JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #121 - May 2018 - 18

NEWS JEC WORLD 2018 Report
TESTING
Multi-sector

A defect control process for multiaxial carbon fabrics
The Saertex Smart Defect Control System looks into the structure of the non-crimp-fabric and reveals gaps, undulations, and other potential deviations from the high-end specifications. At Saertex, this process makes it possible to subject carbon fabrics to automated and continuous quality assurance, without the inspection process causing direct damage to the materials.
During the actual production process, the Saertex non-crimp-fabrics made of carbon fibres are subjected to quality-control measures that satisfy the exacting requirements of the aerospace industry, as well as other demanding industrial applications. Multiaxial reinforcement materials are
quasi-isotropic textile structures made up of multiple unidirectional layers that are laid over each other in different orientations and stitched together.
Alongside gaps between the fibre strands, other defects can also be identified, such as the homogeneity of threads or undulations within internal layers
of the multiaxial non-crimp-fabric. It is possible to take immediate corrective action in the manufacturing process and the location of the defect is, for instance, automatically transferred to the roll reports.
www.saertex.com

R&D
Thermoplastic strengthening frame components
developed for Arches Box TP project demonstrator
Porcher Industries presented thermoplastic strengthening
frame components that were developed for the Arches demonstrator on its booth, whilst Stelia Aerospace displayed the fullscale thermoplastic fuselage demonstrator within the Planets
section at the show The companies highlighted two key innovations
that were used for the strengthening frames of the Arches Box aircraft
fuselage: a woven 3k carbon/PEKK laminate and woven 12k carbon/
PEKK laminate. Through extensive R&D by both companies, several
parameters including fibres, weaving patterns, surface modifications
and processes, were explored to optimize the impregnation, consolidation and processability of these organosheets. Porcher Industries
has developed a new surface modification for the carbon fibre itself as
well as a specific low crimp weaving technology for the heavier 12k
tow. The combination of these two innovative processing methods resulted in the more cost effective 12K carbon/PEKK laminates exhibiting the same mechanical performance level as the standard 3K carbon/PEKK laminates.
www.porcher-ind.com

Aeronautics

Automotive

Results of lifecycle assessment of car doors made with
continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composite
Sabic releases the results of its lifecycle assessment of passenger car side
doors using hybrid material solutions including laminates made with
its continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composite (CFRTC), the
UDMAX GPP 45-70 tape.
The externally certified, cradle-to-grave life cycle
assessment (LCA) found that doors made with
the glass fibre polypropylene-reinforced composites outperformed metal car doors in two key
environmental categories: global warming potential and cumulative energy demand. In addition to weighing less than steel, aluminium and
magnesium, the CFRTC parts deliver strength, corrosion resistance and the
ability to be produced in high volumes using injection moulding.
Based on the design specifications, the UDMAX tapes were converted into
a laminate and then overmolded onto both sides of a substrate using Sabic's
STAMAX glass reinforced polypropylene product, creating a hybrid material system.
www.sabic.com

APPLICATION

www.h-prec.com

18

jec composites magazine / N°121 May - June 2018

A lightweight electric vehicle platform
The innovative lightweight EV platform concept, named the FW-EVX, was displayed on
the UK National Composites Centre stand at
JEC World. Williams Advanced Engineering
has reimagined how electric cars are designed
and constructed to make EVs lighter, safer and
greener, with longer range and better performance.
The concept features several innovations in battery
pack design, cooling systems and lightweight structures, which have each been cleverly integrated into
a single, scalable platform. As an example, Williams'
engineers have developed a highly automated, near
zero waste process. It is being implemented to create
fibre reinforced suspension components on the EV
platform, such as providing up to 40% weight reduction over a conventional aluminium wishbone and
www.refitech.nl at comparable cost.
www.williamsf1.com
Automotive

Round and square connectors for industrial applications
Refitech introduced thin-wall, ultra-lightweight
round and square connectors made of carbon fibre epoxy and hand-laminated using prepregs.
They offer weight savings compared with the dry
fibre injected coupling parts available from competitors. The
square connectors match
with Refitech's
square tubes
of 25×25 millimetres, while the round ones can be combined with
Refitech's 30/28 and 30/27 millimetres round tubes. By
applying fitting rings during the bonding phase, tubes of
both diameters can be used in the same construction.
Multi-sector

Transportation

A range of motorcycle
technical parts made of
monobloc composite
H-PreC BloK parts allow a replacement of metal or plastic
parts by a monobloc composite
that is mass manufactured.
Thanks to
its patented H-PreC
Blok process
which allows
the use of oriented continuous fibres
for the manufacture of the composite,
H-PreC enters the motorcycle market with an exclusive range of technical parts named C-BloK.
http://www.saertex.com http://www.sabic.com http://www.porcher-ind.com http://www.h-prec.com http://www.refitech.nl http://www.williamsf1.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #121 - May 2018
