thermoplastics may
prevail in many markets because of the overall cost benefits.
“Thermoplastics are not the best solution for everything,” says
Offringa, “but if you can find the right application, you can
reduce costs.”
Susan Keen Flynn is managing editor of Composites
Manufacturing magazine. Email comments to sflynn@
keenconcepts.net.
AUTOMOTIVE
AIRCRAFT
RAIL
Wheel
Rims
Helicopter Tail
Plane
Liners for
Refrigerated Cars
Continuous
carbon fiberreinforced
thermoplastic
materials from TenCate
Advanced Composites are
used in all-thermoplastic
and hybrid (composite
and aluminum) rims.
“This solution aims for
reduction of rotating mass
through a lightweight
structure,” says Frank
Meurs, group director
of TenCate Advanced
Composites EMEA in
Nijverdal, Netherlands.
“Inherent impact resistance
combined with a high
service temperature make
this wheel suitable for
use in demanding driving
conditions.”
Fokker Aerostructures
developed
the horizontal
tail – a main load-bearing
primary structure – for the
AgustaWestland AW169
helicopter. Designed as
a co-consolidated, multispar torsion box, the
3-meter-long horizontal
tail weighs 15 percent
less than previous composite designs. It’s made
from Fortron® polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) from
Celanese and carbon/PPS
semi-prepreg and plate
material from TenCate Advanced Composites.
Miles Fiberglass
& Composites
in Portland,
Ore., uses rolls
of Polystrand reinforcing
material to fabricate
corrugated panels for
railroad freight cars that
transport frozen and
perishable products.
Polystrand’s ThermoPro™
X-Ply™ reinforcement
tapes are made from
continuous E-glass fibers
that are impregnated with
polypropylene thermoplastic
resin. The company ships
the materials in rolls that
are 60 percent continuous
fiber by weight, aligned in a
0°/90° orientation.
Deep in the Heart
of CAMX
Industry leaders from all
over the world will come
to Dallas to collaborate,
learn and display
products at CAMX.
By Evan Milberg
A
CMA has teamed up with the Society for the
Advancement of Material and Process Engineering
(SAMPE) to produce the second annual Composites
and Advanced Materials Expo (CAMX) – the biggest and most
comprehensive event in North America for the composites
industry – in Dallas from Oct. 26-29. This year, CAMX expects
to feature around 550 exhibitors and 300 conference sessions.
“CAMX is a big opportunity to unite composites professionals
from all over the world and provide them with the resources
they need,” says ACMA president Tom Dobbins. “Through
product displays, live manufacturing demonstrations and a
robust conference program, we believe attendees will come
away from CAMX with the tools necessary to continue driving
innovation in our industry.”
SAMPE CEO Gregg Balko adds that CAMX participants
also want an event where they can see the future of our
industry and meet with other key decision makers who will
help shape that future. “Last year at our inaugural CAMX,
over 7,100 composites and advanced material practitioners
from 44 countries came to CAMX to discover new industry
developments, develop industry skills and grow business
opportunities,” says Balko. “CAMX will continue to grow as the
venue in North America to network with the critical players in
the composite industry.”
One company that benefited from the business opportunities
at CAMX and saw its business improve was Global Composites.
“CAMX allows us to not only meet new potential customers,
but also meet new suppliers and current suppliers in a social
and business atmosphere to discuss new, unique products which
help us to produce in a more efficient manner,” says Gary Beck,
president of Global Composites. “Even if you don’t pick up a
new customer, the exposure to what is going on in other parts of
the country can kick start your management team into thinking
what might be possible.”
The Exhibit Hall
The CAMX exhibit hall features 100 categories of products,
from thermoplastics, prepregs and adhesives to carbon
fibers, tooling and reinforcements. Many of the products
can be applied in growing market sectors such as aerospace,
automotive, energy and marine, in addition to other market
segments that use composites and advanced materials such
as transportation, sports and leisure, construction and
infrastructure, and kitchen and bath.
“The exhibit hall will certainly be buzzing with people looking
to discover all the cutting-edge products being developed in
our industry,” says Tom Haulik, carbon fiber sales manager at
Hexcel Corporation.
One of the exhibitors this year will be AOC, a leading
manufacturer of resins, gel coats and colorants. The company
will be displaying a diverse range of products, including low-
Keynote Speaker
On October 27, CAMX
officially kicks off with a
keynote address from Dr.
J. Gary Smyth, executive
director of global research
and development at
General Motors. For the
past five years, Smyth
has identified global
automotive energy trends
and addressed energy
challenges facing the
automotive industry. Some
of those solutions include
advanced carbon fiber and green composites.
Smyth’s CAMX 2015 address will provide a highlevel perspective on transformational changes in
the automotive industry and include what GM has
learned about composites from the evolution of the
Corvette.
density sheet molding compound for the automotive industry.
Fletcher Lindberg, vice president of marketing for AOC, believes
it’s vital for companies to attend and display products at CAMX,
not only for the benefits they receive, but the benefits to the
composites industry as a whole. “This is a very important event
for AOC to attend, exhibit and sponsor,” Lindberg explains.
“CAMX allows us to showcase our technology, meet with
customers and support the industry.”
Conference Programming
CAMX will offer the largest conference program on
composites and advanced materials anywhere. This year, CAMX
will include several types of educational events, including
general sessions, featured sessions, pre-conference tutorials,
technical paper presentations and a poster session. In total, these
sessions will offer industry expertise in over 250 topics.
Some interesting general sessions this year include Owens
Cornings’ Dhruv Raina’s insights on using green composites
to reduce vehicle weight, UCSI Group’s Scott Holmes’
presentation on FRP composite utility poles and Dr. Richard
Ryden’s techniques for achieving a fast and reliable return on
investment with reusable vacuum bags.
Featured sessions, which are developed by a joint team of
ACMA and SAMPE members, will cover trending hot topics
in the industry, including sustainability, market growth,
workforce training and consumer markets. With sessions on
additive manufacturing, thermoset and thermoplastic resins
and advances in natural fiber technology and automation, they
are an ideal opportunity to learn about new topics and enhance
your knowledge in your own market segment.
Some featured sessions this year include insights on offshore
market applications by Professor Andreas Echtermeyer of the
36
Norwegian University of Science & Technology and a look
at the state of bio-based materials by Louis Pilato of Pilato
Consulting.
“The educational sessions and technical paper presentations at
CAMX will leave you thinking about ways you can implement
new ideas and energy into your business plans,” says Marcy Offner,
director of marketing communications at Composites One.
Awards and Innovation Showcase
The CAMX Awards honor developments in two categories.
The Unsurpassed Innovation Award recognizes a product
or process that will significantly impact composites and
advanced materials in the marketplace. Last year, Composite
Panel Systems LLC won the award for its Epitome composite
foundation wall system, fabricated by Fiber-Tech Industries Inc.
and made with fire-retardant resins from Ashland Performance
Materials.
The Combined Strength Award celebrates visionary concepts
and products that show strength through collaboration, while
bridging low-cost materials/high-volume applications with high
performance applications/low-volume materials. Last year, the
award went to NASA and Boeing for their collaboration on the
Composite Cryogenic Technology Demonstration (CCTD)
project, which utilized innovative manufacturing and design
techniques to build the largest composite liquid hydrogen fuel
tank out-of-autoclave.
The Awards for Composites Excellence (ACE) is a prestigious
composites industry competition that recognizes outstanding
achievement and innovation in the categories of design,
market growth and manufacturing. The ACE display will
showcase new products and present awards for innovations in
creative design, manufacturing and market growth. ACMA
DOMAIN
NAMES
FOR
SALE
PRESENTING THE
EXOSKELETON SERIES
Be sure to stop by the ACMA booth (X120), where you can learn
about ACMA’s member programs and meet ACMA members.
also will present its ACMA Membership Awards honoring four
individuals with the Outstanding Volunteer Award, the Lifetime
Achievement Award, the Composites Hall of Fame Award and
the Chairman’s Award.
Evan Milberg is communications coordinator at ACMA. Email
comments to emilberg@acmanet.org.
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roboskelinc.com · skelebotinc.com
skelibot.com · skelibotinc.com
Brokers & end-users welcome
Serious inquiries only.
Don Lipp
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Produced by
OCTOBER 26–29, 2015: CONFERENCE / OCTOBER 27–29, 2015: EXHIBITS
DALLAS CONVENTION CENTER / DALLAS, TX
CAMX IS MORE THAN A TRADE SHOW
CAMX is the one source for connecting and advancing all aspects of the world’s Composites and Advanced Materials
communities: R&D, engineering, manufacturing, service providers, and end-users. Regardless of the application – transportation,
aerospace, marine, wind energy, software, construction and infrastructure, medical, academics, sports and leisure – CAMX is
America’s go to event for products, solutions, networking, and advanced industry thinking.
Register Now - www.theCAMX.org
Rates Increase Oct. 2
CAMX Schedule At-A-Glance*
MONDAY, OCT. 26
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
2:00 – 5:00 PM
Pre-conference Tutorials
Pre-conference Tutorials
TUESDAY, OCT. 27
8:00 – 8:55 AM
9:00 – 10:15 AM
10:30 AM – 5:00 PM
2:00 – 5:00 PM
5:00 – 6:00 PM
Opening General Session,
Keynote & CAMX Award
Exhibit Hall Open
Welcome Reception
EXPERIENCE THE FUTURE OF THE
INDUSTRY
At CAMX, you’ll find the best of ACMA and SAMPE – gamechanging products and applications, research highlighting
uncharted uses for composites and advanced materials,
ways to improve tried and true technologies, as well as
trends and market analysis. CAMX gives you the unique
opportunity to engage with all the experts – as well as the
next generation of experts – who are shaping the future of
composites and advanced materials... all in one place.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 28
8:00 – 11:00 AM
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
2:00 – 5:00 PM
5:30 – 7:00 PM
Exhibit Hall Open
Specialized Market Segment Reception
Choose from 300+
Conference Sessions
Network with 7,100+
attendees
THURSDAY, OCT. 29
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
1:00 – 2:15 PM
2:30 – 4:30 PM
Exhibit Hall Open
Closing Luncheons
*Subject to change.
Visit www.theCAMX.org and connect with CAMX on
social media.
View products and services from 550+ exhibitors
COMBINED STRENGTH. UNSURPASSED INNOVATION.
GENERAL SESSION
& KEYNOTE ADDRESS
CAMX 2015 will kick off with Dr. Gary Smyth,
Executive Director of Global Research and
Development at General Motors Company, with a
keynote address providing a high-level perspective
Sponsored by:
on the transformational change now
going on in the automotive industry and
lessons learned from the Corvette’s use
of composites.
DON’T MISS THESE
FEATURED SESSIONS ON
CUTTING EDGE TOPICS:
Advances in
Traditional Materials
■
Dr Gary Smyth,
General Motors Company
Keynote Speaker
■
Structural Parts for Automotive:
Why Carbon Fiber Composites?
An International Overview
Thermoplastic Composites
Green & Sustainability
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
■
Designed by leading experts, the CAMX Conference Program provides the most robust
education anywhere for the composites and advanced materials industries. Featuring
detailed Technical Papers and Education Sessions, the CAMX conference program
delivers timely topics and industry thought leaders.
■
Manufacturing
■
PRE-CONFERENCE TUTORIALS
■
Arrive a day early and participate in Pre-conference Tutorials! These 3 hour courses are
held on Monday, October 26, and fully immerse participants in a specific area of focus.
See the full Conference Program and tutorials at www.theCAMX.org.
AWARDS & INNOVATIONS
The CAMX Award recognizes cutting-edge innovations that are shaping
the future of composites and advanced materials in the marketplace.
Sponsored by:
Hosted by ACMA, the Awards for Composites Excellence (ACE) offers
six total awards recognizing excellence in Design, Manufacturing,
and Market Growth.
Sponsored by:
High Speed Automation in
Automotive Manufacturing
Joint Programs for National
Network for Manufacturing
Innovation (NNMI)
Market Applications
(Industrial/Consumer)
■
Find the newest, most innovative products, applications, and research on display at
CAMX.
Bio-Based Materials – Now and
Into the Future
Composites Sustainability/ Life
Cycle Assessment
■
■
■
■
Challenges Using Composite
Materials Offshore
Opportunities in Architecture
Pressure Vessel Tanks for CNG,
LPG and Other Gas/Liquids
(Transportation Distribution and
Consumer Use)
Processes and Materials for
Mass Production Markets
Success Stories on Lighter
Weight Applications
The 2015 Poster Session will feature the latest industry research
conducted by students, universities, and companies.
Sponsored by:
CAMX EXHIBITORS
As of August 14, 2015*
21st Century Chemical
3A Composites/Baltek Inc.
3M Aerospace
A&P Technology
A.B. Carter, Inc
A.P.C.M. Manufacturing LLC
AAF International
ABARIS Training Resources Inc
Accudyne Engineering & Equipment Co.
Accudyne Systems
ACE Awards
ACG Materials
ACMA, American Composites Manufacturers
Association
Acmos Inc.
ACS International, Inc.
Adapt Laser Systems
Addcomp North America
Adhesive Systems, Inc.
Advacam
Advanced Composites, Inc.
Advanced Plastics
Advanced Processing Technology, Inc. (AvPro)
Advantic
Adventure Power (Pty) Ltd
Aeron Composite Pvt. Ltd.
Agilent Technologies
AGY Holding Corp.
AIM Aerospace, Inc
AIM Supply
Airtech Advanced Materials Group
Airtech Vacuum, Inc.
AKPA Organik Peroksit Kimya San. ve Dis Tic. Ltd. Sti.
Akzo Nobel Functional Chemicals
Allnex USA Inc.
Alpha Professional Tools
Alphacam
Altair
AMAMCO Tool
American Chemistry Council
American Colors Inc.
American GFM Corporation
ANF Technology Limited
AOC Resins
Aonix
Applied Aerospace Structures Corporation
Applied Graphene Materials
Aramicore Composite Co., Ltd.
Arkema Inc.
Armacell Benelux S.A.
Arno Seyfert CC
ASC Process Systems
Ascent Aerospace
Exhibtors Continued on next page
CAMX EXHIBITORS
Continued from
previous page
Ashland
Assembly Guidance Systems, Inc
Associated Industries Inc
Associated Technologies Weld Mount
ATI dba SCRA Applied R&D
Autodesk
Automated Dynamics
Automated Solutions, LLC.
Autometrix Precision Cutting Solutions
AXEL Plastics Research Lab
Axia Materials Co., Ltd.
Axiom Materials, Inc.
Axson Technologies US
B/E Aerospace
Bally Ribbon Mills
Barrday Composite Solutions
BASF Corporation
Bayer Material Science LLC
Becker Pumps Corp.
Beijing Composite Material Co., Ltd.
Benecor, Inc
Bercella USA, Inc., U.S. Partner of Axia
Materials, Co.
BGF Industries, Inc
Blueshift
Bondtech Corporation
Bostik, Inc.
Brenntag Specialties, Inc.
BriskHeat Corporation
Brookhaven Instruments Corporation
Burnham Composite Structures, Inc
BYK USA Inc
C&D Zodiac Inc dba Zodiac Advanced
Composites & Engineered Materials
C.A. Litzler Co., Inc.
C.R. Onsrud, Inc.
CAMX Awards
CAMX Lounge
Carbon Flight LLC
Carbon-Core Corp
Cardolite Corporation
Carl Zeiss Microscopy, LLC
Carolina Narrow Fabric
Century Design Inc
CGTech
Changzhou Pro-Tech Industry Co., Ltd.
Changzhou Sunlight Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Chemique Adhesives
Chemir - EAG
Chem-Trend LP
Chesapeake Testing Services, Inc.
Chomarat North America LLC
Chromaflo Technologies
Cincinnati Testing Laboratories
City of Hampton - Economic Development
Clayton Associates Inc
Clear Carbon and Components, Inc
Click Bond, Inc.
CMS North America Inc.
CNC Technics Pvt Ltd
Coastal Enterprises Company
Coats plc
Cobham Composite Products
Composite Alliance Corp
Composite Essential Materials, LLC
Composite Fabrications, Inc.
Composite Fabrics of America
COMPOSITES EUROPE Lounge
Composites Horizons
Composites One
Composites One-The Lean Mean Closed
Mold Machine
Composites Washington
CompositesWorld
CompositeTechs, LLC
Compotool
Concordia Fibers
Conductive Composites Company
Con-Tek Machine, Inc.
Controx Neuhauser
Convergent Manufacturing Technologies
Cool Clean Technologies, LLC
Coosa Composites LLC
COREHOG
CoreLite, Inc
Coriolis Composites Canada Inc
CPIC North America, Inc.
Crane Composites
Creative Foam Composite Systems, LLC
Creative Pultrusions, Inc.
CRG, Inc
CTG International (N.A.) Inc.
Current, Inc.
CVC Thermoset Specialties
Cytec Industries
Daicel (U.S.A.), Inc.
Dantec Dynamics Inc
David H Sutherland & Co., Inc
DCM Clean-Air Products, Inc
De-Comp Composites Inc
DelStar Technologies, Inc
DeltaTrak Inc
Dexmet Corporation
DIAB Americas
Dia-Stron Ltd
Diatrim Tools
Dino-Lite Scopes (BigC)
Diversified Machine Systems
Dixie Chemical Company
DowAksa
DPSS Lasers Inc
Duna USA
Dunstone Company Inc
DWA Aluminum Composites USA, Inc.
E.V. Roberts
Eagle Technologies, LLC
Eastman Machine Company
EconCore
Eco-Wolf Inc
EFI Composites, LLC
Ekasi IT Solutions (Pty) Ltd
Electrolock, Inc.
Element Materials Technology
Elliott Company of Indianapolis
Endurance Technologies
Engineered Bonding Solutions, LLC
Engineered Solutions
Engineering Technology Corporation
Entropy Resins
Epcon Industrial Systems, LP
ES Manufacturing
ESI North America
Euro-Composites Corp.
Eurovac Inc.
Evonik
Exel Composites Plc
e-Xstream engineering SA
Extramet
Fabric Development
Factocode t/a Microfinish (Pty) Ltd
Fiber Dynamics, Inc
Fiber Materials, Inc
Fiberglass Coatings, Inc.
Fiberite Products (Pty) Ltd
Fiberlay, Inc.
Fiber-Line LLC
Fibrtec Inc
Fives Machining Systems
FlackTek, Inc
Florida State University - High-Performance
Materials Institute
FloTex
Flow Waterjet
Formosa Plastics Corporation
Fraunhoffer Project Center
Freeman Manufacturing & Supply Company
Freeman Service Desk
Freudenberg Performance Materials
Gelvenor Consolidated Fabrics (Pty) Ltd
General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products
General Plastics Manufacturing Co.
Genesis Systems Group
Gerber Technology & Virtek Vision International
Germany Trade and Invest
Gibco Flex-Mold Inc.
Global Specialty Products USA, Inc.
Globe Machine Manufacturing Company
Gordon Composites, Inc
Graco Inc
GS Manufacturing
GTI Technologies
Gurit
Hall Composites
Harper International
Harris Corporation
Hawkeye Industries, Inc.
HEATCON Composite Systems
HELD Technologies GmbH
Henkel Corporation
Hennecke Inc.
Hexcel Corporation
Hexion Inc.
Highland Composites
HK Research
Hollingsworth & Vose
HORN
HOS-Technik GmbH
Huber Engineered Materials
Huntingdon Fiberglass Products
Huntsman Advanced Materials
HyperSizer - Collier Research
IDI Composites International
IKONICS Advanced Material Solutions
Imetrum Ltd.
Impact Composites
Impossible Objects LLC
IMR Test Labs
InChem Corporation
Ingersoll Machine Tools, Inc.
In-House Solutions
Innegra Technologies LLC
Instron
Integrated Technologies, Inc - INTEC
Interplastic Corporation
Intertape Polymer Group
Intertek
IST - Industrial Summit Technology Corporation
ITW Insulation Systems
J6 Polymers
Janicki Industries
Jensen Industries Inc
JG&A Metrology Center
Jiangsu Jiuding New Material Co., Ltd.
Jiaxing Sunny FRP Industries Co., Ltd.
Jinan Gold Lead Machinery Co., Ltd.
Johns Manville
JPS Composite Materials
JRL Ventures, Inc.
Jushi USA
Kaneka North America LLC
Kayco Composites
Knowlton Technologies, LLC
Komo Machine, Inc.
Krayden
L & L Products
Lanxess Corporation
LAP Laser, LLC
Laser Projection Technologies, Inc (LPT)
Laser Technology, Inc.
Leadgo American Ltd.
LEUCO Telcon
LEWCO, Inc.
Liaoyang Yimeng Carpet Manufacturing
Co., Ltd.
Lindau Chemicals, Inc
Lingrove
Litek Composites Corp.
LMG
Lucas Industries
Lucintel
Luna
Luoyang Prince Fiberglass Co., Ltd.
Mafic
Magnolia Advanced Materials, Inc
Magnum Venus Products
Mahogany Company
Maine Composites Alliance
Mar-Bal
Marietta Nondestructive Testing LLC
MarkForged
MARU HACHI Corporation
MasterWorks Inc
Matec Instrument Companies, Inc.
Materials Sciences Corporation
Matrix Composites, Inc.
Maverick Abrasives
Maverick Corporation
MB Superabrasives
McCausey Specialty Products
McClean Anderson LLC
McCoy Machinery Corp.
McLube Division of McGee Industries Inc
Mektech Composites Inc
Melco Steel Inc
METYX Composites - Telateks Tekstil
Urunleri San. Tic. A.S.
Miki Sangyo USA Inc
Miller-Stephenson Chemical
MISTRAS Group, Inc
Mitsubishi Rayon Carbon Fiber and
Composites
Mokon
Montalvo
Multiax America, Inc
MultiCam Inc
Myers Mixers
N12 Technologies, Inc
Nabertherm
Nammo Composite Solutions
Nanjing Union Silicon Chemical Co., Ltd. /
USI Chemical America LLC(USA)
NASA
National Diamond Lab of Texas Inc.
National Research Council of Canada
ND Industries / Vibra-Tite
NDE Labs, Inc.
NDT Systems, Inc
Nederman LLC
Netzsch Instruments North America
New Hampshire Division of Economic
Development
Nippon Graphite Fiber
NMG USA, INC.
NONA Composites
Nordson Sealant Equipment
North American Composites
North Coast
North Star Imaging, Inc.
North Thin Ply Technology
Northern Composites, Inc.
Northwood Machine Manufacturing Company
Norton
OCSiAl LLC
OEM Press Systems
Olympus
Omya
Onyx Specialty Papers, Inc.
Orbital ATK Aerospace Structures
Owens Corning Composite Solutions Business
Pacific Coast Composites
Park Electrochemical Corp
Parson Adhesives, Inc.
Pathfinder
Patz Materials and Technolgies
PCM Innovation
PEI Pinette USA
Performance Minerals Corp.
Plascore, Inc
Plexus - ITW Polymers Adhesives North America
Poco Graphite
Polynt Composites
Polystrand Inc.
Polyumac USA
Poraver North America Inc.
Potters Industries LLC
Powerblanket
PPG Industries, Inc.
Precision Fabrics Group, Inc.
Precision Measurements and Instruments
Corporation
PRO-SET Epoxy
PTM&W
Pultrex Ltd
Quintax
R2M Engineering, LLC
RAMPF Group, Inc
RAPTOR Composite Fasteners
Reed Industrial Systems, Inc
Reichhold LLC2
Reliant Machinery USA / BHP Armor
Renegade Materials Corporation
Reno Machine Company Inc
Resodyn Acoustic Mixers
Revchem Composites, Inc
REXCO
Reynolds Advanced Materials
Rhode Island Composites Alliance
RobbJack Corporation
Robotmaster
Rock West Composites
Rosenthal Manufacturing Co. Inc
Royce International
RT Instruments, Inc. with Hitachi High Tech
America
Rubbercraft
SAATI
SAERTEX USA, LLC
Saint-Gobain ADFORS
Saint-Gobain Vetrotex
SAMPE
Sandvik Process Systems
Schroeder Wooden Furniture and Motorhomes
CC
SCIGrip Smarter Adhesives Solutions
Scott Bader - ATC
Sensitech, Inc
SGL Technologies Gmbh
Shandong Shuangyi Technology Co., Ltd.
SHIMADZU SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS, INC.
Sicomin
Sigmatex
Sika Corporation
Siltech Corporation
SINGLE Temperature Controls, Inc.
Sino Composite Company Limited
SL Laser Systems
Smart Tooling
Socomore
Sogel Inc.
Solvay Specialty Polymers
Specialty Materials, Inc
Starfire Systems
StateMix Ltd
Steelman Industries, Inc
Stelmack & Associates
Stiles Machinery Inc
Stoner Molding Solutions
Storm Tight Windows
Strand7 Pty Ltd
Stratasys
Stratasys Direct Manufacturing
Structural Composites
Structural Design and Analysis Inc.
Structured Composites
Sunstrand, LLC
SURAGUS GmbH
Surface Generation America
Surfx Technologies
SWORL (div. of Prairie Technology)
Symmetrix Composite Tooling
Synasia Inc
System Three Resins
TA Instruments
Taconic
Taizhou Huangyan Dasheng Mould Plastics
Co., Ltd.
Taizhou Jiadebao Technology Co., Ltd.
Taricco Corporation
TCR Composites
TE Wire & Cable
Technical Fibre Products, Inc.
Technology Marketing, Inc.
TEI Composites Corporation
Teijin Aramid USA, Inc.
Tempco Electric Heater Corporation
TenCate Advanced Composites
Tesco-Italmatic LLC
Texonic
Textile Products, Inc
TeXtreme®
Textum Carbon Solutions
TFB Composites Group
The Boeing Company
The Department of Trade and Industry
The Dow Chemical Company
The R.J. Marshall Company
The United Soap Factory
Thermacore Materials Technology
Division
Thermal Equipment Corporation
Thermal Wave Imaging, Inc.
Thermoset Resin Formulators
Association
Thermwood Corporation
Tiger-Vac Inc.
Tinius Olsen
Tiodize Co., Inc.
TMP, A Division of French
Toho Tenax America
Tong Xiang Aisen Composites Co., Ltd.
TOR Minerals
TR Industries
Tricel Honeycomb
Trilion Quality Systems
Tri-Mack Plastics Manufacturing Corp
UHT Unitech Co., Ltd.
Ultracor
Unicomposite Technology Co., Ltd
Uni-ram Corporation
United Initiators Inc.
Sold
Available
Entrance
As of August 14, 2015*
United Testing Systems, Inc
Universal Trim Supply Co., Ltd.
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Delaware Center for
Composite Materials
University of Massachusetts Lowell
University of Southern Mississippi
Utah Composites Industry
Vaupell
Vectorply Corporation
Venango Machine Company, Inc
Ventilation Solutions
Entrance
Verisurf Software, Inc
Victrex
Volume Graphics
Wabash MPI / Carver, Inc.
Walton Process Technologies
Waukesha Foundry Inc
Web Industries
Weber Manufacturing Technologies Inc
Weibo International
Weihai Guangwei Composites Co., Ltd.
Wells Advanced Materials Co., Ltd.
Wetzel Engineering Inc.
WichiTech Industries, Inc.
Wickert Hydraulic Presses USA
Wisconsin Oven Corporation
Wm. T. Burnett & Co.
Xamax Industries, Inc.
XTX Composites, Inc.
YXLON
Zeus, Inc
Zibo Hongjia Aluminum Stock
Co., Ltd.
Zotefoams Inc.
Zund America, Inc
Zwick USA
Inside ACMA
CMYK
•
•
•
CompositesLab is
Live!
•
V
isit CompositesLab (compositeslab.com)
– ACMA’s new and comprehensive
online guide to composites – written
for design professionals, other specifiers and
students. CompositesLab features:
•
An in-depth explanation of the
science behind composites, the
history of composites and an industry
overview.
Information about the benefits of
composites, such as strength, weight,
corrosion resistance, design flexibility
RGB
and durability.
Comparisons of composites with
steel, aluminum, wood and granite.
Case studies detailing the use of
composites in several different
applications, including automotive,
architecture, and infrastructure.
Detailed explanations of the many
different materials and processes used
to make composites.
Pantone 376 C
Pantone 3025 C
Pantone 180 C
Pantone 376 C
Pantone 3025 C
Pantone 180 C
c - 50
m-0
y - 100
k-0
c - 100
m - 17
y-0
k - 51
c-0
m - 79
y - 100
k - 11
r - 141
g - 198
b - 63
r-0
g - 89
b - 132
r - 217
g - 83
b - 30
ACMA will continue to add to this
website over the next months, building
out the sections to include additional
applications and other information.
Please link to this site from your company
websites or from your social media sites
to help us inform more potential users of
composites on their benefits.
FRP Pole and Cross
Arm Manufacturers
Advance Federal
Policy
O
Vacuum Infusion
Hexion Inc.
ACMA Calls for
Updated FHWA
Bridge Database
Distributor for Hexion Inc.
www.hexion.com
Hexion Inc.
42
n July 22, ACMA’s Utility and
Communications Structures
Council (UCSC) met in Washington
with Congressional offices and federal
agencies and secured support from key
policymakers for new federal policies
encouraging electric utilities companies to
consider FRP. Later this year, ACMA
expects Congress to consider legislation
that includes requirements supporting the
use of FRP products by utilities seeking to
improve electric grid resilience.
F
rom 1991 through 2004, the Federal
Highway Administration provided
funding for 324 bridge projects across the
country that were built with composites.
These projects are no longer being
tracked, which makes it difficult to assess
the performance of the bridges. ACMA’s
legislative team is currently lobbying
Congress to reword the Senate highway
reauthorization bill to require the DOT to
commission a follow-up study of the longterm performance of the bridges.
Online Access
to Regulatory
Information
F
or almost 30 years, ACMA has
accumulated a trove of information,
guidance and tools for composites
manufacturers to efficiently provide safe
workplaces and comply with regulatory
requirements. And all of this is but a
few clicks away. Visit ACMA’s website at
acmanet.org, and click on the Member
Resources tab at the top. Scroll down
the page until you see Regulatory &
Compliance, and then click on Index of
Tools and Resources.
ACMA provides answers to many
common questions, including:
•
How much styrene do I report on
TRI Form R?
•
What packaging complies with the
DOT standards for bulk shipment of
molding compound?
•
How do I comply with OSHA
requirements to provide warnings
to customers on combustible dust
hazards?
•
Is there a risk from exposure to BPA
associated with vinyl ester resin?
•
What’s the lowest concentration that
styrene odor can be detected?
•
What’s a VOC? Is it the same as a
HAP? How much of it is in my resin?
•
Does my bulk storage tank comply
with NPFA standards?
frequently. Requests for additional
information can be sent to jschweitzer@
acmanet.org.
All the information is kept up to date
by ACMA, and new topics are added
SMC
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· Polyester adhesive putties for ðlling
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· Reduced cycle times
· Sprayable mold and plug building materials
· Patented MMA technology and service
· Brushable and sprayable radius materials
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44
Pantone 3025 C
Pantone 180 C
Pantone 376 C
Pantone 3025 C
Pantone 180 C
c - 50
m-0
y - 100
k-0
c - 100
m - 17
y-0
k - 51
c-0
m - 79
y - 100
k - 11
r - 141
g - 198
b - 63
r-0
g - 89
b - 132
r - 217
g - 83
b - 30
he Institute for Advanced Composites
Manufacturing and Innovation
(IACMI) is off to a fast start. The
Automotive Composites Alliance (ACA) is
developing four concepts for collaborative
projects with IACMI. ACMA’s recycling
collaboration with IACMI began in
August, and a face-to-face meeting is
planned for the end of September. The
CCT program recently signed an
agreement with IACMI to develop some
training videos that can be used to help
individuals prepare for the VIP CCT
designation. There also will be several
featured IACMI speakers at CAMX,
including IACMI’s CEO Craig Blue. If
The Next Generation In Tooling
CAMX Booth # T105
Pantone 376 C
ACMA Activity Under
Way with IACMI
6/3/14 5:43 AM
5 Axis CNC Plugs & Molds
Design, Engineering
Renderings / 3D Modeling
RGB
sister company
Find out more at CAMX • BOOTH K99 • Dallas TX • Oct 27-29
you would like to know about IACMI or
how to become a part of these programs,
contact Dan Coughlin at dcoughlin@
acmanet.org.
ACMA Begins
Exposures Testing
A
CMA’s Government Affairs
Committee recently started testing
a number of typical composite products
to characterize the amount of styrene
and ethylbenzene people may be exposed
to as a result of using the products.
This testing program will provide data
ACMA members can use to comply with
California’s Prop 65 regulation, which
requires toxicity warning labels for any
product sold in the state if using the
product may result in unsafe exposures
to certain listed chemicals. For more
information, contact John Schweitzer at
jschweitzer@acmanet.org.
ADVANCED NONWOVENS
FOR COMPOSITES
FROM TECHNICAL FIBRE PRODUCTS
MULTIPLE BENEFITS FROM USING A SINGLE MATERIAL!
SURFACE FINISH
High quality resin rich surface finish
FABRICATION AID
Adhesive carrier • Resin flow media • Fracture toughness improvement
SURFACE FUNCTIONALITY
EMI shielding • Electrical conductivity • Abrasion resistance
Galvanic corrosion protection • Corrosion resistance • Fire protection
OSHA’s HAZCOM
Policy a Challenge
A
t CAMX, a panel consisting of
senior OSHA leadership will break
down how members of the composites
industry can comply with OSHA’s recent
implementation of the newest version of
its Hazard Communications Standard
(HAZCOM). Composites manufacturers
and other employers are likely to be cited
and fined if they fail to fully recognize
all hazards and implement all safety
recommendations identified by their
suppliers on the Safety Data Sheets for
the materials they use. Also, suppliers will
likely come under OSHA scrutiny if they
employ their own weight-of-evidence
assessment to characterize hazards on SDS
instead of referring to recognized references
such as the Report on Carcinogens. More
information on HAZCOM compliance is
available acmanet.org/regulatory-compliance/
workers-regulatory. WWW.TFPGLOBAL.COM • INQUIRIES@TFPGLOBAL.COM • 1 518 280 8500
TFP is part of James Cropper plc, a specialist paper & advanced materials group
Industry Calendar of Events
For more information regarding
ACMA’s upcoming events and
education, visit acmanet.org/
meetings.
Sept. 29-30, 2015
CCT Instructor Course
Ashland, Inc. - Dublin, Ohio
Oct. 26-29, 2015
CAMX - The Composites and
Advanced Materials Expo
Co-Produced by ACMA and
SAMPE
Dallas, Texas
April 5-6, 2016
Composites Executive Forum
Washington, D.C.
Inside ACMA
CMYK
46
RGB
Pantone 376 C
Pantone 3025 C
Pantone 180 C
Pantone 376 C
Pantone 3025 C
Pantone 180 C
c - 50
m-0
y - 100
k-0
c - 100
m - 17
y-0
k - 51
c-0
m - 79
y - 100
k - 11
r - 141
g - 198
b - 63
r-0
g - 89
b - 132
r - 217
g - 83
b - 30
Advertising Index
Advertiser
New Members
BASF Polyurethane Solutions
Wyandotte, Mich.
Citadel Plastics
Conneaut, Ohio
Equisplast S.A.
Cuenca, Ecuador
Nova Scotia Boatbuilders
Association
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Poly-Tec Products, Inc.
Tullytown, Pa.
RSP Composites
Santiago, Chile
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Lowell, Mass.
Weibo International Composite
Materials
Houston, Texas
For more information on becoming
a member of ACMA, email
membership@acmanet.org or call
703-682-1665.
Page
Airtech International ..................................30
AOC Resins .............................................BC
Ashland, Inc. .............................................. 3
BGF Industries, Inc. .................................... 7
CAMX .......................................................38
Composites One .................................... IFC
Don Lipp .................................................. 37
Elliot Company of Indianapolis, Inc. .......... 31
Greenerd Press & Machine
Company, Inc. ........................................ 43
GS Manufacturing .................................... 37
ITW Plexus ............................................... 44
Janicki Industries ...................................... 24
JRL Ventures, Inc. .................................... 44
Magnum Venus Products ......................... 24
Master Bond, Inc. ..................................... 47
Mektech Composites, Inc. ........................ 42
North American Composites .....................28
Polynt Composites .............................12, 19
R.S. Hughes Company ........................... IBC
SAERTEX ................................................... 5
TFP Global ...............................................45
The R.J. Marshall Company ......................47
Thermwood Corporation ..........................22
U.S. Polychemical .................................... 13
Web Industries, Inc. ...................................11
Weibo International Composite
Materials ...................................................46
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Postcure Chatter
Molding Music with Carbon Fiber
C
ompanies have been using carbon fiber for a long time
to make guitars, flutes and violin bows. However, until
recently, composites had not been widely accepted for
brass instruments. A Swiss company, known as daCarbo,
is producing trumpets with CFRP bells for musicians
all over the world, including famous jazz artists Arturo
Sandoval and Roy Hargrove.
Werner Spiri and Dr. Andreas Keller, the founders of
daCarbo, teamed up with Nägeli Swiss AG to manufacture
the trumpet. Unlike other companies that use carbon
fiber to make products lighter, daCarbo wanted to use it
to reduce the amount of physical effort required by the
musician.
“We use the design freedom of composite materials
to suppress the most energy taking vibrations of the
instrument’s wall,” Dr. Keller explains. “This leads to
instruments that are remarkably easy to play. The tone
will appear, even if you play out of the so-called center of
the tone, giving more freedom of sound modulation to the
player.”
Nägeli Swiss AG considered several processing options
for manufacturing the trumpet bell before choosing resin
transfer molding. RTM was the best option for fabricating
the precise shape of the bell, which is later connected with
a U-bend to the metal valve engine. “The inner geometry
of the bell [must be] highly precise and show an optimal
surface quality,” explains Niklaus Nägeli, a board member
of Nägeli Swiss AG.
RTM offers another advantage: Because it is largely
automated, the process yields a consistent quality trumpet
bell. And the composite materials are corrosion-resistant,
which prevents problems from condensation common in
brass instruments.
The daCarbo CFRP trumpet is now in serial production in
three versions to meet varying requirements of players.
Resin
Fibers
Nägeli Swiss AG chose Araldite® LY 564, a low
viscosity epoxy resin, and XB 3458, an amine
hardener, from Huntsman Advanced Materials. The
resin is suitable for injection under temperature. In
addition, the curing cycle had to be considered: A
melting core is used, so the temperature range is
limited.
The trumpet bell features dry carbon fibers in
preformed braided tapes. They are placed in the
mold and vacuum is applied. Next, the resin is
injected at high pressure. After the curing cycle, the
finished part is demolded.
48
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- Composites Manufacturing Magazine

Transcription

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