Innovation

High-performance composites offer many advantages

In addition to very low thermal expansion and good corrosion resistance, carbon composites offer outstanding characteristics for lightweight construction: Compared to metals, the weight can be substantially reduced in many applications.

In the best cases a carbon composite will achieve the mechanical properties of steel with only one fifth (20%) of its weight.

Unlike metals, the material properties of a composite are created during part production, through the orientation of the reinforcement fibres in the part. The better the fibre orientation can be optimised for the particular loading of a component, the higher the performance/weight ratio.

The Compositence innovation: high weight savings potential combined with cost effective production, based on value chain shortening

Today, in order to produce the composites parts for which our process is designed, carbon fibers are processed to woven fabric or non crimp fabric (semi-finished products with standard widths and with standard fiber orientations). To produce parts, these semi-finished products are cut to size, stacked and draped into the final form. In many cases these stages are performed manually.

In our manufacturing process we work directly from carbon fibers (pure rovings) and the semi-finished product is no longer required. This brings major advantages for many applications:

• Manufacturing costs are reduced, as current value chain steps are eliminated, production is automated and almost waste-free.
• Your parts become lighter, since the fiber architecture is designed optimally for their specific requirements.
• New possibilities arise for forming, since with our process the fibers can be laid directly in three dimensions (carbon fibres do not stretch; try draping a sheet of paper into a hemisphere)