JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #33 - June 2007 - 22

INNOVATIONS INNOVATIONS New microwave system revolutionises industrial thermal engineering At the JEC Show, Vötsch Industrietechnik presented the world’s first industrial microwave hardening system with a 4,200-litre working chamber volume for applications that include composites. The newly-developed VHM HEPHAISTOS microwave unit is an internationally patented system. This is the first successful development of microwave technology to a large-scale mature industrial engineering level. The unit is therefore characterised by an extremely high field homogeneity. It is possible to harden high-quality products and materials (e.g. carbon fibrereinforced composite materials) that, due to their potential for use in light constructions, are employed in aerospace engineering and, increasingly, the automotive industry. Microwaves penetrate the material directly and heat the product, but the oven remains cold during this process. Production costs reduced through shorter warm-up, process and cooling times are important advantages offered by the HEPHAISTOS system. This innovative microwave system is produced by Vötsch Industrietechnik in Reiskirchen. It was developed in a technology transfer with partners at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe research institute, the Institute for Aircraft Construction (Institut für Flugzeugbau - IFB) at the University of Stuttgart and the composite research centre at EADS in Munich. The modular system is readily available from laboratory-scale units (usable volume 750 litres) to large-scale industrial plants. CarbonFibreStone (CFS) applications www.simulayt.com process. Composites Link transfers zone and ply data directly between finite element models used by analysts, and the geometrical models used by designers within CATIA V5 Composites Part Design. The bi-directional, automated transfer replaces traditional manual data transfer methods that are slow and error-prone. Composites Link for CATIA V5 www.voetsch.info www.v-it.com www.schmidt-heinzmann.de roving cutter units and pumping and mixing units for resins, additives and filler material. Their interest is in simplifying the access to this working material through a direct process and in improving quality. Simulayt Limited has taken its JEC Composites Magazine / No33 June 2007 collaboration with Dassault Systemes a step further by the release of an exciting new product, Composites Link for CATIA V5 Composites Workbench. The new product will, for the first time, integrate the analysis function performed by software such as ABAQUS/CAE with the design function performed within CATIA V5 Composites Part Design seamlessly during the composites development The new compound material developed by TechnoCarbon Technologies – CFS (CarbonFibreStone) – consists of natural stone and laminate with carbon fibres. These two components complete each other in an ideal way. As a team, they open up a lot of new mechanical possibilities, while offering completely new looks. CFS involves the application of thin layers of the carbonfibre matrix onto the surface of natural Stone, which stabilises the stone geometry effectively and permanently and protects the stone against rupture. Moreover, under certain conditions, the stone becomes flexible. With this method, more or less thin slabs and sticks of natural stone are produced as a basic material which, under determined conditions, may be used by stonecutters, carpenters and industry to produce finished products for industrial applications. The material can be used by industrial enterprises as a substitute for traditional materials, for example to save weight (CFS is lighter than aluminium) or to create new product designs and support the development of new properties for existing products. One potential application is large worktops of granite with a maximum 10-mm thickness for kitchen islands. With CFS, it is possible to manufacture a granite work top of 3.00 x 1.50 m2 in one piece with various cut-outs without any problem. The 120-kg slab can be easily carried by two to four people at most and installed in its final position on the kitchen top without risk of breaking it. CFS can be produced, packaged and handled in an environment-friendly way, producing significantly lower CO2 emissions than metal materials. The material can be worked easily with standard stone-manufacturing tools, and parts can be glued with standard methods used in composite techniques. www.technocarbon.de Latest news and trends in the JEC Composites E-letter every Wednesday

http://www.simulayt.com http://www.technocarbon.de http://www.voetsch.info http://www.v-it.com http://www.jeccomposites.com/jec-editorial/ http://www.schmidt-heinzmann.de

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #33 - June 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #33 - June 2007