JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #48 - May 2009 - 22

BUSINESS Market survey Industrialization of the carbon composite industry (2nd part) High-performance composites are in great demand in various sectors but their high cost is still a deterrent. Carbon composite experts from the SGL Group shares their viewpoint on issues such as industrialization challenges, the carbon fibre market, cost analysis and automation, citing two examples from the car industry and one from the aeronautics industry. Part two. and fulfils the automotive industry’s most stringent criteria for safety parts. Process improvements include automated moulding, continuous carbonization and siliconisation. These improvements have brought down cycles times from 20 hours to less then 20 minutes in some cases. Applying industrialization concepts to high-temperature batch processes so as to improve efficiency by continuous processing is an ambitious challenge (Fig. 8 & 9). measuring systems was a key achievement in this respect (Fig. 10). A second example involves a concept study concerning a future production process for carbon fibre-reinforced press parts like A- or B-pillars for passenger cars. The process was developed by Benteler-SGL, a joint venture of SGL with Benteler, the leading manufacturer of metal-based press parts for the automotive industry. 1 2 1- DR JAN VERDENHALVEN CHAIRMAN CARBON FIBERS & COMPOSITES, SGL TECHNOLOGIES GMBH 2- DR MICHAEL HEINE, DIRECTOR PUBLIC FUNDING SGL GROUP, SGL CARBON GMBH TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION Automation An example of automation and process improvement in carbon composite manufacturing can be found in SGL’s carbon-ceramic brake (CCB). The development of this highly advanced product started in 1997 in co-operation with Porsche. It was first marketed in Porsche’s famous 911 series in 2001. Since then, the product has penetrated the highend car market thanks to its superior braking performance and low weight. More than 125,000 parts have been produced so far. The current capacity is standing at 40,000 parts p. a. and will increase to 80,000 parts over the next few years. Together with key customers, SGL has continuously improved the design and performance of its CCB, making it a benchmark brake for highend luxury and sport cars. At the same time, the production process has evolved from hand-made parts to a semiautomated process, which is very reliable Fig. 10: Automation of brake disc measurement. Fig. 8: From batch to continuous high-temperature carbonization processes. Fig. 9: From batch to continuous high-temperature siliconisation processes. Due to changes in crash safety legislation, there is a need for pillars with higher energy absorption than current series solutions. Such components can conventionally be made of steel, but this would result in increased weight and fuel consumption. Keeping in mind the pending EU regulations on the reduction of CO2 emissions, a weight increase is not acceptable. This is why the use of carbon fibre-reinforced plastics is becoming increasingly more attractive for lightweight design. A concept for reinforcing steel parts with carbon fibre was developed by BentelerSGL. This concept achieved a weight reduction of 6 kg per car with the same Extensive but efficient quality control is a key issue in the automotive industry, especially for safety parts like the CCB. The development of automated 22 jec composites magazine / No48 May 2009

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #48 - May 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #48 - May 2009