JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #119 - Supplement lnnovation report - 39

www.philips.com/photonics

Multi-sector

Perfect quality processing of
> Booth:
fibre-reinforced plastics
Hall 5 - P82
For the machining of fibre-reinforced plastics such as CFRP, GFRP
and AFRP, as well as other composites, LEUCO offers a milling cutter
specially adapted for the requirements of these materials - the patented
LEUCO p-System shank-type cutter.
This DP-tipped milling cutter has a
shear angle of more than 55°. This characteristic, which is unique for DP tools,
ensures excellent cutting quality with a
very long tool life when machining fibrous materials. The cutter is available
in diameters from 6.0 mm and can be
customized according to the application.
Due to the high shear angle, the material-typical machining challenges can
be solved: delamination at the top and bottom edges, edge breakouts, burrs
and fraying of single fibres or fibre bundles are prevented. Even when milling
tough aramid fibres in AFRP, good cutting quality can be achieved without
fibre projections. The machining of fibre-reinforced plastics usually produces
very fine, partly harmful, dust. By contrast, coarse chips can be produced with
the LEUCO p-System and fine dusts are significantly reduced.
Depending on the tool geometry, the milling cutter is suitable for a wide
range of applications. Designed as a compression cutter, the tool can be used
for generating perfect outer and inner contours or for dividing cuts, for example. Designed as a grooving cutter, the tool is highly suitable for incremental
scarfing and for generating functional surfaces, pockets and grooves.

Multi-sector

> Booth:
Improvements with
Hall 5 - E27
Mäder light-curing solutions
The new Mäder Composites light-curing UP products boost productivity, cut costs and reduce styrene emissions. Now it is also
possible to cure coloured gelcoats with very low energy UV lamps
(not only with LED or standard UV lamps) in a short time. With
this advancement, the Mäder
Composites UV products give
customers new manufacturing
possibilities for UP composites:
- Instant prototyping (in partnership with Curveworks): without making a mould, directly
from the 3D drawing of the part, the mechanical 3D tool adjusts the surface to the required shape. The manufacturing process can start either
after few minutes, with low-energy UV lamps the gelcoat is ready for the
lamination step, or after 10 minutes of insolation, the laminate is cured
and the part can be demoulded when the final hardness is reached.
- Speeding up closed-mould processes: with the Mäder UV light-curing gelcoats, the curing time of the gelcoat can be drastically reduced
to a few minutes, reducing the cycle time considerably and increasing
the output per shift up to 20%. In infusion processes, the reinforced
resin can also be cured with Mäder UV curing products.
- Safer processes: with UV light, the UP surface closes very fast and
stops styrene emissions, providing a better environment for workers.
www.madercomposites.com

Ultrasonic mixing head for
> Booth:
liquid composite moulding
Hall 6 - R86
Low- and high-pressure mixing
heads have their limits when it
comes to environmentally friendly
and cost-effective production. In
the case of low-pressure heads, flushing
with harmful solvents is necessary to
avoid blocking of the mixing head by
the curing resin system. High-pressure
heads require massive and cost-intensive
equipment to withstand their mandatory high-pressures.
To overcome these limitations, a mixing head was developed that uses
the cavitation effect caused by ultrasound to mix the resin and hardener
components. By changing the physical mixing principle to sonication,
the Ultrasonic Mixing Head (UMH) combines the advantages of both
above-mentioned mixing technologies, enabling solvent-free production
at low mixing pressures.
A prototype of this mixing head operates live during JEC World 2018 at
the "TUM - composite in action" area, booth R86. In the demonstration,
a three-component snap-cure resin system is injected at low injection
pressures (< 2 bar) into a composite RTM tool that allows for rapid heatup and cooling. The injection is performed within a fully-automated RTM
process controlled by a Dekumed injection machine.
In the future, the field of application for this promising technology will
be further extended, for example, to achieve quick and uniform distribution of hardly mixable additives within resin systems. Yet, this will be just
another step on the way to fully leveraging the potential of sonication in
Liquid Composite Moulding.

Multi-sector

> Booth:
New high-power laser system
Hall 5 - F58
for composite manufacturing
Philips Photonics is well known for its industrial laser sources based on
VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) micro laser arrays. The
robust and compact laser modules deliver directed large-area beams of
infrared power and are easily integrated into industrial heating applications and production processes. An electronic
driver system enables precise power control
and fast switching. As a unique feature, the individual emission zones of the source can be
controlled independently. Thereby, dynamic
programming of the spatial heating pattern is
possible, enabling an unprecedented level of
process flexibility and control.
A new high-power laser module optimized for
the specific process boundary conditions of fibre/tape placement applications is presented at the JEC2018. The new laser module is extremely compact, only 49mm wide, and delivers more than 2 kW of infrared power from
five VCSEL emitters. The module can be equipped with high-concentration
optics for 25mm tapes, thereby enabling the layup of narrow 3D forms.
On the other hand, many of the new laser modules can be stacked, supporting applications with a wide layup width and high productivity. Because of
the dynamic programming of the spatial heating profile, the flexibility to produce with a narrower layup width is maintained in such a configuration.
The high power density of more than 100 W/cm² enables fast placement
speeds for various types of fibres and tapes, including thermoplastic materials.

Paris, France
March 6-7-8, 2018

www.leuco.com

N° 119 supplement - Innovation Report

www.lcc.mw.tum.de

/ jec composites magazine

http://www.madercomposites.com http://www.philips.com/photonics http://www.leuco.com http://www.lcc.mw.tum.de

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #119 - Supplement lnnovation report