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Mould heating technology
Processing news
Mould heating technology
Packing a 20 m2 carbon heating form with prepregs. (Picture courtesy of Fibretech Composites.)
JENS BRANDES, Managing Director of Fibretech Composites GmbH, of Bremen, Germany, is optimistic where the aircraft industry is concerned; he is certain that “the proportion of carbon fibre reinforced plastic [CFRP] structures will continue to grow.” Consequently, developers of optimised production processes are in demand, since the expenditure required for the production of large-scale structural components is considerable with the latest prepreg/ autoclave technology. With its so-called CFRP heating technology, the company believes it has a good solution available. It will be presented at this year’s COMPOSITES EUROPE trade show on 23-25 September 2008 in Essen, Germany. “Subject to the precondition that the specified material characteristics are achieved, resin infusion in heatable tools is a cost effective alternative as a production technique for large CFRP structure components," says Brandes. "With our patent-pending, CFRP heating
22
REINFORCEDplastics
technology, we intend to make a contribution here." "This technology for heating plastic forms is used in the aircraft industry for the production of interior linings and other interior components, as well as for the preforming of prepregs”, he explains. Together with the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Fibertech has developed the CFRP heating technology further during the past year and is now able to provide complete systems with suitable hardware for heating and control. “This technology has been further developed on the basis of the existing know-how for using carbon fibre as resistance heating,” Brandes reports. "The positive effect of short-circuit proof heating is extremely high energy efficiency. With just 100 Watt/ m2, a temperature of 90°C is achieved. Additional advantages: the thermal distortion of the forms is virtually zero, the heat is produced directly on the surface of the form where it is needed, and the heated CFRP cover layer
May 2008
simultaneously produces the structural rigidity of the form." The technology is used in the production of interior linings for Lufthansa Technik AG. The panels are a honeycomb sandwich design. To satisfy quality demands and to achieve reproducible results, the cover layers are built up with prepregs. “These prepregs require a temperature of around 100°C for curing," Brandes states. "To save energy costs and to avoid constant transportation of the forms to a tempering chamber, we produce in heatable plastic forms.” Fibretech primarily supplies interior components and process engineering for the aircraft industry. Structural components and position measuring devices as well as CFRP equipment for wind tunnel engineering are also offered to a lesser extent. “For example, we produce complete interior linings, socalled lining sets, for the VIP aircraft of Lufthansa Technik AG," Brandes states. "We supply CFRP heating technology to various manufacturers from the aircraft industry.” At present, around 18% of the company's total sales are from aircraft specific components and production technologies. “At COMPOSITES EUROPE 2007 in Stuttgart, we were surprised by the high proportion of technically competent visitors," he says. "During the trade fair, we made numerous contacts with decision makers from the aircraft and aerospace industries.” Fibretech Composites; www.fibretech-composites.de
Simulating moulding of complex parts
PAM-RTM view of the filling of an aerospace part. (Image courtesy of EADS Innovation Works.)
SIMULATION software provider ESI Group has released a new version of its PAM-RTM (resin transfer moulding) product for manufacturing composites by injection or infusion moulding. New features of the 2008 release include: easier modelling of large parts; quicker simulation of thick parts; and fast generation of complex models through improved visualisation. The software targets industries which typically manufacture large, complex composite parts, such as the aerospace, automotive, marine and energy sectors. "Beyond a more user-friendly graphical user interface, PAMRTM offers new functionalities enabling a better representation of the process as it happens on the shop floor," reports Jean-Pierre Cauchois, Technical Director of PPE (Pôle de Plasturgie de l'Est), a French technology centre specialising in RTM and infusion processing. "For instance, the flow front velocity representation gives added insight on part quality, a new equivalent permeability module is very convenient, and we expect a lot from the new simulation time optimisation. ESI Group; www.esi-group.com
Mould heating technology
Packing a 20 m2 carbon heating form with prepregs. (Picture courtesy of Fibretech Composites.)
JENS BRANDES, Managing Director of Fibretech Composites GmbH, of Bremen, Germany, is optimistic where the aircraft industry is concerned; he is certain that “the proportion of carbon fibre reinforced plastic [CFRP] structures will continue to grow.” Consequently, developers of optimised production processes are in demand, since the expenditure required for the production of large-scale structural components is considerable with the latest prepreg/ autoclave technology. With its so-called CFRP heating technology, the company believes it has a good solution available. It will be presented at this year’s COMPOSITES EUROPE trade show on 23-25 September 2008 in Essen, Germany. “Subject to the precondition that the specified material characteristics are achieved, resin infusion in heatable tools is a cost effective alternative as a production technique for large CFRP structure components," says Brandes. "With our patent-pending, CFRP heating
22
REINFORCEDplastics
technology, we intend to make a contribution here." "This technology for heating plastic forms is used in the aircraft industry for the production of interior linings and other interior components, as well as for the preforming of prepregs”, he explains. Together with the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Fibertech has developed the CFRP heating technology further during the past year and is now able to provide complete systems with suitable hardware for heating and control. “This technology has been further developed on the basis of the existing know-how for using carbon fibre as resistance heating,” Brandes reports. "The positive effect of short-circuit proof heating is extremely high energy efficiency. With just 100 Watt/ m2, a temperature of 90°C is achieved. Additional advantages: the thermal distortion of the forms is virtually zero, the heat is produced directly on the surface of the form where it is needed, and the heated CFRP cover layer
May 2008
simultaneously produces the structural rigidity of the form." The technology is used in the production of interior linings for Lufthansa Technik AG. The panels are a honeycomb sandwich design. To satisfy quality demands and to achieve reproducible results, the cover layers are built up with prepregs. “These prepregs require a temperature of around 100°C for curing," Brandes states. "To save energy costs and to avoid constant transportation of the forms to a tempering chamber, we produce in heatable plastic forms.” Fibretech primarily supplies interior components and process engineering for the aircraft industry. Structural components and position measuring devices as well as CFRP equipment for wind tunnel engineering are also offered to a lesser extent. “For example, we produce complete interior linings, socalled lining sets, for the VIP aircraft of Lufthansa Technik AG," Brandes states. "We supply CFRP heating technology to various manufacturers from the aircraft industry.” At present, around 18% of the company's total sales are from aircraft specific components and production technologies. “At COMPOSITES EUROPE 2007 in Stuttgart, we were surprised by the high proportion of technically competent visitors," he says. "During the trade fair, we made numerous contacts with decision makers from the aircraft and aerospace industries.” Fibretech Composites; www.fibretech-composites.de
Simulating moulding of complex parts
PAM-RTM view of the filling of an aerospace part. (Image courtesy of EADS Innovation Works.)
SIMULATION software provider ESI Group has released a new version of its PAM-RTM (resin transfer moulding) product for manufacturing composites by injection or infusion moulding. New features of the 2008 release include: easier modelling of large parts; quicker simulation of thick parts; and fast generation of complex models through improved visualisation. The software targets industries which typically manufacture large, complex composite parts, such as the aerospace, automotive, marine and energy sectors. "Beyond a more user-friendly graphical user interface, PAMRTM offers new functionalities enabling a better representation of the process as it happens on the shop floor," reports Jean-Pierre Cauchois, Technical Director of PPE (Pôle de Plasturgie de l'Est), a French technology centre specialising in RTM and infusion processing. "For instance, the flow front velocity representation gives added insight on part quality, a new equivalent permeability module is very convenient, and we expect a lot from the new simulation time optimisation. ESI Group; www.esi-group.com