Reinforced Plastics 2015 1 2

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
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Deal volumes remain strong
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CONTENTS 1
January/February 2015
Volume 59 Number 1
pp. 156
REGULAR SECTIONS
EDITORIAL
Reinforced Plastics, restyled

Stewart Bland
Image: Dalibor Sevaljevic/Shutterstock.com.
RP Rewind
Applications
Business
12
Technology
19
Conference Showcase
56
Events
CONTENTS 2
Editorial Assistant
Zara Preston
E-mail: z.preston@elsevier.com
Tel: +44 (0) 1865 843606
Assistant Editor
Liz Nickels
E-mail: liznickelsfreelance@gmail.com
Publisher
Stewart Bland
E-mail: s.bland@elsevier.com
Tel: +44 (0) 1865 843124
Editorial and Marketing Office
Elsevier Ltd
The Boulevard, Langford Lane,
Kidlington,Oxford
OX5 1GB, UK
tel: +44 (0) 1865 843441
fax: +44 (0) 1865 843973
Advertising
USA
mjm@4m-media.com
Tel: +1 631 673 0072
Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Christian Hoelscher
christian.hoelscher@husonmedia.com
Tel: +49 (0) 89 95002778
China
Marco Chang
marco@ringiertrade.com
Tel: +86 21 6289 5533 x101
Rest of World
Rachel Di Santo
rachel.disanto@husonmedia.com
Tel: +44 (0) 1932 564999
Advertising Copy Controller
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E-mail: Adcopy@elsevier.com
Marketing Department
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Editorial & Advertising Offices
Elsevier Ltd
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FEATURES
32
Comment: Deal volumes remain strong in 2014

Emma Dowson
34

Cordelia Sealy and Richard A. Vaia
38
The world on a composites diet: How more and more markets are
trying to lose weight with reinforced plastics
Django Mathijsen
44
Reuse and upcycling of aerospace prepreg scrap and waste

Gaurav Nilakantan and Steven Nutt
52
Removing barriers for bio-based composite production with novel

water-insensitive cure systems
Coen van Dijk
2015 Elsevier Ltd.

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Reinforced Plastics Volume 59, Number 1 January/February 2015
EDITORIAL
Editorial
Stewart Bland
Publisher, Reinforced Plastics
s.bland@elsevier.com
Reinforced Plastics, restyled

If youre a regular reader of Reinforced Plastics, youll notice that the
layout of this latest issue of the magazine has been redesigned: a
new look, and even a new face welcoming you.
But beyond a few cosmetic differences youll still find the same
great content from our regular contributors, including George
Smith and Liz Nickels. In addition to the high quality news and
features youve come to expect from Reinforced Plastics, youll also be
able to access more great content in print and online, as RP will be
partnering with Elseviers materials program, in the form of the
Materials Today family. Materials Today is a community dedicated to
the creation and sharing of materials knowledge and experience:
supported by Elsevier, we publish high impact peer-reviewed journals, organize conferences, broadcast educational webinars and so
much more.
Im excited and very much looking forward to sharing some of
the exciting developments weve been working on over the course
of the next year, to bring you the latest developments in the
composites industry. And so on behalf of Materials Today, its
my pleasure to welcome Reinforced Plastics into the family.
As you may be aware, Elsevier publishes some of the top journals
on composites and plastics, including Composites Science and
Technology, Composite Structures, Composites (Parts A & B), Progress
in Polymer Science, Polymer, Polymer Degradation and Stability, and
Polymer Testing to mention just a few as well as organize some
leading scientific conferences including International Conference on
Multifunctional, Hybrid and Nanomaterials and Frontiers in Polymer
Science. As part of the family, this extra insight into composite
materials will help us keep you up to date with the latest developments in the application of plastic composites.
Therell be more exciting developments to follow throughout
2015, but until then, I hope you enjoy this issue of Reinforced
Plastics.
0034-3617/ 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.repl.2014.12.085
RP REWIND
RP Rewind
Assistant editor Liz Nickels leafs through past issues of Reinforced Plastics to find out what was happening in the
composite industry of the past.
5 years ago. . .
making inroads. Overall, the amount of industry, reported editor Amanda Weaver.
Editor Amanda Jacob looked into her crystal
ball, otherwise known as IHS Global
Insights top 10 economic predictions for
2011, which suggested that a two-speed
recovery was likely to be a feature of the
global economy throughout 2011. Growth
in calendar-year 2011 (3.3%) would be a
little weaker than in 2010 (4.0%), but would
be followed by a bounce-back in 2012
(3.7%). In 2010 the pace of growth in
Europe was slowing, mostly due to fiscal
tightening and concerns about debt, but
EU growth in 2011 was predicted to be
about 1.6%.
In technology news, what was reported to
be the first lift bridge in the world to have a
deck construction built entirely from fiber
reinforced plastic (FRP) composite was
installed in the city of Oosterwolde in the
Netherlands. The bridge is 12 m long and
11.2 m wide and is designed to carry traffic
up to 60 tons in weight.
10 years ago. . .
Did anyone get a new car for Christmas?
asked Amanda Jacob, noting that safety
was now one of the top priorities for car
buyers (and therefore car makers) and
that automotive safety systems were predicted to see strong growth over the coming years. The pedestrian protection beam
being introduced on some European cars
is one example of where composites were
plastics and composites in the modern car

is increasing, she said, but they still face
strong competition.
To improve the position of the Spanish
companies in the market, AIMPLAS (Technological Institute for Plastics) established
riales
the Agrupacio`n Espaola de Industn
de Composites (Spanish Association of
Composites Industries). The principal objectives of AESICOM are to promote and represent Spanish reinforced plastics companies
on the European level, promote and
strengthen the contacts between its members on the national level and strengthen the
competitiveness of companies by means of
technological research and innovation.
There was interesting news that composite poles made by DuraPole were meeting
the needs of the fast growing WiFi market.
The types of poles that are becoming the
most interesting combine a light pole and
cell tower in one, reported Chris Kellogg,
president of DuraPole. We are told that cell
towers are getting shorter because wireless
transmission technology is improving. The
trend to shorter towers will help composites
better compete with steel whose lower flex
properties can be an advantage for taller
cylindrical structures.
20 years ago. . .
Composites seem to be undergoing something of a resurgence in the automotive
A few years ago thermoset composites

were dismissed as unrecyclable materials
which hit new applications. Then recession
dented volumes for existing uses. But
1996 saw the unveiling of new Class A
SMC applications in Europe and SMC
structural front ends in the USA, while
composites were starting to play a strong
role in interior components, for instance
the dashboard for the new BMW 7 series.
But if thermosets are doing well, thermoplastics are performing spectacularly, she
added. The GMT front end found success
with VW which announced that it would
use one for its new Golf A4 model which
went into production in 1997. I look forward to seeing what new applications will
come on stream in the next few years,
Weaver added.
A small but innovative use for fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) was found in a footbridge installed in the hills north of Los
Angeles, allowing thousands of hikers a
year trek along the Backbone Trail. The
bridge, made using E.T. Techtonics PRESTEK System was built using components
that are manufactured by the pultrusion
process. These high-strength FRP materials
provide the bridge system with a strengthto-weight ratio greater than steel, offering
significant design and erection advantages
over traditional materials.
0034-3617/http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.repl.2014.12.044
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APPLICATIONS
Applications
FRC solar panels provide ballistic protection
IDG EUROPE has developed a new solar
panel featuring Dyneema fiber suitable for
defensive use.
The PowerArmor panel system provides
ballistic protection and is lighter and more
portable than systems currently available. It
is made with a strong unidirectional fiberreinforced composite based on Dyneemas
high molecular weight polyethylene fiber
(UHMWPE).
IDG says this is the first time that solar

panels have been given such a high level of
ballistic protection, and replaces the aluminum normally used for portable solar
panels, which provides no such protection.
Panels made in Dyneema are also said to
weigh around 20% less than aluminum
panels of the same thickness.
The system is reportedly capable of
providing energy and protection ranging
from fragmentation to high-power rifle

ammunition.
As defense forces continue to carry more
and more electronic systems into dangerous, inhospitable and isolated places, the
need to keep portable electronic devices
operable at all times in hostile environ ran Johnson,
ments is essential, said Go
CEO at IDG Europe.
IDG Europe; www.idgeurope.com
CPBS introduces composite structural insulated panels

COMPOSITE PANEL BUILDING SYSTEMS
(CPBS) has developed a fully composite
structural insulated panel (C-SIP) suitable
for insulating and sealing houses.
The panel includes exterior sheathing,
insulation, air barrier, vapor retarder, moisture barrier and structural walls. It consists
of glass fiber reinforced thermoset polymer
(FRT) skins bonded to rigid polyurethane
foam by a chemical reaction during
manufacturing, which eliminates any risk
of delamination. The C-SIP 4 inch foam
core, with an R-value of 26, will not settle,
shrink or lose insulating value over time,
CPBS says.
According to the company, C-SIP can
replace multiple building products, including house wrap, with one product. Many
Composite Panel Building Systems (CPBS) has

developed a fully composite structural insulated
panel (C-SIP) suitable for insulating and sealing
houses.
house wraps, water resistive barriers and

laminated or fibrous structural insulated
panels suffer damage during installation
and fail to prevent water intrusion before
finish materials are applied.
The structural walls in the C-SIP system
eliminate the need to convert studs to expensive 2 6 framing, in order to meet
progressing energy codes with the added
cost of extra insulation. Installation of the
panels achieves 2012 energy code requirements and the tight building envelope created could deliver a substantial reduction in
the required HVAC cooling load as much
as a 4050% decrease over required cooling
capacity for a building using conventional
building materials.
CPBS; www.cpbsco.com/
APPLICATIONS
Amiantit wins major pipe contract in Sweden
APPLICATIONS
Amiantit Norway AS has signed a SEK115

million (s12.5 million) contract with
Swedish municipal owned company AB
Sydvatten to deliver Flowtite pipes for a
25 km long raw water pipeline.
Sydvatten supplies more than 900,000
Swedish residents with drinking water and
the contract is one of the biggest pipe contracts for water supply ever awarded to
GRP in Europe, according to Jarle Hausberg,
MD of Amiantit Norway.
The companies plan to start the installation of the raw water pipeline in the summer 2015 and the pipes will be delivered
in diameters of DN1400 and DN1600 mm.
Sydvatten wanted a non-corrosive pipe
material that could provide a lifetime of
more than 100 years. While steel and concrete pipes often have issues with corrosion, research shows that composite pipes
have a unique durability, said Markus
Janson, sales manager.
The large contract was awarded shortly
after Amiantit invested more than US$10
million in glass composite pipe research in
Norway.
Amiantit Norway; www.amiantit.eu
Markus Janson, sales manager (left), and Jarle Hausberg, MD of Amiantit Norway.
Modular wind turbine blade promises reduced costs

Wetzel Blade is developing a wind turbine
blade, based on a space frame design,
which can be easily transported and assembled on site, reducing the costs associated
with the transportation of large one-piece
blades.
The Pflugerville, Texas-based companys
blade concept won a 2014 Clean Energy
Venture Award at the US Department of
Energys (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratorys NREL Industry Growth
Forum in October. Wetzel was presented
with an Outstanding Venture Award for
its work on the field-assembled turbine
blade which is designed to boost production capacity, reduce transportation costs
and deliver longer service life than current
blade designs.
The Wetzel blade is based on a space
frame design and features three solid pultruded fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) spars
connected by ribs, and non-structural skins
(see diagram). The parts are sized for easy
transport and field assembly.
Kyle Wetzel, CTO/Founder of Wetzel
Blade, explains that this concept emerged
4
Transporting large one-piece wind turbine blades

by road is expensive. The costs involved can
amount to 35% of the total installed cost of
each turbine.
Wetzels blade design.
from a project that the companys parent

company, Wetzel Engineering, was involved
with in China.
We were engineering a 100 m blade for a
10 MW turbine and wanted to eliminate
shell panel buckling as a design driver. The
balsa requirements presented another challenge almost 10,000 kg of this expensive
core material absorbing 6000 kg of epoxy.
Because of our involvement with the entire turbine lifecycle, we understand that to
make a real shift in the economics, a blade
design must generate more electricity, cost

less to build and maintain, and be more
efficient to transport and install. The industry is hungry for a solution that delivers on
all those points, he adds.
The space frame design offers several
advantages:
Substantial reductions in weight and cost:
buckling is addressed more efficiently;
Reductions
in capital expenditures:
enables cost-effective production of
smaller volumes of a given blade design;
Improvement in quality: elimination of

laminate-related quality problems; elimination of weight tolerance issues associated with infusion of fabric and core;
easier inspection of adhesive bonds;
More fault-tolerant design loads are
carried through multiple spars and stringers;
Reduction in labor more amenable to
automation.
Todays wind turbine blades are fully assembled in factories and transported in one
piece to wind farms. In the US, 58 m blades

are the largest that can be transported in

a traditional manner using large trailers
with escort vehicles. The logistics involve
coordinating drivers, escorts, permits and
specialised equipment all of this generally
amounts to 35% of the total installed
cost of each turbine.
The value proposition of the Wetzel
modular blade is to enable turbines to
generate 7% more average annual energy,
reduce blade transportation costs by 75%
and deliver 50% longer service life compared to current generation blades.
APPLICATIONS
Wetzel Blade is currently in the structural

testing phase with plans to demonstrate a
sub-scale prototype in early 2015. The project has been partially funded through an
SBIR/STTR award from the Department of
Energy.
Clean Energy Venture Award winners
receive commercialisation support to help
increase their chances of becoming commercially successful.
Wetzel Engineering; www.wetzelengineering.
com
Unique tennis racket made with 3D printing

CRP TECHNOLOGY has produced a tennis
racket with a combination of 3D printing
and composite material.
It used Windforms XT 2.0 carbon fiber
reinforced polyamide composite, which has
been developed for 3D printing/laser sintering applications and is also suitable for
the motorsport and space industries. It
can be used in applications requiring high
resistance to stresses and damage.
The companies say that the aim of the
project was to make the racket grip
more aerodynamic and responsive. The
remodeled parts also incorporate the results
of aerodynamic research intended to
improve the players match performance.
The prototype was designed by initially
breaking the tennis rack down into its
The racket was made using Windforms carbon

fiber reinforced polyamide composite.
The 3D printed composite tennis racket.
three fundamental parts: the handle, the

neck and the head. Structural variants
were developed for each of them. At the
same time, work was carried out on the

entire frame to improve uniformity and
balance. The changes made delivered fundamental improvements in the rackets performance, introducing a new-concept racket
with changes to its structure, form and
details, CRP says. It was then possible to 3d
print the racket as a single monolithic piece.
CRP Technology; www.crptechnology.eu
AIMPLAS assists in Spanish composite lighthouse

COMPOSITES ARE TO be used extensively in
a new lighthouse project in Valencia, Spain.
The new lighthouse has been mainly designed with composite materials and is claimed
will demonstrate the potential of composites
in the construction sector. AIMPLAS will be
providing technical assistance on the project.
In this particular case, six carbon fiber

tubular profiles several-centimeters-thick
support a set of glass fiber floors slabs and
their bracings, which surround a central
tube that leads the stairs to the upper part
into the lantern room, all made with composites.
The lighthouses only traditional construction is the cupola, which is made with
traditional materials.
AIMPLAS has offered technical assistance
to the project managers and has ensured that
the building contractor met the quality plan.
AIMPLAS; www.aimplas.es
Airbus shares expertise with Americas Cup team

AIRBUS HAS ANNOUNCED a partnership
with ORACLE TEAM USA, the defending
champion of the Americas Cup, under
which it will share its composites expertise.
Airbus will also share its know-how
in aerodynamics, instrumentation and
simulation, structures, hydraulics and data
analysis with the yacht design team.
Americas Cup yachts are primarily constructed of carbon fiber composite. The new
Airbus A350 XWB, which made its maiden
flight last year, is the first Airbus aircraft to
be over 50 wt% composite.
The Americas Cup is a boat race, but the
design technology and engineering are very
often the winning factor, says ORACLE
TEAM USA skipper Jimmy Spithill. The

new Americas Cup boats are lighter and
faster than what weve had before. They will
be powered by a wing and will fly above the
water on foils. Theyre as much like airplanes
as they are like traditional boats, so I know
well have a lot to learn from the experience
the engineers at Airbus bring to the project.
APPLICATIONS
APPLICATIONS
ORACLE TEAM USA first won the

Americas Cup in 2010 racing a trimaran
powered by one of the largest wings (68 m)
ever built. In 2013, the team successfully
defended its title in the AC72 class wingsail
APPLICATIONS
6
powered catamarans that flew above the

water on hydrofoils at over 50 mph (90 kph).
The next Americas Cup will be in 2017
and raced in the new AC62 class a smaller,
lighter and more finely engineered foiling
catamaran than its predecessor that is

expected to reach similar speeds.
Airbus; www.airbus.com
ORACLE TEAM USA; oracle-team-usa.americascup.
com
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BUSINESS
Business
Hexcel opens 6 million research center
HEXCEL HAS OPENED a new 6 million
research and technology (R&T) facility at
its Duxford, UK site.
Duxford is Hexcels largest center for
research into resin systems and adhesives
and is also the companys center of excellence for process technology, including
product scale-up and research into new
process methods for making composite
materials, including quality control
methods.
Hexcel decided to create a new dedicated
facility to house all chemistry functions and
expand its R&T expertise. The aim is to
develop technologies that will enable composite materials to penetrate further in aerospace structures and in selected industrial
applications for energy, automotive and
other industrial markets. Construction of
the Innovation Center is scheduled for
completion in 2016.
Additional investments at Hexcel
Duxford include the expansion of and filming systems to support large scale production of the composite materials required for
the Airbus A350 XWB program. Resin films
produced in Hexcel Duxford are combined
with carbon fiber and converted into
The opening ceremony was attended by Vince Cable, UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation
and Skills, seen here with Hexcel senior vice president and CFO Wayne Pensky (left).
unidirectional prepreg at Hexcel plants in

France, Spain, Germany and the USA.
The company has also announced that
it will invest in a new prepreg tower
and expand its honeycomb capacity at
Duxford. The prepreg tower is expected
to be qualified by early 2017 to support

the increasing demand for aerospace programs including the A350 XWB.
Hexcel also plans to add up to 100 jobs to
the Duxford workforce by 2017.
Hexcel; www.hexcel.com
Composites information service launched

LUCIDEON, a provider of materials development, testing and assurance, has launched
a new Composites Information Service.
The new service allows companies to
gather information specifically relating
to composite materials, including processes, properties, applications and benefits.

Our experienced team of information
specialists are able to take your specific topic
area or keywords, and provide you with a
sample database search and relevant

abstracts with accompanying bibliographic
details, said Ann Pace, information services
manager at Lucideon.
Lucideon; www.lucideon.com
BUSINESS
Toray Industries to supply 777X wings material to Boeing
BUSINESS
BOEING HAS SIGNED a memorandum of

agreement with Japanese composite supplier Toray Industries to expand its current
contract for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to
include the 777X wing material.
Adding the 777X wings to the current 787
contract represents a significant increase in
the material Toray is supplying to Boeing.
The long-term contract extension will take
effect in 2015.
The companies will also collaborate
to improve the commercialization of
composites in the aerospace market, increasing the consistency and performance
of composites across the production
system and developing a cost structure
that could be more competitive with

metals.
Boeing and Toray pioneered the use of
prepreg composites in the 1970s. By 1994,
assemblies including the empennage and
floor beams were being produced for the
777 program, the first commercial airplane featuring structurally significant
composite parts. This culminated in the
launch of the 787, the worlds first largely
composite commercial airplane, in 2004.
Toray and Boeing have worked together to
develop all of the current Boeing programs: the Next-Generation 737, 737
MAX, 747, 767, 777 and the 787 Dreamliner.
We believe that this agreement signifies

the solid mutual trust Toray has been building with Boeing through the stable supply of
high quality carbon fiber materials since the
1970s, said Akihiro Nikkaku, president of
Toray Industries. Going forward, Toray will
continue to duly enhance its supply capacity
in line with the production increases
planned by Boeing.
Boeing now has contracts in place for
more than 75 percent of the major structural material for the 777X. The wingspan of
the 777X measures 71.7 m (235.4 feet),
6.95 m (22.8 feet) longer than the span of
todays 777-300ER.
Toray Industries; www.toray.com
acquisition will ensure the future growth

of our Balsa wood related business says
Roman Thomassin, CEO of 3A Composites
Core Materials.
The combination of these two world class
organizations will further improve the quality and accessibility of Balsa wood globally.
Additionally, this will help all customers
to source stable, affordable, high quality
product in the future adds Roman Thomassin. Pierre Moneton, Managing Director of
PNGB adds, This will ensure a healthy and
steady growth for PNGB in the future, while
providing us access to new markets, customers, and products.
3A Composites; www.3acomposites.com
PNG Balsa; www.pngbalsa.com
The 2014 Composites UK Awards dinner held at

the UKs National Motorcycle Museum.
Andrew Dugmore, chairman of Composites UK,

presenting at the dinner.
Composites Centre. The awards are also a

great event to meet in a more social environment and catch up with some great contacts.
The awards keep improving year on year and
we look forward to being involved as much as

possible.
The 2015 dinner will take place on
Wednesday 4th November.
Composites UK; www.compositesuk.co.uk
3A Composites acquires PNG Balsa

3A COMPOSITES, A DIVISION of Schweiter
Technologies, is to acquire PNG Balsa. Producer and distributor of structural core
materials 3A Composites has signed a contract to acquire PNGB, a producer of Balsa
with its own plantations in Papua New
Guinea.
This is a great addition to the existing businesses of 3A Composites. This
2014 Composites UK Awards dinner

THE UK COMPOSITES industry celebrated
its successes at the 2014 Composites UK
Awards Dinner held on 11 November.
Besides the nine award winners, an Outstanding Contribution to the UK Composites Industry Award was presented to Paul
Shakspeare of Shakspeare Services for being
instrumental in the concept development
of the Hub database, his leading role in the
Composites Leadership Forum and his
work in developing the UK Composites
Strategy.
It is great to see positive news being shared
and recognised in a fantastic industry and
British manufacturing, said Ben Wilson, director of MPM (Bradford) which co-sponsored with Axillium and the National
Composite Cluster Singapore and Componeering in software partnership

COMPOSITE CLUSTER SINGAPORE PTE LTD
(CCS) and Componeering Inc. have signed
an agreement to substantiate their collaboration regarding Componeerings ESAComp
8
software in the ASEAN region. Through the

agreement, CCS becomes the regional distributor and technical support center for
Componeerings ESAComp software.
The ASEAN region already has significant production capacity for highperformance composites, so the natural
next step is to develop their composite
design competencies too. Combined

with training, support and know-how
from CCS, ESAComp provides an excellent
base for learning structural design of advanced composites, said Mr. Markku
Palantera, General Manager of Componeering.
ESAComp has established itself as the best

composite design software around and it also
integrates easily with common CAE software.
We are therefore very happy to establish this
partnership with Componeering that allows
us to substantially upgrade our customers
advanced composites capabilities. Compos-
BUSINESS
ite design capabilities are a key element to go

from contract manufacturing to original design manufacturing and ESAComp directly
addresses that, added Dr. Florian Doetzer,
Managing Director of CCS.
Composite Cluster Singapore Pte Ltd;
www.compositecluster.com
HEXAGON COMPOSITES wholly owned

subsidiary Hexagon Lincoln has closed on
a transaction acquiring the main assets of
MasterWorks family of businesses: MasterWorks Machining, MasterWorks Composite Solutions and Helman Tensioners.
MasterWorks and Helman Tensioners
specialize in providing design and
manufacturing solutions for the composites

industry. Hexagon Composites says that
this acquisition enhances its technology
leadership and manufacturing robustness,
and will provide additional capabilities for
further expansions.
The agreed transaction value is US$1.7
million. Located in Maryland on the US East
Coast, MasterWorks has 29 employees. The

business will operate under a newly formed
entity, MasterWorks, Inc., as a wholly
owned subsidiary of Hexagon Lincoln.
Hexagon Lincoln; www.hexagonlincoln.com
Momentive CCT and Consuta collaborate on composites training

COMBINED COMPOSITE TECHNOLOGIES
LTD., part of Momentive Specialty Chemicals (Momentive CCT), has developed a
specially adapted training school in collaboration with Consuta Training at its facility
in Segensworth North, near Fareham,
Hampshire in the United Kingdom.
Momentive CCT says that the new training school will not only be able to improve
skills of its own workforce, but is also developing capacity to enable it to provide highquality training to the workforce across the
composite industry. Consuta Training is
collaborating in the venture, providing flexible, modular and bespoke courses in a
range of composite production processes.
According to Momentive CCT, the new
training school is equipped with a full range
of molds, autoclaves, ovens, vacuum equipment and all the ancillary tools needed to
facilitate courses in the three major composite production processes: wet lay-up,
pre-preg and resin infusion. Class sizes are
Chris Little, Director of Consuta Training, instructs

through a hands-on demonstration.
kept to a maximum number of 10 students,

to ensure the delivery of the highest quality
tuition from Consutas expert trainers.
Consutas courses, held at Momentive
CCT, are open to all composite manufacturing companies, colleges and universities,
across the UK and further afield. Additionally, Consuta says that its approach allows
students to learn one topic or process at a
time if required, in manageable chunks, at

intervals to fit in with their work or other
studies.
Paul Collier, Managing Director at
Momentive CCT, commented: We see this
collaborative approach between manufacturer and trainer as the way forward to
ensure the composite industry has a competent, well-qualified workforce. The need
for high-quality training applies to existing
employees, who may need to acquire additional skills, just as much as to new employees who need to be trained from scratch.
Chris Little, Director of Consuta Training, added: We are really excited to be
delivering our specialized composite training courses within the dedicated school at
Momentive CCTs production facility. Consutas courses have already started with
Momentive CCTs employees and we look
forward to welcoming students from across
industry and academia.
Consuta; www.consuta.com
RocTool signs global license agreement with Flextronics

ROCTOOL, THE DESIGNER and developer
of technologies for rapid injection molding
of composites and plastics, has signed a
global license agreement with Flextronics,
a provider of global end-to-end supply
chain solutions including designing,
manufacturing, shipping and services for
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Flextronics began using RocTool technologies in 2011. However, the new global
license expands the agreement to include
RocTool latest injection molding processes
for composites and plastic injection and
innovations for consumer electronics, automotive, wearable applications, and a wide
range of consumer products.
Francois Barbier, president of Global

Operations and Components at Flextronics
states: We are happy to expand our partnership with RocTool as well as increasing
the molding processes and capabilities that
we provide our valued OEM customers.
Flextronics adds that it has an established global presence, and its capabilities
BUSINESS
Hexagon Composites acquires assets of MasterWorks Machining and Helman Tensioners
BUSINESS
include injection molding and compression molding, that include the latest
Heat and Cool technologies from RocTool.
Alexandre Guichard, RocTool chairman

says: Combining our unique technology
with Flextronics impressive molding capabilities on a global scale should create new
opportunities and bring to the OEMs a

relevant manufacturing solution.
RocTool; www.roctool.com
UK boat builder CTruk plans expansion
BUSINESS
CTRUK IS PLANNING to develop a new site

to build the larger support vessels required
for the latest offshore wind farm projects.
Established in 2010, CTruk designs and
builds composite offshore wind farm support vessels using the resin infusion process.
It has also built a proof-of-concept military
vessel.
The company recently signed the lease on
a 6400 m2 site on the Colne Estuary, a few
miles upriver from its current base in Brightlingsea. It plans to use the new Fieldgates
site to build the larger vessels required for
offshore wind farm projects further out to
sea. It is planning to move some production
activity over early next year.
The company has also applied for a grant
through Round 6 of Regional Growth Fund
(RGF) to build a new production facility,
offices and training centre on the Fieldgates
site. This Advanced Composite Technology
Centre could create more than 120 new
jobs over the next 5 years. If the new centre
goes ahead, the existing Brightlingsea site
will become CTruks vessel delivery, maintenance and warranty base.
The proposed CTruk Advanced Composite Technology Centre could create 120 new jobs.
CTruk has driven innovation in offshore

wind vessel design since its inception, and
we intend to continue to apply our unique
approach to design and build with the
larger accommodation vessels required
for the challenging sea conditions further
offshore, says CTruk chairman Peter
McIntosh. This requirement is the main
driver for our planned expansion, but the
technology centre, with its in-house training facility, would also see us well placed to
diversify into other commercial marine sectors, set up overseas agreements and also
apply our composites expertise to nonmarine manufacturing opportunities.
CTruk expects a decision on grant funding support in early 2015.
CTruk; www.ctruk.com
Exel reports that growth in China will be

accelerated by expanding the local sales
network, R&D and manufacturing capacity.
Global footprint will be expanded by increasing sales coverage and growing supply
and service to new market areas, including
Americas.
Exel also announced new financial targets of:
Growth: turnover growth 2 average
market growth;
Exel Composites unveils new strategy

EXEL COMPOSITES has announced a new
strategy focused on accelerating growth in
China, penetrating new applications and
market segments, creating a global footprint, and growing through new technologies.
The company, headquartered in Finland,
employs the pultrusion, pullwinding, continuous lamination and prepreg moulding
processes to manufacture composite profiles and tubes for industrial applications.
Profitability: operating profit margin

over 10% of net sales; and
Capital efficiency: return on capital
employed over 20%.
The company says acquisitions are targeted to boost growth and to cover market
and technology gaps.
Exel Composites; www.exelcomposites.com
Quickstep to create automotive division at Deakin University

QUICKSTEP HOLDINGS LTD, an Australian
manufacturer of carbon fiber composite
components for the aerospace, defense
and automotive industries, is establishing
a dedicated automotive division co-located
10
with Deakin University to design automotive manufacturing cells.

Quickstep has been awarded a grant of
$1.76 million from the Geelong Region
Innovation and Investment Fund (GRIIF)
(an Australian Government, Victorian

Government and Ford Australia funded
initiative under the Geelong Region
Innovation and Investment Fund), which
will assist with this project.
The Quickstep automotive division will

be located at Deakin Universitys Waurn
Ponds campus in Geelong. Quickstep will
establish a new facility to design and develop automotive manufacturing cells incorporating the Quickstep Process, an out-ofautoclave technology which uses fluids to
cure components, and the Quickstep resin
spray transfer (RST) system.
The facility will also enable the production of customer prototypes and initial
production quantities. Total project expenditure is anticipated to be $5.6 million from
now to June 2017 and will create 30 new
jobs.
Quickstep has collaborated with Deakin
University for over a decade. The new facility will also give the company access to
Carbon Nexus, Deakins open access pilot
carbon fibre manufacturing line and research facility.

We are capitalizing on Deakins knowledge of Quickstep and the areas wealth of
automotive skills to create a new automotive division associated with the Carbon
Nexus facility, says Quickstep Executive
Chairman, Tony Quick. This grant will
make an important contribution to enable
us to build a strong automotive culture
and propel Quickstep further into the
global automotive market. Carbon Nexus
provides access to industry and a team of
researchers who have helped to develop
new carbon fibres, reduce production costs
and speed up manufacturing processes,
and we will benefit from their expertise
as we improve our volume production
capacity.
BUSINESS
Quicksteps primary business model for

the automotive sector is to produce
manufacturing cells and license its Quickstep Process and RST technology to manufacturers around the world. The company
says it is currently in advanced negotiations with an original equipment manufacturer.
Quickstep Holdings (ASX:QHL) operates
aerospace manufacturing facilities at Bankstown Airport in Sydney, Australia and is an
approved supplier for the international F-35
Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. The company has also been selected
by Lockheed Martin as the sole supplier of
composite wing flaps for the C-130J Hercules military transport aircraft.
Quickstep; www.quickstep.com.au
Deakin University; www.deakin.edu.au
SAERTEX expands capacity in US and Brazil

MULTIAXIAL REINFORCEMENTS PRODUCER SAERTEX has announced the acquisition of US company Fiber Glass Industries
knitting equipment and nonwoven production capacity, as well as plans to increase
production capacity at its Brazilian facility.
With the addition of FGIs equipment,
SAERTEX will now expand its focus on
the North American marine and industrial
markets. The marine industry, in particular,
will enjoy wider access to SAERTEXs product portfolio, including SAERcore, a reinforcement textile combining any desired
core material and facing materials.
SAERTEX will also continue to strengthen its presence in the Brazilian market
with its newest facility SAERTEX Brasil in
Indaiatuba, Sao Paulo. This site, which began production in 2014, will increase its
annual production capacity of non-crimp
multiaxial fabrics from the current 5000 tons

to 15,000 tons in 2015.
The SAERTEX Group, headquartered in
Germany, produces glass, aramid and carbon fiber multiaxial non-crimp fabrics
(NCFs). It has manufacturing facilities in
Europe, South Africa, the USA, India, Brazil
and China, and a sales and distribution
network covering more than 50 countries.
SAERTEX; www.saertex.com
HGGC and Charlesbank Capital Partners acquire The Composites Group

US PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS HGGC and
Charlesbank Capital Partners, with portfolio company Citadel Plastics Holdings,
have completed the acquisition of The
Composites Group (TCG), a manufacturer
of thermoset composite moulding compounds.
The acquisition of TCG from private investment firm Highlander Partners, expands
Citadels portfolio and builds the companys
presence in markets such as energy,
aerospace and healthcare.
Formed in 2007 and headquartered in
West Chicago, Citadel provides both thermoplastics and engineered composite com-
pounds for the automotive, electrical,

construction, and other markets. Its companies include BMC, a manufacturer of
thermoset bulk moulding compounds
(BMC).
TCG, headquartered in Ohio, USA, comprises three business units Premix, Hadlock
Plastics and Quantum Composites offering
a portfolio of glass fibre and carbon fiber
reinforced thermoset composite moulding
compounds and parts. This year TCG
launched the PremierLTTM family of lightweight, high-performance sheet moulding
compounds (SMCs) designed for structural
and semi-structural applications, and the
PremierUVTM UV-resistant, flame retardant

SMCs for electrical and outdoor applications.
With this acquisition, and the addition of
Lucent Polymers in December 2013, Citadel
has significantly expanded its business, with
revenue increasing from approximately
US$300 million to approximately US$525
million.
TCG strategically enhances Citadels
positioning in the market, strengthening
the companys ability to deliver customer
solutions across a growing portfolio of
product and material capabilities, reported
Gary Crittenden, Chairman of Citadel.
TCG; www.thecompositesgroup.com
11
BUSINESS
TECHNOLOGY
Technology
MarkForged develops 3D printer for carbon fibre
US company MarkForged says its Mark One
3D printer enables engineers to design and
create carbon, Kevlar1 and glass fiber composite parts at their desk.
The Mark One machine, which is
322 mm 360 mm 575 mm
in size,
employs the patent pending Composite
Filament Fabrication (CFFTM) process.
Parts made with CFF contain continuous
strands of fibers embedded in a thermoplastic matrix that hardens during printing.
The patent pending towpreg developed
by MarkForged allows the Mark One to
produce parts up to 20 times stiffer and
five times stronger than the traditional
unreinforced commodity thermoplastics

like ABS used by most 3D printing systems.
MarkForged currently offers three different continuous reinforcing towpregs in a
proprietary polyamide (PA) blend:
MarkForged Carbon Fiber CFF filament
has the strongest strength-to-weight ratio
(stronger than 6061-T6 aluminium by
weight);
MarkForged Fiberglass CFF filament has
the best strength-to-cost balance, and is
also EMR transparent and electrically
insulating; and
MarkForged Kevlar1 CFF filament provides high abrasion and impact resistance.
Many of our customers had never made

composites before, and they are using the
Mark One to produce brackets, tooling
and fixtures that they used to make from
aluminum, reports Greg Mark, CEO and
Founder of MarkForged.
MarkForged is backed by Matrix Partners
and North Bridge Venture Partners.
The Mark One 3D printer won an
American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) Award for Composites
Excellence (ACE) in the Manufacturing
category at the 2014 Composites and Advanced Materials Expo (CAMX) trade show
in Orlando, Florida, on 1316 October.
MarkForged; www.markforged.com
Helping boat builders develop new designs

3A COMPOSITES CORE MATERIALS and
composites consultancy STRUCTeam have
developed structural design software to
help boat builders and designers optimise
new boat designs.
The software provides a bill of materials
and weight estimate compliant with
both ISO 12215 Category A and ABS guidelines. This will help boat builders and
designers conduct rapid feasibility studies
that reduce the cost and complexity of their

designs.
Decreasing the cost and complexity of
structural design without impacting on
performance are key drivers behind the development of new boats, explained STRUCTeams managing director Julien Sellier. We
input the basic dimensions of a motor or
sailing yacht between 25 ft and 70 ft plus
the designers preferred build technology
into our software solution. The output is a

rapid first calculation of the bill of materials.
The service is tailored to the marine
industrys needs and it incorporates the
primary technologies used in boat building.
Designers can choose composites technologies including glass or carbon fiber, and
3A Composites product range of balsa,
PVC or PET foam core materials.
STRUCTeam; www.structeam-ltd.com
Toho Tenax develops thermoset carbon fiber preform technology

TOHO TENAX CO LTD says it has developed a technology for the efficient production of thermoset carbon fiber reinforced
plastic (CFRP) preforms, which it is calling
Tenax1 Part via Preform (PvP).
The new technology is said to be based

on a one-step carbon fiber bobbin to
preform concept using Tenax Binder Yarn,
which combines carbon fiber with a
binder resin. The yarn can be processed
to give random fiber placement for isotropic behaviour, or aligned fiber placement
in areas where higher mechanical performance is required, or a combination of
the two.
12
The company claims that the Tenax PvP

process enables automated manufacturing
of preforms to any desired geometry. Expensive intermediate steps are not necessary.
The technology is also said to help reduce
both carbon fiber waste and manual labour
compared to conventional preform production.
Toho Tenax expects this automated, costeffective solution for the manufacture of
CFRP components will be particularly attractive to the automotive industry.

The company has demonstrated the
use of Tenax PvP technology in highand low-pressure resin transfer molding
(RTM) processes for both structural and
visual automotive parts. It says it is
now working with car makers worldwide
to develop commercial applications for
Tenax PvP.
TECHNOLOGY
Toho Tenax is the core company of the

Teijin Groups carbon fibers and composites
business. Teijin has been working on a carbon fiber thermoplastic composites technology for the production of automotive
components (collaborating with General
Motors) and last year it launched its Sereebo
brand carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic
materials.
Teijin; www.teijin.com
TECHNOLOGY
Faurecia promotes hemp-based materials for auto industry

Automotive equipment supplier Faurecia
has created a 50/50 joint venture with
French agricultural cooperative Interval to
develop and produce bio-sourced raw materials for the automotive industry.
The joint venture company, called Automotive Performance Materials (APM), will
draw on the assets of Frances industrial and
agricultural sectors to develop industrial
uses for natural fibers such as hemp.
Interval will harvest and defibrate hemp
and supply it to APM, which will transform
and mix the product with polypropylene
resin to create a material known as NAFILean, which can be processed in traditional
injection moulding machines. Automotive
equipment suppliers will then be able to use
this material to make automotive parts such
as instrument panels, door panels and centre consoles.
According to Faurecia, NAFILean enables
weight savings of up to 20% on standard
plastics, and reduces overall environmental
impact by 2025% through the components lifecycle.
APM will also begin industrial production
of BioMat, a 100% bio-sourced plastic that
uses fibers and natural resins obtained from
biomass, developed in partnership with
Mitsubishi Chemical.
Faurecias NAFILean hemp-fiber reinforced thermoplastic features in the door panels of the productionspec Peugeot 308.
APM aims to supply the automotive industry through Faurecia and other companies. It has started production in France and
is set to expand to the North American
market in 2016, with plans to export to Asia
by 2018.
Faurecia, headquartered in France, continues to invest in research into bio-sourced

materials with the dual goal of reducing
environmental impact and promoting independence from oil-based products.
Faurecia; www.faurecia.com
Benzoxazine resin suitable for high-temp uses

CHEMICAL GIANT Henkel and Quickstep,
an Australian manufacturer of carbon fiber
composite components, have tested Henkels Loctite benzoxazine resin in high temperature-resistant components for aircraft
and helicopters.
The use of liquid resin processes such as
resin transfer molding (RTM) and vacuum
assisted RTM (VARTM) has developed rapidly in recent years. There is a need to use
these processes more extensively in future
aerospace structures because large and complex parts can be manufactured economically, and the costs of autoclave processing
of prepreg materials can be avoided. Despite
the benefits of liquid resin processes, there
are challenges to extending their use to
primary structure and high temperature
applications due to the limitations of the
resin systems available, the companies say.
In tests, Henkels Loctite BZ 9130 AERO
resin was combined with a rapid heating and
cooling manufacturing approach to produce

high temperature resistant composite laminates and parts at significantly lower cycle
times. Key mechanical strength properties
were measured. The technique was then applied to a curved, integrally stiffened composite panel to demonstrate the ability of the
process to produce complex parts suitable for
use in aerospace applications.
For the laminate and demonstrator
curing the Quickstep process was chosen.
13
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
The Quickstep process is based on the principle of conduction heating and uses a heat
transfer fluid (HTF) to apply heat and pressure to the uncured component during processing.
In order to demonstrate the capability of
the resin and infusion/curing techniques
on a scale larger than flat laminates, a demonstrator panel, approximately 1 m2 was
preformed and infused. This panel consists
of 5 layers of 370 gsm 5HS carbon fabric for
the skin plies, resulting in a skin thickness
of 2 mm, onto which a series of four hatshaped, or omega-type stiffeners were placed
using removable mandrels. The assembly
was bagged and placed into the Quickstep
curing chamber for infusion and cure.
Hat-stiffened curved panel demonstrator

produced using BZ 9130 resin. (Photo: Business
Wire).
The processing of the Loctite BZ 9130

resin proved to be infusion-friendly in
the Quickstep process, and void-free panels

were produced with fiber volumes in the
5557% range, which is considered high for
a woven fabric laminate. Mechanical evaluation and quality measurement of the
panels confirmed values similar to or higher
than those achieved in standard oven-based
VARTM processing. The Quickstep process
provided a faster heating and cooling of the
laminate and uniform temperature during
the infusion process.
Henkel and Quickstep presented the full
study at CAMX in Orlando, USA, in midOctober.
Henkel Adhesives; www.henkel-adhesives.
com/aerospace
Granta teams up with Wichita State to use composite data

GRANTA DESIGN and Wichita State Universitys (WSU) National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP)
have agreed that NCAMPs composite design and test data will be available to users
of the GRANTA MI materials information
management system.
Granta already supplies NCAMP data to
engineering enterprises that use its software, particularly in the aerospace and defense sectors, but the new agreement will
deliver more in-depth data to these organizations, as well as securing access to
future updates and improving the speed
of delivery of data updates. This will allow

the companies to compare and analyze the
new information alongside in-house data.
NCAMP data can be fully integrated in
GRANTA MI not only material property
reference data on composites, metals and
plastics from a range of other materials
data sources, but also with an organizations own proprietary composite data from
testing, QA, research and production.
For example, instead of qualifying an
entire material system, aircraft manufacturers can pull a system from the NCAMP
database, prove equivalency and gain
certification more quickly. Material suppliers can work with NCAMP to qualify material systems without having to be linked to
an ongoing aircraft certification program.
The composite specification and design
values developed using the NCAMP process
are accepted by the Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety
Agency per FAA Memorandum AIR1002010-120-003 and EASA Certification
Memorandum CM-S-004. NCAMP stemmed
from NASAs 1995 Advanced General
Aviation Transport Experiment (AGATE).
Granta Design; www.grantadesign.com
ONSERT joining technology demonstrated on BMW i3
The ONSERT threaded bolt with plastic base and

adhesive (red) on a CFRP plate. (Picture courtesy
of Bollhoff.)
llhoff and adhesives

Assembly specialist Bo
expert DELO have developed a bonded bolt
technology called ONSERT which has been
demonstrated in a pilot project on the
BMW i3 electric vehicle.
14
ONSERT can be used with composites such

as carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP),
which is finding increasing use in the automotive industry, as well as thin sheet metals,
plastics and other materials. The joining technique combines the advantages of bonding
technology with those of detachable screwed
connections. Fastening elements, such as
threaded metal bolts, are fitted a transparent
plastic base, which is bonded to the composite material using a light-curing adhesive.
A key feature of this technique is its speed,
explains DELO. The adhesive is cured in
around 4 s using an LED lamp. It is also
possible to automate this process. The bonded connection can be loaded immediately.
Bonded bolts with a base diameter of 25 mm
achieve a pull-off strength up to 2000 N
on CFRP. When applying higher forces, a
predetermined breaking point in the base
In the BMW i3 trial the ONSERT joining

technology was used to fix cables, cladding and
other components. The BMW i3 has a CFRP
monocoque. (Picture courtesy of BMW.)
ensures that the composite laminate remains

intact and no fibers are torn out.
Developed for the automotive, aviation
and white goods industries, ONSERTs
TECHNOLOGY
are suitable for a broad variety of tasks

where components must be fixed. Possible
applications include cable harnesses,
control units, sensor retainers, brake
lines, cladding or exterior attachment

components.
DELO; www.delo.de
Bollhoff Group; www.boellhoff.com
design updates based on analysis results. It

also provides new design-for-manufacturing
processes that help improve parts designed to
match the manufacturing definition and
then trimmed to the engineering definition.
Manufacturing composite products
requires a multi-disciplined, concurrent
engineering approach where information
is efficiently exchanged between disciplines during all phases of the development
cycle, said Steve Luby, senior vice president, specialized engineering software,
Siemens PLM Software. Exchanging composites information between analysis and
design has historically been extremely
difficult and error prone because the
terminology and geometric representations used by each discipline are different.

The enhancements in Fibersim 13 improve
productivity by enabling engineers to import and update their CAD model from the
CAE composite part representation, providing engineers with a tool to efficiently
optimize designs.
Fibersim 13 also extends its integration
with Siemens Teamcenter software to associate manufacturing datasets such as flat
patterns, laser data and automated deposition data to the proper model revision and
subsequently communicate this information to the factory floor.
Siemens; www.siemens.com
SIEMENS has updated its Fibersim composites engineering software with new functionality for bi-directional exchange of
computer-aided engineering (CAE) and
computer-aided design (CAD) data.
The software can be used to design and
manufacture composite structures and is
suitable for the aerospace, automotive, marine, and wind energy industries.
Siemens says that the new improvements
eliminate error prone data re-entry and can
reduce design and analysis time by up to 80%
and shorten some design for manufacturing
processes by up to 50%.
Fibersim 13 integrates analysis data into
the design environment, enabling automatic
Creating composite structures with thermoplastic tapes

COMPOSITE CLUSTER SINGAPORE (CCS)
has conceived a technology that combines
thermoplastic tape placement technology
with robotics and laser technologies to create
compositestructuresatpotentiallylowercost.
CCS plans to develop the idea in a joint
project with its partners HOPE Technik Pte
Ltd., KUKA Robot Automation (M) Sdn Bhd,
SGL Group and TRUMPF Pte Ltd. While
HOPE will focus on integration and prototyping (HOPE), (KUKA) will offer robotics.
Thermoplastic composite material will be
supplied by SGL and industrial laser technology by TRUMPF.
CCS and its partners say that they are

building on recent advancements in highperformance carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) material and automation to
create a way to make components without
expensive molds and tooling.
The idea of freespace composite
manufacturing that we are developing
further in this project is certainly pushing
the boundaries of what is possible with
todays technology, said Dr. Florian Doetzer, MD of CCS, who is leading the project.
It is the joint competence of world class
project partners that will allow us to
achieve something that has never been

done before.
The success of the project will push the
boundaries in materials engineering
in Singapore and have disruptive implications in the high-technology based
manufacturing for the aerospace, aviation
and motoring industries, said Edwin
Chow, executive director for the innovation and start-ups group, standards, productivity and innovation board (SPRING)
Singapore, which is supporting the project.
Composite
Cluster
Singapore;
www.
compositecluster.com
Giant robot helps NASA make composite parts

NASAs LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER has
installed a huge robotic arm that can move in
pre-programmed patterns to deposit carbon
fibers and epoxy to make aerospace structures and parts.
The advanced composite research capability, called ISAAC (Integrated Structural Assembly of Advanced Composites) is located
in NASAs Hampton, Virginia facility and
cost around US$1.7 million dollars to develop and install.
We have worked for two years to obtain
this precise robotic technology. But we proposed the idea more than six years ago, said
The crane returned two weeks later so the 21foot tall robot arm could be placed on the track.
The robot head will make large composite pieces
by sliding up and down the track laying down
epoxy and carbon fibers in precise patterns.
structural mechanics engineer Chauncey

Wu. It will really make a difference in our
ability to understand composite materials
and processes for use in aviation and space
vehicles.
The researchers plan to have ISAAC up
and running by early 2015 with the first
research customer the Aeronautics Research
Mission Directorates Advanced Composites Project (ACP).
The ACP is a public-private partnership
that is geared toward reducing the amount
of time and money it takes to bring new, advanced composites from test tube to vehicles.
15
TECHNOLOGY
Siemens updates Fibersim software
TECHNOLOGY
NASAs space projects also plan to use the

ISAAC system in their research. The second
project planned for the robot is the Composites for Exploration Upper Stage (C-EUS)
Project, a partnership between the Space
Technology Mission Directorate and Human Exploration Mission Directorate that

is led by the Marshall Space Flight Center.
The C-EUS Project is a three-year effort to
design, build, test and address flight certifi-
cation of a large composite shell suitable

for the second stage of the Space Launch
System.
NASA; www.nasa.gov
New tech uses natural wood fibers
TECHNOLOGY
NEW TECHNOLOGY developed at the University of Southern Mississippis school of

polymers and high performance materials
and Oregon State University uses natural
wood fibers to reinforce plastic materials.
According to Mississippis Joshua
Otaigbe, who is leading the project with
John Nairn from Oregon State, the technology could revolutionize the composite industry, particularly building, construction,
automobiles, and aircraft.
Currently, the composite industry combines wood particles rather than fibers with
polymers. What we are doing is extracting
fibers, which are different from particles, said
Otaigbe. The fiber is a lot stiffer and stronger
than the wood particles, and provides the
reinforcing capability for the plastic.
The process under development involves
taking the wood fibers, usually within
paper, and placing them in a mold, then
injecting a reaction mixture used to make
the polymers. The temperature is then
raised to 150 8C relatively low when compared to traditional melting methods and
the mixture forms a composite in a matter
of minutes. The lower temperatures are important, since wood fibers tend to degrade
at temperatures above 190 8C.
Wood fiber is renewable and based on
agricultural products, and the composite
This image is a schematic of structure of the wall of a wood cell, showing the substructure of loadbearing cellulose microfibrils.
materials we come up with would biodegrade after their service life without harming the environment, said Otaigbe.
Greater use of wood fibers in producing
composites also could be a boost to the
paper industry by providing an important
new use for wood pulp, since paper is a
raw material for the projects. We can
extract wood fibers out of paper, he

added.
The work is being funded by the National
Science Foundation (NSF) through its structural materials and mechanics program of
the division of civil, mechanical, and
manufacturing innovation.
National Science Foundation; www.nsf.gov
FORMAX glass multiaxial fabrics achieve DNV classification

FORMAX, THE MANUFACTURER of carbon
fiber and speciality reinforcements, has
been awarded DNV classification for its
range of glass multiaxial fabrics.
With a complete portfolio of carbon
multiaxials having already achieved the
same status, the company says that a significant proportion of FORMAX products
have now been accredited by the certification body.
FORMAX supplies bespoke, engineered

fabrics with different ply weights and orientations to create materials optimized for
a diverse range of applications. The Glass
Multiaxial range includes a selection of Unidirectional, 45 Biaxial, 0/90 Biaxial, Triaxial, and Quadaxial fabrics from weights as
low as 250 gsm, up to 6000 gsm in a variety
of fabric widths from 25 mm to 2540 mm.
FORMAX; www.formax.co.uk
FORMAX has been awarded DNV classification for

its range of glass multiaxial fabrics.
16
TECHNOLOGY
THE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING at Cardiff

University and Haydale have announced
new research demonstrating significant
improvements in mechanical performance
including impact resistance in carbon fiber
composites.
Plasma functionalisation technology is
producing significant improvements in mechanical performance and damage tolerance in carbon fibre composites.
These results, particularly the increased
damage tolerance, could have significant
implications for the development of future
composite structures, demonstrating the
potential in future aircraft design for weight
saving and the consequent environmental
benefits such as reductions in CO2 emissions.
The research was undertaken by the Cardiff School of Engineering with additional
funding from the European Communitys
Seventh Framework program under the
Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative.
The Clean Sky Initiative is one of the largest
existing European research programs with
the aim of accelerating technological
advancements in aircraft design and green
aviation technology. The project was based
on requirements specified by the Centro
Italiano Richerche Aerospaziale (CIRA) for
developing new composite technologies for
Green Regional Aircraft (GRA), and was
managed by an integrated team from CIRA,
Cardiff School of Engineering and Haydale.
The research investigated graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) and carbon nanotube (CNT)
reinforcement technology. Compared to a
resin, a macro reinforcement such as carbon
fiber is immensely stiff and strong, and
TECHNOLOGY
Graphene-toughened composites may benefit new aerospace structures
Effect of Haydale functionalised additions on mechanical performance of carbon fiber-epoxy composite.
hence in a fiber-reinforced composite, the

properties are dominated by the fiber. The
addition of functionalised graphene to neat
resin has been shown to result in a doubling
in stiffness, but the effect of this in a macrocomposite would normally be expected to be
much less. The results observed in this research show a 13% increase in compression
strength and a 50% increase in compression
after impact performance, indicating that
fracture mode has been positively influenced. This is a significant result as damage
resistance and compression properties are of
paramount importance in high performance
structures such as composite aircraft wings.
A resin infusion technique was employed

to produce composites containing a small
percentage of nanomaterials, achieving
maximum material improvements. This
technique is used widely in aerospace and
other high performance engineering industries for cost effective manufacture of
high integrity materials. Significantly, the
nanomaterials were surface treated using
Haydales low temperature, low energy
HDPlas1 plasma process, which promotes
homogenous dispersion and chemical bonding and avoids the waste streams produced
by traditional functionalization processes.
Haydale; www.haydale.com
Collaborative venture seeks affordable composite high-volume route for automotive structures
A THREE-YEAR INDUSTRIAL research project entitled High-volume Lightweight Technologies for vehicle structures (HiLiTe) has
been awarded funding by the UKs innovation agency, Innovate UK. The initiative is
part of the Collaborative Research and Development (CR&D) programme, Low Carbon Vehicles, Integrated Delivery Platform
Competition 9 (IDP9). The 3 million project led by Far-UK Ltd aims to develop a novel
end-to-end process for manufacturing highvolume and low-cost lightweight structural
components for the automotive industry.
As part of the project consortium, TATA
Motors European Technical Centre plc
(TMETC) representing a major international automotive Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is providing the technical
design specification for a structural component concept as a case study. The approach
is to develop a composite version of the
automotive part focusing on three specific
aspects: design optimization, effective selection of material and efficient process
definition.
The project, which started in March 2014,
is to define a glide-path to achieve a
30% weight reduction on the existing steel
component and a 40% reduction in costs
from traditional composite materials and
processing. The other key deliverables are

to establish design guidelines to apply right
materials in the right place principle in the
future and to ascertain recommendations
to enable the assembly of dissimilar materials. A validated Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) model will be built against the
results of real-world component tests.
The consortium includes Far-UK Ltd as
Lead Partner, Expert Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, the National Composites
Centre (NCC), TMETC and WMG.
The project will also provide additional
benefits including: lower use-phase emissions achieved by the 30% targeted weight
17
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
reduction for an equivalent component;

high temperature capability to enable integration with existing paint shop processes,
together with in use operation; technology
that can be implemented on existing vehicle
manufacturing techniques and novel vehicle architectures including, hybrid and electric vehicles; materials and processing
technologies anchored in the UK; Life Cycle
Analysis (LCA) of components and processing routes; and end-to-end cost analysis of
finished parts and vehicle integration.
Dr S. Cozien-Cazuc, technical program
manager at Far-UK, explains: Far-UK is
thrilled to be leading a collaborative research

project, working with a strong consortium
involving a major automotive OEM, TATA
Motors, which will enable delivery of an
affordable technology for the manufacturing of composite structural components for
the high-volume automotive industry. The
HiLiTe project will offer technical solutions
enabling car manufacturers to seriously
consider fibre-reinforced plastic materials
for their future platform programmes.
Dr O. Hadded, commercial vice president
at TMETC adds: This project is typical of
the significant contribution the Innovate
UK IDP programmes are making to UK

automotive R&D. TMETC is committed to
developing cost effective lightweight technology for Tata Motors future global
vehicles and the quality and strength of
the partners in this project will deliver excellent results.
The HiLiTe project will help the development of UK automotive manufacturing
towards lower weight vehicles, which in
turn will help reduce transport greenhouse
gas emissions.
Far UK Ltd; www.far-uk.com
Intertronics develops new fast cure UV system

INTERTRONICS HAS INTRODUCED the
BlueWave Fast Cure LED Flood System.
The company says that the BlueWave1
LED Flood System is a large format lamp
for UV/visible light curing, enabling larger
production components to be cured with
LED technology.
According to the company, this not only
offers great intensity and uniformity, contributing to faster and more repeatable cure
times, but with LEDs instant on/off capability
there are no mechanical shutter components
and no warm-up time requirements. Bulb
replacement is also virtually eliminated with
normally a 20,000 h useful LED life, consequently producing faster exposure cycles and
lower maintenance costs with cure times in
the 530 s range being typical when using
suitable light cure materials.
The LED Flood is available with three different wavelength irradiator heads (365, 385
and 405 nm) so users can fully optimize the
curing process between their light-curable
material and the curing system. The flood
features a 12.7 cm 12.7 cm active area for
curing larger parts and helping to reduce
cure times. It is CE certified, RoHS compliant
and offers user-friendly operation, making
the BlueWave1 LED Flood unit an optimal

curing system for manufacturers looking to
complement their green initiatives.
The BlueWave1 LED Flood system is selfcontained with a PLC interface and may be
configured as a simple bench top unit or
with automated process equipment or for
conveyor integration. It is suited to use in
multiple arrays, due to its great output uniformity an important factor especially in
conveyor applications to ensure a consistent cure across the entire substrate.
Intertonics; www.intertronics.co.uk/bluewaveled-flood
family of prepregs is a high performance

plant fiber reinforcement and bio-based
resin composite. These reinforcements
are claimed to be strong and suitable for
structural applications, but also offer

damping qualities ultra low aerial weights.
The 75% Ekoa1 prepreg is available now in
various aerial weights.
In brief
LINGROVE NATURAL COMPOSITES has
launched a range of linen prepregs, dry
reinforcement and other bio-based solutions. According to Lingrove, the Ekoa1
Reichhold introduces improved low profile tooling resin

REICHHOLD HAS INTRODUCED a new low
profile laminating resin with improved
application properties, without any reduction in low profile tooling performance. The
company says that POLYLITE1 33542-75 is a
pre-accelerated, filled, unsaturated polyester
laminating resin suitable for the construction of GRP tooling by hand lay-up and/or
spray-up application with a number of key
advantages, including: improved wetting
18
properties;easier rolling; faster wetting of

the glass fiber; improved storage stability;
less settling; easier mixing before use; and
lower density resulting in less resin use and
lighter tool constructions.
According to Reichhold, POLYLITE1
33542-75 represents further advancements
for the Polylite Profile Tooling system,
which maintain all the properties in the
original resin, with the convenience of a
single product used with a conventional

MEK peroxide catalyst.
VP Commercial Europe Alberto Piccinotti
says: Polylite1 33542-75 confirms Reichholds commitment to develop cost efficient products aimed at enhancing our
customers productivity and satisfaction.
Reichhold; www.reichhold.com
Extraordinary solutions
for composite fabrication
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Join our growing online audience today.
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To learn more about our
novel water-insensitive
curing systems for bio-fiber
reinforced composites
JEC Composites show 2015
Stand P47 Hall 7.3
Technical presentation:
Agora room - 12.00 hr - March 11th
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e-mail: office@langzauner.at, www.langzauner.at
CONFERENCE SHOWCASE
Conference Showcase
The JEC Europe exhibition takes place in Paris, France on 10-12 March 2015. We take a look at
some of the products and technologies exhibitors will be showcasing. Email RP@elsevier.com to
make sure your company features in the next Conference Showcase.
3B
3B the fibreglass company increases capacity of its HiPer-texTM high performance
glass for high demanding applications in
the wind and automotive sectors.
3B the fibreglass company is a leading
developer and supplier of fibreglass products and technologies for the reinforcement of thermoplastic and thermoset
polymers. This dynamic and entrepreneurial company has three state-of-the-art fibreglass manufacturing facilities in Battice
(Belgium), Birkeland (Norway) and Goa
(India) as well as a dedicated R&D Centre
located in the heart of Europe. 3Bs
ambition is to be the preferred supplier of

value creating, innovative glass fibre solutions for automotive and wind. This growth
agenda builds upon three strategic drivers
that are sustainability, technological innovation and a global presence to most effectively service our international customers.
The company is the only major fibreglass
producer operating fully 100% boron-free
glass fibre manufacturing platforms with
ECR glass formulations delivering significantly improved corrosion resistance, enhanced stiffness, higher temperature resistance
and longer service life. The company operates
a unique eco-responsible and high performance glass technology, HiPer-texTM, in its

Norwegian plant. This well established brand
combines durability with eco-responsibility
and versatility, making HiPer-texTM the material of choice for a wide range of industries.
3B has recently increased significantly its
HiPer-texTM capacity. This will allow 3B to
gain stronger presence in the double digit
growth high performance glass market in
Europe for high demanding applications in
the wind and the automotive sectors.
3B; www.3B-fibreglass.com; Stand F34,
Level 7.2
temperature and very large width, release

liquids, pressure sensitive tapes, peel plies,
breathers and bleeders, sealant tapes, connectors, hoses, rubber, tooling materials
used in the aerospace, marine, automotive, racing, wind power and general composites industries.
Airtech continues to develop and supply product whose performance fulfills its
customers daily needs for quality, dependable products, and act as solutions
to customer requirements. By providing
custom vacuum bags and kits for a wide

variety of composite parts, Airtech is helping its customers to reduce touch labour
costs significantly and allow for faster
production cycle times.
During the JEC 2015, Airtech will provide
live vacuum bagging demonstrations showing different solutions for hollow structures
and custom products and kitting.
Airtech Advanced Materials Group; www.
airtechonline.com; Stand D48, Level 7.3
field of composites with 40 years of experience in closed mould composite market. Always mindful to create new innovative
technology and tired of old, over complex

and still wasteful closed mould part manufacture, Alan Harper created the technologies
Airtech advanced materials group

A family owned and operated company since
1973, is the world leading manufacturer and
supplier of vacuum bagging and composite
tooling materials serving the composite,
bonding and tooling industries. The Airtech
product range includes all auxiliary materials required for the manufacture of composite tools and parts using the following
vacuum bag techniques: wet lay-up, autoclave curing, resin infusion processes.
Airtech supplies vacuum bagging
films and release films up to ultra-high
Alan Harper Composites

Alan Harper Composites arrives at JEC Europe in March bringing innovation created by
well known internationally specialist in the
19
CONFERENCE SHOWCASE
CONFERENCE SHOWCASE
fiRST (Film Infusion Reusable Silicone Technology) and VPITM (Vacuum Press Infusion).
Alan Harper Composites have built on
their 5 year experience designing and building silicone machines to bring to market the
revolutionary and new TopGear Silcon 6
model for manufacture of Reusable Vacuum
bags and surpasses all new and less experienced competition models
Simplicity combined with unique pump
system is featured to provide smooth, pulseless and void free output of all pourable
silicones. Experience has shown that users
need an economic and compact machine
that can be used across the whole range of

silicone meter mix industrial requirements.
The company met this need by thinking
out side the box by not following competitive convention that continue to build
multi valve positive displacement pumps
which are limited by their output reliability
due to added complexity and pump valves
closing speeds. The new TopGear SIX model
has no valves with infinitely variable
smooth output characteristics.
Transparent on board holding tanks, giving instant level indication and also with
audible low level alarm feature, feed the
pump input directly through short 20 mm

fittings eliminating previous and common
cavitation problems. As silicone viscosities
can be as high as 22000 cps they present real
concern over ratio mismatch due to inaccurate conventional reciprocating pump
feed systems at the higher outputs. The
companys new TopGear model has eliminated these concerns with simplicity in
design reducing manufacturing costs and
bringing to market the most competitively
priced machine available today.
Alan Harper Composites;
www.alanharpercomposites.com
As a natural extension to the software

products, and based on their customers need
for accuracy in composites manufacturing,
Anaglyph developed PLYMATCHTM, an innovative visual technology for hand lay-up
composites manufacturing and repair. Easy
to use, compact and mobile, PlyMatch is an
alternative, or a complement, to existing plyplacement methods. It is ideal for complex,

highly curved parts, or those including cavities. A PlyMatch unit will be on display at the
show for visitors to test.
Anaglyph Ltd; www.anaglyph.co.uk, Stand
K73, Level 7.3
Door panel for aeronautic application.
involved in many French and international

collaborative research projects.
Innovation, know-how and competitiveness are the skills Compose is offering.
To meet customers needs and requests,
Compose group set up a new company in
2013, CT11, in a sqm 600 state of the art
composite manufacturing facility focused
on RTM, Hot Forming and Compression.
Compose; www.compose-tools.com, Stand R7
Anaglyph Ltd
The JEC Europe exhibition takes place in
Paris, France on 1012 March 2015. We take
a look at some of the products and technologies exhibitors will be showcasing.
Anaglyph will show their composites design and analysis software tools: LAP, CoDA
and LAMINATE TOOLS, as well as their
PlyMatch technology for ply placement in
hand layup manufacturing.
LAP (Laminate Analysis Program) analyses any type of composite laminate subjected to in-plane loads and moments.
The software is used in preliminary design
for tailoring a stacking sequence and optimising the design by inspecting the laminate behaviour layer by layer.
CoDA (Component Design Analysis)
deals with preliminary analysis of sub-components with Plate, Beam, Joint, Flange or
Laminate geometries.
Laminate Tools addresses the entire Geometry, Design, FEA pre/post-processing
and Manufacture sequence of composites
design work. Laminate Tools interfaces
with most industry standards, both CAD
and FEA. The latest version of Laminate
Tools shows improved manufacturing
interfaces.
COMPOSE
Compose Group is a French SME group of
companies, specialized in industrial solutions to manufacture efficiently composite
or plastic parts.
Thanks to its huge background, Compose
is able to advise customers in the technological choices at every stage of the project.
To be at the forefront of the technology,
Compose has its own research department
with four engineers. The company is
20
CONFERENCE SHOWCASE
Delcam will be showing its latest developments for the machining and inspection of
composites at the JEC exhibition to be held
in Paris from 10th to 12th March 2015.
These will include the latest releases of its
PowerMILL machining software for highspeed and five-axis machining, including
the PowerMILL Robot version for the programming of robots, and of the PowerINSPECT inspection software, plus a range of
adaptive machining solutions to allow
more accurate manufacture of composite
components.
PowerMILL is used by many composites
manufacturers for the production of master
models, moulds, jigs and fixtures, as well as
for the trimming and drilling of components, both with machine tools and with
robots. The latest release offers a more complete solution for complex machining
operations, including complete control of
the position and orientation of the machine
head during five-axis machining. The program also includes a range of enhancements to existing functionality to enable
both faster programming and faster machining, in particular with the Vortex
high-efficiency area-clearance strategy.
The latest release of PowerINSPECT has a
new interface with new icons that make the
software more intuitive and even easier to
CONFERENCE SHOWCASE
Delcam
use. Other enhancements in the new version include the ability to create compound
items, and so speed up and simplify repetitive measurements, enhancements to the
measurement dialogs and a further increase
in the range of geometric features that can
be inspected.
Delcam will also demonstrate new ways
in which machining and inspection can be
integrated to give adaptive machining. One
example of this integration is electronic

fixturing. With this technique, toolpaths
are adjusted to match the actual position
of the surface of the workpiece, rather than
trying to align the part into exactly the
nominal position specified in the CAM system. It can overcome the problems caused
when machining large, flexible composite
panels.
Delcam; www.delcam.com
Practice (a standard common for food

manufacturing and processing), and already
received certification in several European
countries. At JEC 2015 DSM will present
the benefits of the new resin and highlight
some of the recent successes in commercial
installations.
With the increasing environmental pressure on Cobalt carboxylates, customers are
looking for Cobalt-free resin systems that
provide great end-use performance, excel-
lent processing and are truly sustainable.

DSM believes more composite manufacturers will make the change to Cobalt-free
anticipating changes in classification.
Therefore at JEC DSM will present its
novel Cobalt-free product line for Hand
lay-up applications. The new BeyoneTM
185, 170 and 177 series are based on Vinyl
ester, Ortho and DCPD chemistries respectively. Different resins are available for a
broad range of applications, with specific
levels of reactivity/gel times, and may also
have LSE functionality. These new pre-accelerated product series are all ready to
use, robust in processing and allow for
manufacturing of composite components
with the right functional properties.
All these Cobalt-free product series are BluCureTM Products.
Building on its unique position as Life
Sciences & Materials Sciences company,
DSM is the leading global innovator of high
DSM Composite Resins

In Europe drinking water is mostly distributed through networks that have been
built in the 1950s. While these have been
reliably transporting millions of liters of
water for years, increasingly they reach
the end of their functional life. Consequently, water companies and network
operators need to take action to guarantee
their water supply networks are fit for the
future.
DSM is launching with its partners a highly innovative drinking water relining solution that is clean, efficient and sustainable.
Competing well with conventional dig-and
replace solutions in renovating drinking
water networks, this new technology will
make the future-proof. The unique system
is based on DSMs BeyoneTM 700-N-01 FC, a
label-free and styrene-free resin, derived
from raw materials that are on the positive
list for food contact. The resin is manufactured in line with Good Manufacturing
21
CONFERENCE SHOWCASE
performance, sustainable composite solutions. Through our Bright Science and market leadership across a number of industries
including transportation, construction, infrastructure and industrial we create value
CONFERENCE SHOWCASE
by enhancing performance, improving

health & safety, and minimizing environmental footprint. We believe our innovation contributes towards a Brighter Future
for people today and generations to come
that is beyond the capabilities of traditional

material solutions.
DSM Composite Resins;
www.dsmcompositeresins.com, stand and
locaiton?
VESTANAT1 PP is a matrix system for PU

prepregs based on aliphatic diisocyanates
a completely new approach to highly efficient composite manufacturing on industrial scale. COMPIMIDE 50LM, a new low
melting, low viscosity one part BMI resin
enables 20308C lower processing temperatures than state-of-the-art commercial products. NANOPOX F 700, a concentrate of
silica nanoparticles in a novolac epoxy
resin is designed to formulate high performance epoxy resin systems with outstanding fatigue performance and superior
compressive strength. ROHACELL1 is a

PMI foam for cost-effective and light sandwich constructions used in wide range of
markets. In Aircraft applications could
ROHACELL1 HERO lead to a 20% cost reduction in comparison to honeycomb parts.
Our experts in composites think systems, not products, and when you work
with us, you have the support of the entire
team of Evonik specialists. Our philosophy:
you talk to one, you talk to all.
Evonik
Industries;
www.evonik.com/
composites
system for temperature and force controlling. The new basic control has an user
interface which allows the operator to
program a press cycle in 3 steps. Each step
has a set value for pressforce, temperature
and time. Depending on the type of the
material and the specific demands for
data extraction, the control system can

be extended by the Advanced control
system, or the extensive Premium control system.
One of the main advantages of the Premium control is the newly developed
process pre-view which makes it possible
to see directly what has been programmed. Not only the values (temperature, pressure etc.) but also the program
commands, together with the actual press
cycle predicted are being shown. The
main screen shows an overview of set
and real time values in terms of temperature of the platen, pressforce and time.
This allows the operator to continuously
keep an overview of the entire process,
and will lead to reduced costs by diminishing loss of time and material; no trial
and error.
Fontijne presses also developed the Floating Upper platen feature; by compensating
the weight of the platen itself, this feature
allows you to preheat material and mould,
without applying pressure, ensuring the
best possible result in sampling.
Fontijne Grotnes Group;
www.fontijnepresses.com, Level 7.2, Stand 82
Evonik Industries
Evonik Industries is one of the world leaders
in specialty chemicals and manufactures a
full range of products used in almost all components of fiber-reinforced composites for
high performance applications like aerospace, automotive or wind energy. We supply
core materials for sandwich construction,
thermoplastic and thermosetting resin matrices, and products for matrices such as crosslinkers, catalysts, impact strength modifiers
and processing additives. Products for fiber
sizing and adhesives complement this range.
Several divisions will present new developments for improved performance and
cost effectiveness:
Fontijne Grotnes Group

For more than eighty-five years Fontijne
Presses provides hydraulic laboratory Platen
Presses for the polymer processing, rubber,
laminating and wood, and aircraft industries, as well as at universities and research
centers.
The presses are mostly utilized as sample
preparation equipment for R&D, materials
development and quality control.
Fontijne Presses offers a broad variety of
options for the composites industry. Small
production and samples for material development and testing of thermoplastic composites can be made on the hydraulic
Platen press.
To prevent air in thermoplastics, Fontijne
Presses developed high temperature vacuum presses to prepare samples like PEEK,
PPS, PEI and PEKK. A control is built into
the press to ventilate the vacuum chamber
after pressing. Fontijne Presses provides
vacuum presses in the range of 50
1000 kN, with heated Platens of minimum
225 up to a maximum of 1500 mm.
In the first quarter of 2015, Fontijne
Presses will release 3 new programmable
control systems. Each different press is
equipped with touch screen control
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The use of advanced composites in the

Sporting Goods sector continues to
evolve and expand due to the increased
demand for lightweight, high performance, impact resistant equipment. As a
result, FORMAX will be showcasing their
range of multiaxial fabrics that can be
fully optimised for this niche sector at
JEC 2015.
FORMAXs carbon, glass and aramid reinforcements are already used extensively in
the manufacture of many competitive
sporting components such as race bikes,
kayaks, surfboards, tennis rackets and diving fins.
In addition, as the Winter Sports market
becomes more aggressive it becomes increasingly important for manufacturers to
exploit the significant performance benefits
of advanced multiaxial fabrics.
FORMAX has responded by developing
a range of composite fabrics that can
be individually engineered and optimised
to suit each customers spec whether
it is for a ski, snowboard, kiteboard or
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FORMAX
racing skull. The resulting fabrics are tailor-made and entirely unique to the application.
To learn how manufacturers can maximise their products in this competitive
sector where saving every extra gram is

critical in improving performance; please
visit the FORMAX team.
FORMAX; www.formax.co.uk, Stand H63,
Level 7.3
representation in other strategic regions. As

a result, the company will continue to recruit new talent, develop and nurture their
global client base.
FMGs senior directors will be attending
JEC 2015 and would welcome the opportunity to discuss and share their insights on
growth strategy development, mergers &

acquisitions, developing strategic partnerships and sourcing and managing growth
finance.
Future
Materials
Group;
www.
futurematerialsgroup.com, Stand G72, Level
7.3
Future Materials Group

As a measure to facilitate future growth,
Future Materials Group (FMG), the strategic
growth advisors to the advanced composite
materials, chemical and high value manufacturing sectors, will be announcing plans
for continued investment and expansion at
JEC 2015.
FMG assists businesses at all stages of
development from start-up to maturity,
by creating and increasing value through
accelerating and managing growth.
FMGs attendance at JEC 2015 follows a
hugely successful year in which the company has seen explosive growth having concluded a number of deals one of which was
the most significant deal in the global composites market during 2014.
The venture involved Sumitomo Bakelite
Co.s (SB) strategic acquisition of Vaupell
Holdings Inc. for $265 million and allowed
SB to extend its high performance plastic
technologies offering, from its leading position in automotive components, to the
dynamic aircraft interiors market.
FMG will be discussing dynamic investment plans for 2015 that will include,
amongst others, continued expansion with
the opening of new offices in the UK and
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Granta Design Limited
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At next years JEC Europe (Paris, March

1012), Granta Design will be demonstrating on its stand the latest edition of their
flagship materials information management software, GRANTA MI Version 8.
Collaboration with an international Consortium of engineering enterprises, the
Materials Data Management Consortium
(MDMC), has helped to ensure that
GRANTA MI is tuned for the particular
challenges of composite data management. Support for simulation and Integrated Computational Materials Engineering
(ICME) are a key current focus for this
group. Granta will also discuss latest
results from two new collaborations: an
agreement with world-leading composite
data project, NCAMP, and a new Consortium focused on the Automotive sector.
GRANTA MI Version 8 adds a new web
app interface, giving users fast access to
the data they need, improvements to performance, and Next Generation Access
control to manage data security an important feature when handling valuable
data in the collaborative, regulated, or
confidential environments typical of
composite projects. The MDMC provides

input to development through a dedicated
Composites Project Group. MDMC members include leading aerospace organizations such as Airbus Helicopters, Boeing,
NASA, and Rolls-Royce. One focus of the
latest phase of this Consortium is on Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME). At JEC, Granta will show how
its technology is used to facilitate the simulation of composite properties at different
length scales, enabling deeper understanding of composite performance.
During JEC Europe 2015, Granta will
also be discussing the latest results from
a recently-announced partnership with
the National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP). This agreement
makes one of the worlds most comprehensive resources of composite design
and test data available to users of the
GRANTA MI software. User organizations
can build up their resources of composite
data, enabling comparison and analysis
alongside in-house data, and thus faster
and more reliable qualification of composite systems.
GRANTA MI is also extensively used by

several key composites industry market sectors, including automotive, where a new
Automotive Material Intelligence Consortium, comprising organizations that use the
software, recently held its first meeting.
Members include General Motors, Jaguar
Land Rover, and PSA Peugeot Citroen.
Granta will provide an update on the progress of this project ahead of the next
planned Consortium meeting in April.
We are excited to present out latest
technology at the JEC Europe event next
year, commented Dan Williams, Product
Manager at Granta Design. Materials information management is entering a new
era, with initiatives such as ICME requiring
ever more complex data management,
while organizations expect increasingly diverse user groups to access materials information, and industries such as Automotive
are beginning to benefit. Our latest solutions supports these advances, helping
users make the most of their valuable composites knowledge.
Granta Design Limited; www.grantadesign.
com, Pavilion 7.3, Booth S71
core products (man-made materials

and balsa wood), gel coats, adhesives,
resins and consumables. The company
supplies global growth markets with composite materials on the one hand and
composite tooling equipment, structural
engineering and select finished parts

on the other. At JEC Europe 2015, Gurit
will display its trusted offering as well as
its latest product innovations on stand
M19.
Gurit Ltd; www.gurit.com, Stand M19
and is available in various forms including

unidirectional or woven reinforcements
and heavy tow fibers. In addition, Hexcel
possesses the capability to produce 2Dprepreg stacks using a fully automated
stacking process designed for large volume
production. Plies of different weights and
orientation can be combined in the same
ply-book in addition to achieving complex
preform contours.
For Aerospace customers Hexcel is launching a new RTM resin that performs at very
high temperatures with superior toughness
and is suitable for engine applications. Also
on show will be HexPly1 M56, Hexcels
out of autoclave prepreg for aircraft structures that will be aerospace qualified in 2015,
and Hexcels HexPly1 M92, our latest generation 1258C cure system combining superior
hot wet performance up to 1158C, selfadhesion to honeycomb, high toughness,
fire-resistance, low exotherm and a long
out/tack life.
Hexcel is promoting HiTape1 advanced
dry carbon fiber reinforcements that combine the benefits of automated processing
with the cost-effectiveness of Out of Autoclave infusion technologies. HiTape1 allows
preforms to be manufactured in a fully automated lay-up process, with high deposition
rates. Parts produced with HiTape1 and
Hexcels HexFlow1 infusion resins can be
up to 30 mm thick with a 58 to 60% Fiber
Volume Content, resulting in mechanical
Gurit Ltd
Gurit specialises in the development and
manufacture of advanced composite
materials, related technologies and select
finished parts and components. The
comprehensive product range comprises
fibre reinforced prepregs, structural
HEXCEL
Hexcel will be promoting products for automotive applications including HexPly1
M77 prepreg that cures in 2 minutes at
1508C and HexMC1 carbon fiber/epoxy
moulding compound that is ideal for the
series production of complex shaped structures. HexPly1 and HexMC1 M77 are suitable for structural parts and allow
manufactures to meet the high volume
requirements of the automotive industry.
The optimized gel time allows the resin to
flow into the contours to produce the precise geometries required. The high Tg of
1258C enables cured parts to be demoulded
while warm for a faster production cycle.
HexPly1 M77 snap cure prepreg benefits
from a 6-week outlife at room temperature
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properties that are as high as those achieved

with primary structure prepregs.
Hexcel is also promoting added functionality to honeycomb products with HexSHIELDTM, a technology product providing
high temperature resistance in aircraft engine
nacelle applications. Hexcel will also be
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promoting advancements in its AcoustiCAP1 product line with Multi-Degree of Freedom (MDOF) liners showing significant
improvements in acoustic absorption capabilities in aircraft engine nacelle applications.
In addition Hexcel is promoting HexTow1 HM63 High Modulus carbon fiber
that has the highest tensile strength of

any HM fiber and provides outstanding
translation of fiber properties in a composite, including superior interlaminar shear
and compression shear strength.
Hexcel; www.hexcel.com, Stand F30
The impregnatable PowerSHEAT1 can integrate as a thin layer in the laminate buildup as it can be used in both closed as well as
open mould processing techniques. With
the PowerSHEAT1 heating element Lantor
enables engineers and manufactures of
composite structures to create heatable
parts and moulds without significant
changes in product design or production
processes. Of course PowerSHEAT1 is fully
compatible with polyester and epoxy resins.
By connecting the PowerSHEAT1 to an
electrical power source (from 12 to 230 V)
temperatures up to 1608C can be reached.
The PowerSHEAT1 generates heat evenly,
resulting in a homogeneous temperature
profile on the heated surface. A single layer

of PowerSHEAT1 can generate up to 2 kW
of heat per square meter.
Available in three widths (10, 20 and
30 cm), PowerSHEAT1 is known to be a fast
and easy solution to enhance an existing
design or part, to create anti-icing properties
or comfortable handling of the product. But
PowerSHEAT1 is also used as a component in
a complex heating system where it connects
with other types of heating elements.
For more information please visit Lantor
at our stand and at the exhibition area. The
Lantor team is happy to provide more
information.
Lantor; www.lantor.com
Flex Molding Process each day in our

booth. The twist this time is that we will
be infusing several parts at once, using our
new PatriotTM Innovator Plus Injection
System. This system has multiple features

including: PLC/Touchscreen controls; ability to store up to 500 unique recipes; Precise
PatriotTM technology; ability to process
Lantor
Lantor is known for their high quality flexible core materials. For decades Lantor products are used in composite parts to save
weight and production costs. Brands such
as the original Coremat1 and Soric1 materials are developed by Lantor and have
been recognized for their easy processing,
the wide range of different grades and their
mechanical performance and surface quality.
Lantor is constantly developing new
solutions for the composites industry. Recently, the PowerSHEAT1 was introduced.
A flexible heating element that is based
on a polyester nonwoven carrying carbon
additives.
LAP GmbH Laser Applikationen

LAP provides laser template projection systems for manual layup of carbon fiber plies,
for alignment and for positioning of parts.
COMPOSITE PRO laser projectors will be
available with blue laser beams and with
handling by tablet PC. Two laser sources
may be selected in free combination of
red, green and blue. LAP also offers laser
measurement solutions from single sensor
to turn-key application.
LAP GmbH Laser Applikationen; www.
lap-laser.com, Stand S31, Level 7.3
Magnum Venus Products

Magnum Venus Products (MVP) is pleased
to once again be exhibiting at JEC. As we
have done in past years, MVP will be conducting two live demonstrations featuring
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multiple material types; and options

that include RFID entry, data acquisition,
barcode scanning, mold usage tracking,
and more.
MVPs Advanced Equipment Division
will also be running constant demonstrations of their multi-axis filament winder
throughout the show. This scaled down
version of the equipment will allow
attendees to see what the full sized models
can do. Rounding out the in-booth

demonstrations will be the MicroPro Proportioning System that will be mixing
drinks for visitors in the booth. Magnum
Venus Products will have several other
systems on display that cover many of
the production needs of Composites
manufacturers from open molding, to
adhesives application, to specialty applications, and more. On hand in the booth
to answer any questions will be representatives from our world-wide distribution

network, as well as MVP experts from the
United States. Magnum Venus Products
is able to cover the process from consultation to installation. Magnum Venus
Products: Customer Focused. Product
Driven.
Magnum Venus Products; www.mvpind.com,
Stand P52
Michelman
Michelman is introducing new fiber sizing
products designed for automotive applications. Car manufacturers and motorists
are facing new challenges including the
need for higher thermal resistance and
better mechanical performance of their
composites based on engineering resins.
Michelman new solutions are ideal for
sizing fibers used in composites where
heat stability and hydrolytic resistance
are critical.
Products
being
featured
include
Hydrosize1 U2-04, a water-based polyurethane dispersion, compatible with polyamide resins, Hydrosize1 PA846, a water-based
MIKROSAM
Considering the need to provide a solution
that would increase production throughput, while at the same time provide the
ability to manufacture complex geometry
laminates, this year on JEC Europe, Mikrosam will present and offer the new patent
pending automated tape laying (ATL) system it has developed for one of the biggest
civil airplane parts manufacturers.
This avant-garde contour automated tape
laying (ACTL) equipment guarantees high
productivity rate, flexibility and precision.
It consists of a layup head and an assembly
of 3 rotational axes and 3 linear axes in
portal style, suitable for automated laying
of carbon fiber tapes for production of composite parts for the aerospace, shipbuilding
and wind energy industries.
The new ATL head consists of independently controlled, multi-segmented shoe
26
polyamide dispersion, which is highly stable

and offers an excellent thermal resistance.
FGLASSXTM 91 EMA solution is Michelman
new film former which is compliant with the
Commission Regulation (EU) n810/2011
repealing directive 2002/72/EC. Hydrosize1
U9-01, water-based blocked isocyanate
enhances the reactivity of the interface between the fiber and the resin. Michelmans
technology team is developing even more
sizing and lubricants in cooperation with
fiber manufacturers with always end use in
mind.
Michelman; www.michelman.com, Stand M3,
Level 7.3
members used to apply the tape, and an

additional compaction method used to complete tape application. Both are linked
through a dynamic servo control system,
which contrary to the conventionally offered pneumatically controlled solutions,
improves tape laying precision and reduces
errors. This provides for highly controlled
shoe and roller movement, fine adjustment
of compaction force against work surface,
and different laying paths, while avoiding
bubbles, gaps, overlaps, and wrinkles.
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The heads innovation is in achieving a

very large free envelope of angle of 408,
which represents 60% wider laying range
from the previously known solutions,
therefore giving the opportunity to lay on
concave surfaces. The unique setup of rotary axes, positioning and rotation center
allow for dynamic head tilting and rotation
during tape laying. As such, this ATL solution increases laying performances, productivity and precision and avoids tape
deviations and vibrations during laying.
Aside from this revolutionary solution,

during the show Mikrosams team would
be eager to discuss limitless variations of the
its equipment portfolio which appears to be
the only one on the market offering custom-made solutions for all core composite
technologies (prepreg making for hot-melt,
solvent, and thermoplastics, prepreg slitting, wet and dry filament winding, AFP/
ATL) supported by advanced proprietary
software solutions such as Mikroplace.
MIKROSAM; www.mikrosam.com, Stand P58
The range of products is based on various

minerals with different particle shapes and
surface treatments specially tailored to particular customer demands.
In October 2014 the internationally recognized MATERIALICA silver award was granted to HPF The Mineral Engineers for the
novel thermally conductive fillers of the
product series SILATHERM1 in the category
material. SILATHERM1 increases the thermal conductivity of compounds without impairing the electrical insulation properties.
In the whole area of filled polymers the
interdisciplinary teams of HPF The Mineral
Engineers develop efficiency-enhancing

solutions together with customers. The
modern and flexible High Performance Fillers production facilities (HPF) with its experienced personnel adjust itself flexibly
and quickly to new problems and products.
Units of various sizes are available at the
refining plant for the processing of mineral
raw materials. Minerals ranging from a few
millimeters down to a few hundred nanometers can be crushed and surface modified.
Quarzwerke GmbH; www.hpfminerals.com,
Stand A47, Level 7.3
section with exotherm temperatures of

less than 1408C. The same curing innovations allow out of autoclave prepreg systems
based on ADVALITE hot melt prepreg resins
to cure in less than 30 minutes at oven
temperatures of 1258C while storing the
prepreg at room temperature for 12 months.
The ADVALITETM vinyl hybrid liquid and
hot melt resins can be used in conjunction
with fiberglass and carbon fibre reinforcements. Initial work on carbon fibre sizing
technology has allowed the ADVALITETM
resins to achieve similar mechanical and
thermo mechanical properties as compared
to epoxy resins. Additionally, low profile
additives have been developed to allow

composites produced with the vinyl hybrid
resins to achieve volumetric expansion and
zero shrink systems for use in cosmetic
surface parts.
The ADVALITETM liquid resins can be
used in RTM, infusion, filament winding,
liquid moulding and pultrusion processes.
The ADVALITETM hot melt resins can be
either directly coated or adhesive filmed
for fibre impregnation. The resin properties
can be tailored to meet processors individual specifications and characteristics.
Reichhold; www.reichhold.com, Stand F19,
Level 7.2
dustries rely on plastics strengthened with

SAERTEX1 products.
3D fabrics the newest addition to the
SAERTEX1 product portfolio are created
using endless fibers arranged in layers oriented at 08 and 908. The decisive compo-
nents of this material are, however, the

endless reinforcement fibers that are incorporated through the full thickness called
Z-fibers. These hold the layers at 08 and 908
together and deliver several key advantages
which SAERTEX1 will present on its booth.
Quarzwerke GmbH
The Quarzwerke Group is a globally active
family-owned company with a leading market position in the field of mining and processing of various mineral raw materials. 130
years of experience and tradition are combined with innovative and pioneer developments. Not only in their original fields of
application, in the glass, paper, foundry, ceramics and building chemicals industry, but
also in polymer systems like plastics, adhesives as well as paints and lacquers, the produced fillers are indispensable. The division
HPF The Mineral Engineers develop innovative and functional High Performance Fillers.
Reichhold
Reichhold continues to introduce new
innovations in its ground-breaking technology based on its proprietary vinyl hybrid
resin chemistry for composite applications.
The products include ADVALITETM liquid
and ADVALITETM hot melt prepreg resins.
The hot melt resins are monomer free and
the liquid resins are styrene free and typically do not contain reactive diluents.
Based on customer needs for rapid curing
of thick wall filament wound tubes, Reichhold developed ADVALITETM vinyl hybrid
liquid resins that can cure in less than
80 minutes with no cracking using an oven
temperature of 1508C for a 25 mm wall
SAERTEX1
The SAERTEX1 Group is a global market
leader in developing and producing glass,
carbon and aramid reinforcement solutions
to make composite parts lighter and better.
Above all, the wind energy, shipbuilding,
transportation, automobile and aviation in-
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This ultralight foam matched with additional reinforcement provided by 3D glass

bridges was certified by Germanische Lloyd
in 2014. Its weight, compressive strength,
bending and shear load performance can all
be modified by engineering the glass fiber
bridges density and directions inside the
PU foam of the composite core. SAERTEX1
will show successful ways to achieve weight
or performance advantages by replacing
PVC and Balsa solutions.
This innovation combines reinforcement
NCF, core material, gel or top coat and resin
to accommodate even the highest safety
standards in offshore, marine and railway
industries. The new generation of SAERTEX
LEO1 passed IMO FTP tests and fulfills EN
45545-2 criteria. As the first product of its
kind, it is proven to offer the highest levels
of fire safety, in addition to excellent mechanical performance. At the same time,
SAERTEX LEO1 is non-toxic both during
processing and when fire breaks out.
German Lloyd has carried out an additional audit to expand the certified range of the
SAERTEX1 test lab in Saerbeck, Germany.
Employees, facility and procedures were approved according to GL standards for testing
fiber reinforced plastics. The tests available
SCIGRIP
SCIGRIP, a global supplier of smart adhesive
solutions, delivers the latest advancements
in bonding systems and adhesive chemistries for the most demanding customer
applications. Key markets include the marine, transportation, automotive, construction and product assembly markets.
SCIGRIP offers customers a broader technology platform than ever before and
unique adhesive solutions are available
for bonding a range of substrates including
metals, thermoplastics and thermoset
composites. SCIGRIPs industry-leading
technologies include 10:1 and 1:1 Methylmethacrylate (MMA) adhesive pastes, as
well as Anaerobic, Cyanoacrylate (CA)
and UV cure adhesives. With manufacturing sites in UK and USA locations and an
extensive distribution network, SCIGRIP
products can be delivered to customers anywhere in the world.
SCIGRIP; www.scigrip.com; Stand F69, Level
7.3
28
are no longer limited to static ones such as

tensile resistance, bending resistance and
ILSS. Now, material fatigue can also be tested, fiber resin content measured and NCF
drapability data ascertained. Determining
the Poisson ratio, which is an important

parameter, was also added to the laboratorys
tensile testing capabilities, as well as pressure
and sheer stress testing.
SAERTEX1; www.saertex.com
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Scott Bader is once again exhibiting in Paris

at the JEC Europe Show 2015, Porte de
Versailles, 1012 March. On the Scott Bader
stand the latest successful applications
using its Advanced Composites materials
and Adhesives will be on display. New
applications being showcased will include
carbon fibre reinforced automotive parts
vacuum infused using Crestapol1 1250LV
high performance acrylic resin, FRP parts
made using a low styrene eco gelcoat, and
examples of vehicle applications where
metal, plastic and FRP parts have been
bonded using a Crestabond1 primer-less
methacrylate structural adhesive product
in preference to being mechanically fixed,
in order to save time, weight and overall
production costs.
During JEC Europe 2015, Scott Bader will
be giving two technical papers in open
forum presentations about its ranges of
structural adhesives and Crestapol1 resin

systems, and will also be promoting on the
stand the extensive range of high performance matched tooling system products
available, with brush and spray application
options, for fabricating different types of
composites moulds, including rapid tooling and direct moulds (LPM Limited Production Moulds), as well as speciality
products for making and finishing patterns
and plugs.
The other Advanced Composites materials Scott Bader will be focussing on during
the exhibition will include laminate
systems developed for demanding applications in relation to building and construction, marine and land transportation,
which must meet stringent fire, smoke and
toxic fumes (FST) specifications. Technical
information and case studies about the fire
retardant (FR) composite laminate systems
offered will be available, including details
about Scott Baders high speed train approved gelcoated fibreglass FR matched system, where moulded FRP parts fabricated
using Crestapol1 1212 laminating resin with
Crystic1 Fireguard 70PA pigmented FR gelcoat meet the new European rail vehicle FST
standard EN 45545 to level HL2.
Scott Bader Company Limited;
www.scottbader.com, Pavilion 7 D32, Floor
7.3
will also be available. To learn more about

all of these product offerings and how they
deliver genuine performance benefits across
the Marine, Defence, Renewable Energy,
Sports and Civil Engineering sectors, please

visit the Sicomin team.
Sicomin; www.sicomin.com; Stand G72, Level
7.3
Sicomin
Sicomin, a leading formulator and supplier
of technically superior, high strength epoxy
solutions, will be showcasing a number of
systems designed exclusively for the Transportation sector at JEC 2015. These high
quality resins deliver superior performance
laminates whilst also meeting stringent fire
regulations.
To date, Sicomins accredited ranges of
products are used extensively throughout
Europe by many Aerospace OEMs. Sicomins position as a leading supplier to the
German rail market also gathers pace, with
their advanced resin system SR1124 recently awarded the Deutsche Bahn certification.
Also focal at the show will be TOP CLEAR,
a new generation, ultra-fast, coating formulation for clear carbon and other varnished
components. UV stable with very fast hardening and self-levelling characteristics, TOP
CLEAR provides a high gloss, translucent
finish and can be applied by brush or spray
on a range of substrates including glass,
aramids, wood and carbon.
Information on Sicomins complete portfolio of other high performance epoxy systems, including Clear, Green and Foaming,
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Synthesites
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For the first time a global resin monitoring

system is presented for the complete realtime monitoring and intelligent control of
advanced composites manufacturing. Resin
cure (OPTIMOLD), resin flow (OPTIFLOW)
and temperature are being monitored using
a single software (OPTIVIEW) and a large
range of durable and disposable sensors.
Using special software it is possible to predict in real-time Tg, degree of cure and
viscosity of the resin or process deviations
such as wrong mixing ratio or resin aging in
the mould cavity, in the feeding lines or in
the resin pot/bath.
OPTIMOLD and OPTIFLOW systems
have been successfully used in RTM,
LightRTM, vacuum infusion and autoclave
manufacturing and can be readily used in

other processes such as filament winding
and SMC. With systems already installed
in leading manufacturing companies in
aerospace, automotive, industrial and

wind-energy, world-class research centres
and famous Universities, the new global
process monitoring system aims to provide
a total solution for process optimisation,
quality control and real-time process control for high-end composites manufacturing.
The most recent industrial applications of
OPTIMOLD include real-time Tg prediction
of RTM61 epoxy resin and of snap-curing
epoxy resin both with RTM processing
while OPTIFLOW is being used for monitoring the resin location in the production
of large aerospace parts in ovens.
Synthesites; www.synthesites.com, stand no/
location?
Technical Fibre Products

TFP will showcase products from its Optiveil1, Optimat1 and Tecnofire1 ranges on
stand C35. Highlights include the worlds
lightest weight carbon veil at 2 g/m2, an
extended range of high performance thermoplastic nonwovens and a recycled veil
produced from carbon fibre reclaimed from
composites. The latter offers an environmentally sustainable alternative to conventional nonwovens.
The Optiveil1 and Optimat1 ranges have
been specifically designed for use in composites and comprise the broadest range of
functional nonwovens in the world; incorporating carbon, aramid, glass, polyester,
thermoplastics and metal coated fibres as
well as more exotic fibres such as quartz or
pure metals. The materials can fulfil a number of functions in a composite structure
including simultaneously enabling a high
quality surface finish and imparting
surface functionality such as conductivity,
EMI shielding and corrosion & abrasion
resistance. TFPs thermoplastic veils can also

offer fracture toughness improvements
through incorporation as interlaminar layers
in the composite structure. Other applications in composites include the potential of
Optimat1 and Optiveil1 to act as a resin flow
medium, providing enhanced resin transportation in both inter-laminar & surface
regions and removing the need to use additional flow media. In addition, TFPs lightweight veils can provide an effective carrier
or support for adhesive films, ensuring a
minimum weight addition whilst improving
handling and setting the bond line.
On display on stand C35 will also be
TFPs Tecnofire1 range of fire protection
materials. These materials are also incorporated at the surface of a composite and can
deliver highly effective passive fire protection without compromising the integrity of
the structure.
Technical Fibre Products; www.tfpglobal.com;
Stand C35, Level 7.3
United Initiators
United Initiators is a global and leading producer of peroxide based initiators and specialty chemicals. We are focused on meeting
and exceeding our customers expectations
through high quality products, outstanding
reliability and constant innovation, in line
with our motto Driving Your Success.
United Initiators is an international company with its headquarter in Pullach,
Germany and operates various sites in
Europe, USA, China and Australia.
30
In the initiators business, our approach to

innovation is broad based. It includes product development, but also encompasses innovative solutions to safety, engineering
and supply chain that bring value and differentiate us from other suppliers.
Our innovation team works closely with
customers as partners in the development of
new products. The initiator team focuses on
becoming experts in the processes and key
application areas of our customers. That way,
we can actively work to deliver new ideas

that can benefit the entire value chain.
United Initiators can offer you a complete
portfolio of initiators used in the composite
market. We serve all applications whether
the curing is taking place at ambient temperature, elevated or high temperatures.
Please visit our stand and we will tell you
more how we can Drive Your Success.
United Initiators; www.united-initiators.com;
Stand D59, Level 7.2
CONFERENCE SHOWCASE
VELOX is a European leader in the supply

and marketing of raw material specialities for
the plastics, composites, rubber, paints and
coatings industries. Their composite division
has the capabilities and geographical footprint to provide expert sales and applications
support in sourcing and testing products
and identifying new opportunities. VELOX
composite markets include transportation,

building and construction, marine, tanks
and vessels, chemical protection, sanitary
ware applications, wind energy, sports and
leisure. Their composite portfolio covers over
1000 products, from thermoset matrix (polyester, vinyl-ester, epoxy, phenolic), glass and
carbon reinforcements, organic peroxides,
core materials, specific fillers and additives,

solvents, ancillaries and equipment. With
technical expertise, a professional sampling
service and a gel coat production tailored to
your needs, VELOX is ready to support your
business, every step of the way.
VELOX GmbH; www.velox.com; Stand F8,
Level 7.2
adhesives to toughened epoxies, we are able

to provide a solution to your epoxy needs.
In addition, all our standard PRO-SET
Epoxies for Laminating, Infusion, Tooling
and Assembly offer improved handling characteristics, excellent cure profiles, and rapid
order fulfilment at competitive prices.
We manufacture WEST SYSTEM1 epoxy
and PRO-SET1 epoxy for the European and
Asian markets under license from Gougeon

Brothers Inc. We offer full technical support
to our customers on the use of our epoxy
systems and our accumulated data from
over 40 years experience at the forefront
of epoxy formulating provides an unparalleled knowledge base in this field.
Wessex Resins & Adhesives Limited; www.
westsysteminternational.com, Stand C29
Wessex Resins & Adhesives Limited

Wessex Resins manufacture epoxy resin and
hardeners for the composite industry. PROSET advanced composite laminating systems
provide solutions to all processing disciplines currently practiced in composite fabricating and our highly regarded structural
adhesives are used throughout the industry
for bonding composites and dissimilar
materials. From infusion to wet lay-up, to
31
CONFERENCE SHOWCASE
VELOX GmbH
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Comment: Deal volumes remain strong in

2014
Emma Dowson
Keith Pickering, partner, Catalyst Corporate Finance, reviews mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the
composites industry in 2014.
2014 has maintained the momentum in deal volumes seen in
2013, with around 40 transactions compared to 35 in 2013.
Expansion into strategically significant markets and investment
in platforms and supply chains continue to characterize many
deals.
Positive trading news from a number of the major producers
reflects increasing demand for carbon fiber. New aircraft
applications, compressed natural gas tanks, the shale gas
industry and demand for wind turbines are supporting growth.
Toray, which recently won an extension to its carbon fiber
supply contract for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to supply the
main wings of the 777X, announced that it expects global
demand for carbon fiber to rise by 17% year-on-year in
2014, to 48,000 tonnes, and by a further 20% in 2015 to
58,000 tonnes.
fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) parts for automobile applications

in July. The acquisition gives it access to CFRP technology and
strengthens its materials business for automobile applications in
Europe.
Away from the automotive sector, US-based Tex Tech Industries acquired UK-based Universal Carbon Fibres Ltd, which
manufactures high-performance yarns and fabrics. The specialty
chemicals group ALTANA has acquired technologies and customer-specific know-how in the field of polypropylene wax
emulsions from Royal DSM and URT, one of the UKs leading
composite engineering solutions providers, has secured a
Automotive sector in focus

Over the last few years, the major producers have used strategic
acquisitions to ensure they can benefit from this rising demand.
In 2014, the deals that have made the headlines have been
by firms using acquisitions to position themselves for the longer-term increased use of carbon fiber in automotive applications as the major OEMs start to incorporate carbon fiber
materials for mass production. For example, Toyota Motor
has adopted Torays carbon fiber material for its new Mirai fuel
cell vehicle; Torays rapid press molding technology means
carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic can be adopted for a
structural component in a mass production vehicle for the first
time.
Japans Mitsubishi Rayon, which has used a series of acquisitions to strengthen its carbon fiber supply chain, acquired a
majority stake in Wethje, the German manufacturer of carbon
M&A market conditions remain very favorable for 2015. Picture

Pressmaster/Shutterstock.com.
32
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strategic investment from Kamkorp through its core operating

company, Frazer-Nash Research Limited.
operations, capacity and IT, while also providing the support

for a buy-and-build strategy.
Private equity active
Outlook
In the US, HGGC-backed Citadel Plastics made its eighth plasticsrelated acquisition since 2007 in October, buying The Composites
Group from Highlander Partners. The deal improves Citadels
positioning in engineered composites and should allow it to gain
customers in current and new end markets.
In the UK, NorthEdge Capital invested in composite door
manufacturer, Solidor. The investment will be used to expand
Solidors senior management team, continue investing in
M&A market conditions remain very favorable for 2015. Strategic

acquirers continue to target technology and capacity in established and emerging markets such as automotive. This is presenting small to mid-sized manufacturers with attractive opportunities
to scale and broaden their end markets.
Further reading
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Catalyst Corporate Finance: www.catalystcf.co.uk
33
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Cordelia Sealy* and Richard A. Vaia
In the future, composites will incorporate electronic and optoelectronic functionality and tailorability
into structural components. This will require the efforts and collaboration of a diverse range of sectors,
says Richard A. Vaia of the US Air Force Research Laboratory in conversation with Cordelia Sealy.
Richard A. Vaia.
Richard A. Vaia is currently the Technology Director of the

Functional Materials Division at the US Air Force Research
Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (AFRL/
RX). The Division aims to develop materials and processing
solutions that could revolutionize Air Force capabilities in survivability, directed energy, reconnaissance, flexible devices and
human performance.
Vaia received a US Air Force ROTC scholarship to Cornell
University, where he gained a BS in Materials Science and
Engineering (1991), followed by an MS (1993) and PhD
(1995) with Emmanuel P. Giannelis, who is currently the
Walter R. Read Professor of Engineering. Following his time
at Cornell, Vaia took up a position at the US Air Force Research
Laboratory (AFRL) in Dayton, Ohio, initially working on solidstate chemistry. But a project piqued Vaias interest in polymer
inorganic nanocomposites and since then he and his group have
worked on many diverse aspects of composites. His interests
currently lie in polymer nanocomposites, complex nanoparticle
architectures and their impact on developing adaptive soft
matter. He has authored over 200 peer-reviewed papers and
patents.
Vaias honors and awards include the AF McLucas Award for
Basic Research (2014), Doolittle Award (American Chemical Society PMSE, 2009), MRL Visiting Professor at University of California
Santa Barbara (2006), Air Force Outstanding Scientist (2002) and
Air Force Office of Scientific Research Star Team (20012014). He is
a fellow of the Materials Research Society (2012), American Physical Society (2011), American Chemical Society, PMSE Division
(2011), and the Air Force Research Laboratory (2010). He has also
served on numerous editorial boards, Board of Directors, and
external review panels.
*Corresponding author: Sealy, C. (cordelia.sealy@googlemail.com)

0034-3617/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.repl.2014.12.045
34
Thank you very much, Richard, for speaking to

Reinforced Plastics. Could we start with what, or who,
started you on a career in materials?
It was my dad, who was a metallurgist. He was nice enough to
expose me to the work he was doing in his lab and explain why
materials make a difference. When I was in high school, probably
like many kids, I liked chemistry, physics, and math. So materials
science seemed like a good option to be able to do all the things I
liked to do. That, in a nutshell, was what started me down the road.
But your career happens you dont plan it! My career is a perfect
example of that.
Could you describe your research now and your current

interests?
My interests have been pretty much consistent right back to
graduate school trying to understand the hard-soft interface at
the nanoscale and how that impacts properties. The goal has been
to try to figure out how to design composition and structure to
create materials with novel performance. This has been the common theme that has run through our work, right from early on
where we were looking at nanocomposites, later on with mechanically adaptive materials, to work weve done more recently on
dielectrics, plasmonics, and other types of functional device
materials.
Could you elaborate on how that basic understanding

helps lead to better composites?
Composites are ultimately determined by the synergy of the
different components and how they work with each other. The
goal has always been to make 1 + 1 = 3 and not just combine
multiple components to get an average of properties. Fundamentally, understanding how the structure, geometry, and interface
determine the interaction or synergy between the components is
central. The nanoscale adds an additional dimension, where confinement alters bulk behavior, polymer confirmations, relaxation
processes, and chemistries. At these scales, many different material
physics coincide, affording a rich array of approaches to engineer
new multifunctional composites or emergent performance. Really
understanding where this evolves, and how to control it, is vital to
ultimately utilizing materials at nano length-scales to produce
better macro-composites.
Are there any pieces of research during your career of

which you are particularly proud?
I would actually say its the research team that Ive been privileged
to lead and create. Because of the people and our ability, here at the
Air Force Research Labs, to develop collaborative relationships
between industry, academia, and federal government, weve had
the opportunity to contribute to many diverse composites applications and their underlying science. Weve been fortunate to
foster a community to evaluate ideas and determine which ones
are the most relevant to products, thus enabling a handful of
technology transitions over the last 20 years.
Could you describe some of the potential applications

of your research?
A lot of the work that my group has done is fundamental and at
early technology development level. We have contributed to
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nanocomposite technologies that are now in space (Fig. 1), both

in satellites and interplanetary probes, and on military aircraft,
as well as in a variety of commercial areas, particularly the early
work we did on inorganic layered silicate-polymer composites.
Polymer nanocomposites can be found today in many different
components used by the transportation industry, from body
panels to tires to electrostatic discharge coatings.
Could you give an example of one of those applications

and how your research has been translated into
military use?
We, along with many other groups, were working on polymerinorganic nanoparticle blends and at some point started examining carbon nanotube-polymer blends. The reason was that we
wanted to improve, and control, mechanical properties while
simultaneously adding electrical conductivity. The initial work
focused on the physics and chemistry of matrix-particle interactions, dispersion and blending technologies, and ultimately
on morphology-property correlations. In other words, what
sort of morphology is required for a certain electrical conductivity, especially under deformation. Our work, as well as that of
others in the community, has been transferred to the industrial
base. There are numerous companies that the Air Force and
others funded to work through the quality control and
manufacturing issues. We worked with our partners in different
aerospace companies to begin evaluating where such materials
could be used. One successful example is work at Lockheed
Martin integrating carbon nanotube composites into interplanetary probes to reduce weight and function as electrostatic
discharge materials.
Is it an exciting feeling when you see work come to

fruition?
Yes it is! But it is the exception not the rule. I feel that if you
succeed a couple of times in your entire career its worthwhile. If
one succeeded all the time, the research is not taking enough risk.
By doing high-risk fundamental research, you are pushing technology. We may miss our initial goals more often than we succeed,
but in all cases we learn something more about the materials and
the system. So overall we never fail.
Where would you like to take your research in the

future?
There are two areas that are currently motivating our fundamental work. One is the concept of autonomic materials. This builds
upon past efforts on smart materials, responsive materials, and
mechanically adaptive materials. The next step is to design
feedback into materials and their geometry so they can sense
their state and environment, and then adapt properties in real
time. For example, to create an actuator, many components are
needed it is more than just an artificial muscle, there is also an
energy harvesting sub-system, sensors, control circuitry, and so
on. An actuator is a system, not a material. The autonomic
concept tries to simplify the system, putting more of the functionality into the material and its interaction with the structure.
Rather than having an external sensor that tells the material
what to do, you design the material and structure a priori so it can
sense, respond, and self-regulate. The fundamental challenge is
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FIGURE 1
Photo from MISSIE 7, which was a material survivability experiment on the space station, where the suitcases shown contain many different nanocomposite
samples from our group and others. (Courtesy of NASA.).
to understand how information is transferred through an array

of different materials, how these nodes respond and impact the
behavior of near neighbors to form a control feedback loop for
the macroscopic structure. Hopefully, these ideas will create
simpler systems that save weight and cost by reducing the
number of peripherals that have to be integrated.
The other area were working is single-component nanocomposites. Instead of trying to blend nanoparticles with a polymer
matrix or resin, we couple the matrix to the nanoparticle in
solution so when we make the final part we just have to process
a single hybrid component that already has the organic and
inorganic in the desired ratio. These hybrid nanoparticles are
referred to as polymer grafted or hairy nanoparticles (Fig. 2). This
concept achieves two goals: you dont have to worry about aggregation and phase separation of the nanoparticle and matrix; and
you can start asking questions about self-assembly and emergent
properties from the arrangement of the inorganic or organic in a
well-defined architecture. A lot of beautiful work has been done on
nanoparticles and their super-crystals over the years demonstrating that novel properties can arise by putting nanoparticles into
ordered arrays. By thinking of the grafted polymer not just as a
compatabilizer or the surface functionalization as a short surfactant or ligand, one can design the polymer canopy surrounding
the nanoparticle to entangle with its near neighbors and create
nanoparticle assembles with viscoelastic properties. Following
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FIGURE 2
Hairy nanoparticle assemblies. Image credit: Victor Hsiao.
these concepts, inorganic loadings greater than 30 vol.% with

viscoelasticity is possible, which enables new thermomechanical
properties. Even more exciting is that with these inorganic loadings and absence of aggregation novel optical and electrical properties emerge, proving routes to tough, new multifunctional
composites and films.
In more general terms, what do you think have been

the most exciting and important advances in the
composites sector in recent years?
I would say that the composites community is now starting to use
nano as a tool rather than as an individual technology. This
recognizes the fundamental power of macro-composites: composites are a system of materials arranged and engineered for a specific
application. Fiber matrix, sizing, and lay-up are optimized for a
panel, a rib, a spar, a skin, or a joint. The tools enable designing
around any weakness or failure modes, such as delamination,
compressive matrix failure, fiber pull out, etc. Over the last five
years, nanoparticles, nanocomposites, and nanocoatings are becoming another tool in the toolbox of the composites designer.
For example, by putting a small amount of carbon nanotubes in
between two plies in a carbon fiber composite lay-up to improve
inter-lamellar shear strength, the macroscopic properties of that
composite are substantially improved even though the nanomaterial makes up only 0.01% of the macro-composite. Reliability and
failure studies are highlighting weak points and the community is
integrating nano into the system and improving it. I see this as the
most exciting material development over the last few years, the
integration of nano as a tool into making better composites.
Going forward, what do you see as the major

challenges facing the sector?
I believe the greatest challenge is accelerating the design-performance-manufacturing paradigm. What I mean by this is that the
real advantage of composites is tailorability for specific applications,
but this implies one-off parts, higher price, and higher cost. We need
to find a business model that balances customization with affordability. A possible foundation for this is the development of integrated design and manufacturing concepts so you can utilize
tailorability when you need it but embrace mass production to
reduce costs. A technology challenge toward this end is the development of verified and validated material-specific modules that can
be plugged into design software to optimize material selection,
interface modification, and constituent arrangement simultaneously with manufacturing approaches. This will take an expansion of
our community to include people with expertise in operations
research, algorithms, math, image analysis, rare event detection,
theory of uncertainty propagation, as well as new data sharing
standards. Example efforts pointing toward this future are the United
States Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) and the US Air Forces
Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) initiative.
How do you think that the research community,

industry, funding organizations, government, etc. can
best work together to facilitate these new
developments?
Achieving this vision necessitates precompetitive R&D around the
rules and tools, metrology, and data sharing. Our composites
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community is based on proprietary data: you go to company A

for a solution and it is based on their proprietary data or you go to
company B and its solution is based on their proprietary data. So
somehow we need to try to create an ecosystem or culture in the
community that shifts away from this view to one that enables the
sharing of tools and rules across the community. How do we pose
value creation via the final design rather than secret sauce constituents? One approach would be to embrace open-architecture
standards as is done in software design. There is analogy with an
operating system on top of which proprietary apps can be sold. The
ICME/MGI initiatives and precompetitive rules and tools are creating an ecosystem that provides an operating system for composites
so that companies can create profit by creating unique apps on top.
Are there any initiatives that are starting to do that?

Such initiatives are rapidly growing. For example, the Air Force is
championing a composites initiative right now called Integrated
Computational Methods for Composite Materials (ICM2). Another Air Force project is the Nano-Bio Manufacturing Consortium,
which is trying to establish an industrial ecosystem where companies cost-share government investment to bring along or raise
manufacturing and technology readiness levels, and establish
supply chain relationships to be able to develop product more
rapidly once risk is reduced. These are just two examples of
programs emphasizing public-private partnerships that I believe
will continue to expand across the US federal government.
Where would you like to see the composites sector in

10, 20, or 50 years?
The advent of additive manufacturing and print concepts will be a
critical toolset for traditional composites manufacturing, where
what we usually think of as the tailorability can be done by the
digital world. The vision is to have low cost commodity platforms
that are purchased in bulk with digital functionality added on top.
This way you are still able to retain the high-end tailorability of
composites but in a different way, combining commodity raw
material sources with high-end digital manufacturing. I believe in
10 or 20 years you may see additive manufacturing of composites,
including continuous fibers, turning out materials at low cost that
are highly functional and tailorable for specific applications.
Keeping pace with these digital concepts, I see the merging of
flexible electronics, flexible packaging, and flexible hybrid electronics with traditional composites revolutionizing the world
around us. I believe this is a key enabler of the Internet of Things.
The structural components of a composite lay-up are also functioning devices, which impart silicon logic and power into one
multifunctional system. From the composite side, it is moving
away from stiffness to embracing a range of mechanical attributes
including compliance, folding, origami, and motion. Using an
aerospace example, when building an airplane we usually think of
the skin, the ribs, etc., as structural components into which we put
our communications, electronics, and sensor boxes or on which
we might hang antennas. You could improve aerodynamics and
functionality by taking the antennas, for example, and incorporating them into the skin of the aircraft. The wing, then, not only
serves as a structural element but also as an antenna. Thats just a
simple example being developed today which demonstrates the
merging of device opto-electronic functionality with structure.
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The world on a composites diet: How

more and more markets are trying to lose
weight with reinforced plastics
Django Mathijsen
That fiber reinforced plastics have a huge potential for making products lighter is stating the obvious.
But the reasons why youd want to shed pounds, kilos or even tonnes can be surprising.
Carbon fiber: not just for supercars anymore
Mass production of a carbon fiber seatback
Carbon fiber has been working wonders in the automotive industry for decades now. It is a magic wand. Wave it and not only does a
cars weight go down (improving its performance and fuel economy), but also its appeal goes up. Unfortunately, carbon fiber has
mainly been limited to production techniques suited to small
series.
But the game is changing with manufacturers like BMW using
carbon fiber reinforced polymers in its i3 and i8 models. The SGL
Automotive Carbon Fiber plant at Moses Lake (a joint venture of
BMW and SGL) is in the process of tripling its production to
9000 tons per year. That is employment for 200 people. BMW is
not messing about.
How much research and development it takes to bring carbon
fiber composites into automotive mass production is demonstrated by the CAMISMA project (carbon fiber-amid-metallic structural
interior component using a multi-material approach). It was
started in 2012 and is supported by the German Federal Ministry
of Education and Research.
In this project Johnson Controls a global leader in automotive
seating, overhead systems, door and instrument panels, and interior electronics has developed a lightweight carbon fiber seat
backrest. Evonik Industries AG, Jacob Plastics GmbH, Toho Tenax
Europe GmbH and the RWTH Aachen Universitys ITA institute
were also involved.
In order to benefit from the weight advantage of carbon fibers,
the automotive industry has to consider the entire lifecycle. The
material is expensive, so a low cost manufacturing process is
essential. And the concept has to encompass fiber recycling. If a
car is scrapped after a decade of use, it would be wasteful to just
burn the carbon fiber parts.
The first step was to develop a fully automated continuous process

with in situ polymerization to produce the base materials for the
seatback. In this process, reclaimed carbon fiber is combined with
heated laurolactam (the monomer precursor of polyamide 12) and
an initiator.
Out comes a continuous, thin, fiber reinforced thermoplastic
tape that can be used for thermoforming later on. There are two
types: a tape with unidirectional virgin carbon fibers, and a random nonwoven version made from off spec fibers. For the prototype that carbon is still leftovers from fiber manufacturing. But in
mass production this can be replaced by end-of-life recycled
carbon fiber.
http://www.djangomathijsen.nl.
FIGURE 1
New material manufacturing process for thermoplastic CFRP tapes. Courtesy

of Evonik: A Kover, Johnson Control Simulation and Manufacturing of an
Automotive Part for Mass Production, ITHEC 2014.
38
The next step is the actual molding of the seatback. And in

automotive mass production this has to be done in a cycle time of
around one minute.
So the two tapes are used to make a flat preform of the seatback,
considering various fiber orientations. The random nonwoven
makes up most of the seatback. The stronger, unidirectional fiber
tape is for strengthening.
Metal inserts are placed in the tool at the bottom of the seatback
prior to the fiber material; they are for the interface to the lower
structure of the seat.
Then the preform is heated and placed into the mold. An
overmolding technique is used: after the mold is closed and the
preform is pressed into the required shape, extra thermoplastic
material is injected into cavities in the mold. This forms strengthening ribs on the inside and a nice finishing edge all around the
seatback.
Simulating and optimizing the manufacturing process

It is important to simulate and optimize the manufacturing process. That way you can prevent problems like warping, wrinkling
and tearing. For this the ThermoPlastic composite Research Centre
(TPRC) in Enschede got involved in the seatback project in 2013.
TPRC originated in 2007 from a collaboration between Boeing,
TenCate Advanced Composites, Fokker Aerostructures and the
University of Twente. The number of members in that collaboration has since increased to 14. The center does fundamental
research for them to enable wider use of thermoplastic composite
materials.
TPRC also works for third parties on interesting projects, Bert
Rietman, senior research associate of TPRC, says. In most cases,
our job is characterizing the behavior of the material in the
process, and then simulating and optimizing a forming process.
Defects during the manufacturing process depend on the geometry, process definition, and features like: radii, blank shape, and layup. In order to successfully predict them, you have to accurately
know the most relevant mechanisms, like: intra-ply shear, inter-ply
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shear or friction, tool/laminate friction and bending. Unidirectional

plies, fabric reinforced plies and plies with discontinuous fibers all
behave differently. And the interaction between different plies
depends on the reinforcement structure (Figs. 1 and 2).
Before you can run a process simulation you have to understand the behavior of the material, Rietman says. These mechanisms all occur with the matrix in a melted state. So you have stiff
fibers sliding in a viscous mass comparable to peanut butter. We
made about eighty test pieces from the strengthening tapes and
nonwovens, and measured them in different test rigs at high
temperature. That gave us the forcedeformation curves we need
to establish our material models. Its measured at different speeds,
temperatures and pressures in order to get generally applicable
models. So if Johnson Controls wants a different application for
the same material, we dont have to do the measurements again.
These constitutive models were entered into a draping and
forming simulation tool developed by Aniform, Enschede.
In the simulation we saw wrinkling in the original seatback
design, Rietman says. So we used our knowledge to change the
structure such that it could be produced without wrinkles, making
sure the end product still fulfils the main requirements. In this
case, the crash behavior of the product is of major importance. The
forming behavior of composites depends on the architecture of the
fiber reinforcements. In general, woven fabrics are easy to drape
over doubly curved regions. Look at your clothes. However, there
are limits. Take your trousers: theyll still crease under the knees.
That material just cannot be deformed any more, giving rise to
wrinkles. You can improve that by changing the orientations or
sizes of the fibers in the base materials. The unidirectional tapes are
the most difficult to form without wrinkles. One layer can take a
lot of shear. Two crossed layers arent so bad either. But add a third
layer in yet another orientation and things get very difficult. It
might help to try to prevent the third layer by choosing a smart set
of orientations for the other two.
As an added bonus, the software outputs the exact contour the
flat preform needs to have before it is loaded into the press. That
FIGURE 2
3 shell model, non woven (orange) UD tape (purple) PA12 GF (brown), final model. Courtesy of Evonik: A Kover, Johnson Control Simulation and
Manufacturing of an Automotive Part for Mass Production, ITHEC 2014.
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contour has to cover the entire backrest; theres no time in mass

production for trimming access carbon fiber.
Overmolding: a trend
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According to Rietman, overmolding is starting to become a real

trend: The automotive industry is very interested, because its an
efficient process with possible manufacturing cycles of about a
minute. You can place the fibers exactly where you need them, and
the injection molding makes it possible to integrate functions,
mold in metal inserts, or inject ribs for added stiffness. Edges dont
need reworking, because a nice soft edge is molded all around the
part. You see this process appearing especially in smaller parts that
have to be produced in large numbers. Things like pedals and
casings. Its surely going to grow as experience increases. But on
the other hand: a car will never be all thermoplastics. What if
youd want to develop a low budget version of the seatback in glass
fiber?
Then youd have to do all the measurements and simulations
again. Glass fiber behaves differently. And the structure will usually be different, as well as heavier. Would the problem areas be
the same?
We often see problems in doubly curved sections with small
details. But every material is different. Is the fabric dense or less
dense? What is its architecture? Those things all come into play.
Some materials drape easily, without any problems, while other
materials wrinkle with a little bit of pressure.
The new seatback is over forty percent lighter than a comparable
metal one. It will be interesting when we are going to see it actually
being mass-produced. And for which car?
FIGURE 3
Reaching higher
Another reason to lose weight is if you want to reach higher. For
example Lehmann German Cleaning Systems in Neustrelitz has
developed the Puraqleen system. It is a machine for cleaning
windows, facades and solar panels at up to a height of 20 m, just
standing on the ground (Figs. 3 and 4).
European law requires from building cleaners not to work with
ladders anymore above a height of 9 meters, says Hanns Joachim
Supthut, the owner of the company. Therefore we had to invent a
new cleaning machine. And a pole system that was light to handle
was needed.
Another requirement was that the machine would clean without any chemical cleaning agents. For that purpose the machine
demineralizes tap water with a specially treated resin. This purified
water is run through a hose along the pole. It cleans the surface
better and dries out without leaving residue, streaks or marks. And
without the need for wiping or drying. For cases where cleaning
agents are still needed theres a second hose. The two streams are
operated with remotely controlled valves.
The poles are one and a half meter long and can be screwed endto-end. With titanium poles a height of 15 m can be reached, with
Akzo carbon fiber poles 20 m.
Lehmann is a family business founded in 1895, which has been
producing professional window cleaning equipment for over a
quarter century. Next to cleaning companies, the systems have
been used by utility companies like EON, advertising companies
like WALL and railway companies like China Railway, Deutsche
Bahn, Rhatische Bahn and SBB.
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The modern way of cleaning windows carbon fiber pole in hand and
both feet on the ground.
According to Lehmann with this system you can clean 250 m2

per hour, as opposed to only 25 with the conventional method
where you have to climb ladders. So the carbon fiber makes the job
faster as well.
Higher and heavier still

Tristan Swanink of STC in Coevorden, Netherlands (www.stcbv.nl)
is reaching even higher: Our biggest concept is 65 meters high.
FIGURE 4
Two hoses one for purified water and one for cleaning agents.
He is not talking about cleaning systems, but about high reach

demolition excavators. STC is specialized in custom engineered
earthmoving equipment and industrial machinery, not the sort of
toys traditionally associated with carbon fiber.
Were always looking for ways to increase the lifting capacity of
our machines, or to make them reach higher or farther, Swanink
says. Our clients like better performance at lower weight. With
heavy machinery ground pressure quickly becomes a problem. Our
largest demolition excavator weighs about 210 tonnes. But you
can only load thirty tonnes on a standard truck. So you have to
take the machine apart and transport it in seven sections. Were
now looking at carbon fiber to reduce that weight to about 160
tonnes. Then we could save at least one transport run. And it
would save fuel and decrease ground pressure.
Swanink estimates the carbon fiber version of the machine will
be about 20% more expensive, but this should quickly be recouped
by the lower transport and fuel costs during operation.
And most end-users want their machines to be as green as
possible, Swanink adds. Jobs commissioned by the government
include a bonus for how good a contractor performs on the CO2
ladder.
Less fuel means less CO2. And in addition, the carbon fiber
version should have a longer working life, because carbon fiber
does not rust and is less prone to fatigue.
STC is in the concept phase, cooperating with Twente University and Schaap Composites, Lelystad. They are still looking for
partners with specific expertise. The most important thing is to get
all the necessary expertise together, Swanink says. We have to
give the production technique a lot of thought. Material costs are
high, so we need to work efficiently and keep production hours as
low as possible, while maintaining a high standard of quality. Also
just buying the materials can be a problem: where do you get
35000 kilos of carbon fiber in one go? It would be great to have
someone on board who could help us with a tailor made fiber. And
were investigating if we should go for a thermoset or a thermoplastic.
So if your company has relevant expertise and you would like to
cooperate, check out STCs website and call or e-mail them.
Keeping it stable
The carbon fiber demolition excavator was an idea of Leen Schaap,
the owner of Schaap Composites. The company has an oven for
curing composites 30 m long, 8 m high and 8 m wide and has
worked on impressive projects like the car that won the Shell Ecomarathon in 2011. They have also constructed the bodywork of a
few of the most successful World Solar Challenge racing cars (of
Delft and Twente University). And they have built carbon fiber
parts for the Superbus, a futuristic electric vehicle conceived by
the late astronaut Professor Wubbo Ockels. It was a coach intended
as an alternative for high speed trains, shuttling 2030 passengers
at speeds of up to 250 km/h.
We build and maintain all sorts of things, Leen Schaap says.
Ive been working with composites for over 35 years. I started out
building surfboards. But our main focus is on boats and super
yachts.
Super yachts used to be made chiefly out of steel. But these days
it is usually aluminium with a bit of composites thrown in for
special parts (Fig. 5).
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FIGURE 5
Carbon fibre boom and roof on a sailing ship (Photo courtesy Schaap
Composites).
There are all sorts of hatches on a super yacht, for example for
access to lifeboats, Schaap explains. For everything that has to be
mechanically driven, lightweight composites are useful. Because
then you need less power to operate them.
But there is an even more important reason for using lightweight composites on a super yacht: dynamic stability.
The higher you get on a ship, the more important weight
becomes, Schaap says. The upper deck and the mast influence
the stability of the ship very much. Super yachts usually have a
navigation mast with all sorts of equipment. So they often make
the mast out of carbon fiber, and the upper deck out of a carbon
fiber sandwich with a PVC foam core. Carbon fiber is more
expensive than glass fiber. But that is compensated by the fact
that laying up carbon fiber is less labor intensive. You usually only
need a few layers with it.
There have already been super yachts completely made of
composites. For example the 75 m long Mirabella V, built by
Vosper Thornycroft in 2003. Are composites the future of super
yachts?
No doubt its going to be used more and more, Schaap says.
But its not happening as quickly as Id expected. Composites are
more expensive. So its only if the required stability or performance cant be met with steel or aluminium that you resort to
composites.
The composite tipper

In 2011, Roelofs Kipperbouw (Netherlands) won an innovation
award at the JEC Composites Show in Paris for a tipper made of
composites (Fig. 6). It is significantly lighter than the conventional
steel version (2 tonnes instead of 4). That means you can haul
more payload, so you can make less trips and save fuel and money.
And when you are returning empty to get another load, the lighter
truck uses 8.1% less fuel. Great for the environment and the
operators wallet (Fig. 7).
The composite tipper would be about 35% more expensive to
buy, manufactured in a fully automated process, Peter Verschut of
Composite Production Engineering (www.cpegroup.nl) says. But
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FIGURE 8
Being lighter, the composite trailer can transport a higher payload.

FIGURE 6
The composite tipper installed on a Volvo FMX truck.
over seven years of use, the composite tipper is estimated to yield

100,000 euros more than the steel one.
When Martin Luinstra, the owner of Roelofs Kipperbouw, came
to him for advice with the idea, Verschut said: Youll need capable
partners to fill the triangle: material supplier, production and
engineering. Also involved in this project were: Norma MPM,
TenCate Advanced Composites, STODT Toekomsttechniek, CTC,
Twente University, and Oost NV.
Prototypes were made of prepreg glass fiber reinforced epoxy
and cured in an oven under vacuum at Norma MPM. The first
tipper was placed on a Volvo FMX truck. But the dump box can be
installed on trucks of all makes.
The engineering was done by CTC in Hengelo, which cut its
teeth on wind turbines but has since diversified into all sorts of
composites constructions.
No standards
We had two important challenges, Jos ter Laak, managing director of CTC, says. The tipper had to be suited to hot asphalt. So it
had to stand up to 180 8C, while still being affordable, not for the
aircraft industry but for the transport industry. The second challenge was: there are no standard requirements for a dump box. Laid
down are only a description what a proven box looks like and the
measurements of the metal. So you have to sort out all the loads and
requirements yourself. We started out by defining realistic load
circumstances. The requirement is that it stays intact and that
the total width under load never exceeds 2.55 meters. We borrowed
safety factors from other markets where standards for composites
have already been set down, like aircraft and wind turbine blades.
The composite walls are a sandwich with a PET foam core:
thicker than steel walls. But volume was never the issue, not even
when transporting sand. The limiting factor is the maximum
wheel load (Fig. 8).
The glass fibers are on top of each other, not woven. A weave is
more susceptible for fatigue in the places where one fiber goes
underneath another, Ter Laak explains. For nine months before
the actual start of the project we did feasibility studies. A weight
reduction of over 50% turned out to be possible. What took a lot of
time, was figuring out how to deal with hot asphalt in an affordable way. Its not difficult to find a composite that can stand up to
180 8C, but thats too expensive. Eventually we chose to go with an
insulating liner to keep the main structure below 80 8C and out of
the danger zone. (Fig. 9)
So the tipper can go to market in two versions: with the thermal
barrier (for asphalt) and without (for sand and gravel). How did the
market react?
At first they called it a Tupperware box and thought it would fall
apart, Martin Luinstra says. Thats over. Now you hear more and
more: its the way of the future.
Less noisy and less sticky
FIGURE 7
The composite tipper saves fuel when empty.

42
The prototype tippers, number I, II and IV (the lightest of the

bunch), were extensively tested. The composite structure turned
out to have an added bonus: better insulation. The rule is that the
asphalt temperature must not drop below 120 8C. That limits the
distance you can transport asphalt. But the asphalt in the composite tipper arrives at the worksite hotter than in the steel tipper.
This gives you the opportunity to load the asphalt at a lower
temperature (conserving energy again), or to increase the distance
to the worksite.
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answer: Is it okay if the product looks different? Thats often the

stumbling block. A good design for steel wont always work in
composites. If the product for example has to have sharp angles
and small radii, then you cant get the fibers in: theyd just break.
Then composites dont get a fair chance. Also, people often
associate composites with plastic cups: a throwaway article. But
in reality its a material that can achieve an extremely high
operating life. Thats one of the reasons why in civil engineering
and building, people are looking at composites: they require less
maintenance. For wind turbine blades, theres hardly an alternative. Everything else will just fail because of fatigue. And the
newest Boeings and Airbuses are largely made of composites as
well.
Will the composite tipper go into production?

FIGURE 9
Asphalt will cool down more slowly in a composite tipper, increasing its
range.
The prototypes are still in continuous use for transporting

gravel, asphalt and sand. So what were the results of those years
of abuse?
We knew the composite would be susceptible to wear, Ter Laak
says. The bottom of a steel tipper has to be replaced every few years
as well. But we had to find out how bad the problem is. When we
saw the oldest tipper back after two years of use, we decided we
needed to add a polyurethane coating: thats one of the most wear
resistant materials. And weve used two colors. When the second
color shines through, you know its time for a new coating.
Another advantage was that the composite tipper turned out to
emit less noise when dumping or being loaded. This is due to the
good soundproofing properties of the sandwich walls.
The composite tipper did take some getting used to for the
operator. Asphalt sticks less to composites than steel, Ter Laak
explains. So it slides out at a shallower angle. And if you want to
add things, you can glue them on. But people in this market are
used to welding. So its a different way of working. I remember
them asking: what if we have damage? Everything can be repaired
with fibers and resin, but people in this market arent used to that
yet.
Plastic cups
Theoretically, even more weight reduction might have been possible by completely rounding off the bottom of the dump box. But
then the box would have looked different and that was unwanted.
Were often asked about replacing steel with a composite and if
the product will then become lighter, Ter Laak says. We usually
If youre developing a product for an industrial market, you have

to consider the whole value chain, Peter Verschut explains. The
materials, the design, the process needed to manufacture in large
numbers, and the customers who are only willing to accept a
slightly higher price if theyll get a larger return on their investment. So the next step in the tipper project is to go for materials
and processes that make automated production possible. Were
aiming for thermoplastic composites and fully automated production lines with robots running 24/7, using advanced fiber placement, press forming and overmolding. A complete factory has
already been simulated in 3D. It will take a huge investment. But
these days, if you want to produce a high quality product in large
numbers in the Western society, you can only do it fully automated. Thats a bottleneck for composites in general. Our industry is
very good at one-offs and small series. But for mass production we
still have a long way to go.
Martin Luinstra reckons mass production is definitely going to
happen: If all our partners keep their word. And up to now they
have. But even if my project would fail, this cannot be stopped
anymore. Its going to be an arms race who builds the lightest
truck. Suppose you have to haul 100,000 tonnes and you need
fewer trips than your competitor, then youre getting the job.
Were also developing composite rims, a composite tank container
and a composite tipper chassis. So then virtually the whole truck
can be made of composites.
Reaching higher, working faster, saving fuel, making more
money, reducing ground pressure, going green, lowering the
center of gravity. . . and many more reasons for employing lightweight composites. For example a composites bridge is lighter
than a traditional one. So you can replace a worn out bridge with a
lighter but wider one, without having to beef up the foundation.
More and more people in more and more markets are seeing the
potential of lightweight composites. . . and going to great lengths
to use it.
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Reuse and upcycling of aerospace

prepreg scrap and waste
Gaurav Nilakantan and Steven Nutt
Gaurav Nilakantan and Steven Nutt of the M.C. Gill Composites Center at the University of Southern
California discuss the need for upcycling uncured scrap prepreg and the commercial opportunities
available.
Recently, there has been a tremendous uptick in worldwide research on reclaiming high performance fibers, particularly aerospace-grade carbon fiber from end-of-life cured thermoset
composites. Fiber reclamation remains the main focus of such
composite recycling efforts. Recycling efforts have even been
launched as full-scale commercial operations in some countries,
notably Materials Innovation Technologies and Adherent
Technologies in the US and ELG Carbon Fiber in the UK. While
it should be apparent that the composites recycling industry
would be widespread, have a strong foothold, and be commercially
profitable because of the tremendous increase in usage and
projected demand for carbon fiber across several industries such
as aerospace (high volume, low production rate, long service life)
and automotive (high volume; high production rate; medium
service life), the reality is distinctly different. While European Union
legislation appears to be the driving force behind accelerated composites recycling efforts in Europe, the US does not currently
have such regulations in place. In the US, it continues to be
more economically practical to dispose of cured composite waste
in landfills.
Nevertheless, legislation focused on recycling can provide only
the push the pull must arise from market demand for
reclaimed carbon fiber and there currently does not appear to
be a sufficiently large end market to compel users to recycle. While
the argument can be made from an environmental and corporate
social responsibility perspective, such arguments ultimately and
inevitably succumb to market economics. There are also technological challenges that must be resolved, primarily the disordered
aggregate form of reclaimed carbon fiber that requires non-trivial
E-mail address: gnilakan@usc.edu.
additional processing before it can be further processed into

saleable and competitive products. The targeted development of
a consumer base and end-market for intermediate and endproducts based on reclaimed carbon fiber could help spur recycling
efforts and drive home the argument from a commercial viability
perspective; however, such development efforts have not received
much attention or traction.
Unfortunately, the same holds true with regard to reusing or
upcycling uncured scrap carbon fiber prepreg that is generated
during the manufacturing process. This scrap also makes its way to
landfills because it is economically viable to do so and an established end-market and consumer base for scrap prepreg based
products does not currently exist.
Uncured prepreg scrap typically arises from two sources (Fig. 1).
The first source is primarily generated during ply cutting operations in the form of off-cuts, skeletons, trim waste, and end-of-roll
waste. Such scrap is mostly comprised randomly sized and shaped
pieces. The second source is out-of-spec material such as that
beyond its out-life or freezer life and is often in the form of
unopened or partially used prepreg rolls. It is cost prohibitive in
the aerospace industry to re-certify such out-of-spec material and it
is therefore disposed in landfills, donated to research universities,
or consumed in-house for R&D purposes.
While accurate data is not available, the volume of cured
composites waste greatly outweighs the volume of uncured scrap
prepreg by at least an order of magnitude and one would therefore
expect recycling efforts to take precedence over reuse efforts.
However, there is one important distinction. The issue of recycling is primarily targeted at end-of-life composites which for an
aircraft could mean well over 30 years and for an automobile
around 10 years, barring unforeseen events such as catastrophic
damage through crash, whereas the issue of reuse must be tackled
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FIGURE 1
Exemplary uncured scrap prepreg ply cutter scrap and out-timed rolls.
here-and-now as scrap is continuously generated during the

manufacturing process.
The volume of scrap prepreg is expected to grow rapidly in the
near future because of the huge increase in demand for carbon
fiber prepreg, especially from the aerospace industry with the
introduction of new composites-intensive aircraft such as
the Boeing 787 and Airbus A380 and future models such as
the 777X and A350. According to their respective market outlooks, both Boeing (source: Current Market Outlook 20142033)
and Airbus (source: Future Journeys 20132032) expect the
world aircraft fleet to double by 2030, with at least 2734 K
new airplanes valued between US$3.5 and 4 trillion. Note that
uncured scrap prepreg must first be cured before it is disposed
of in landfills because of the potential for toxic chemicals
from the uncured resin to leach into the soil and ground water.
Therefore, the absence of immediate reuse efforts will only serve
to delay the problem and add the volume of uncured scrap
prepreg on to the total volume of cured composite waste that
will eventually need to be recycled. However, there are other
arguments to drive the need for reuse and upcycling efforts, as
described next.
The need for reuse

Reuse efforts are particularly appealing because both the carbon
fiber and resin within the scrap prepreg are usable, high-value
components and do not require destructive separation. The carbon

fiber also continues to remain in its original continuous filament
form whether as a unidirectional tape or woven fabric.
The cost of uncured resin is not inconsequential relative to the
cost of aerospace grade virgin carbon fiber. Consider a generic
aerospace carbon fiber prepreg of 250 g/m2 (1 lb 20 ft2) and cost
$45/lb. Typical ply cutter scrap, depending on the complexity of
the shapes being cut out from the roll and the efficiency of the
nesting routines can range anywhere from 20% to 50%. Considering a conservative 20% scrap rate results in ply cutter scrap of 0.2 lb
(or 4 ft2) per pound of virgin prepreg material, with an associated
original material cost of $9. Typical waste disposal fees can range
from $0.75 to $3 per pound and increases exponentially if the
waste is considered hazardous. Considering waste disposal fees of
$1 per pound results in a total disposal cost of $0.2 per pound of
virgin prepreg material.
Clearly waste disposal fees alone are not going to affect the
bottom line of large companies, although it constitutes a loss of
revenue no matter how small. However, the introduction of
legislation that limits the extent of landfilling and mandates
minimum levels of reuse and recycling, and imposes strict
penalties, fines, and fees for non-compliance can quickly escalate the cost to company associated with waste disposal, thereby
driving the economic argument for reusing or upcycling scrap.
Clearly, considerable savings in material cost can be realized by
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minimizing the amount of scrap generated in the first place, or

by focusing on reduce in the reduce-reuse-recycle mantra.
However this may not always be possible.
Continuing with the previous example, obviously the material
cost of the scrap prepreg is no longer $9, because it is no longer in
the form of a continuous prepreg ply but rather an assortment of
scrap pieces of random sizes and shapes or as a cut-out prepreg
skeleton. Thus, there is an apparent material depreciation similar
to the net value of an automobile the moment it is driven off the
dealer lot. If this scrap prepreg is upcycled into commercial endproducts, with value addition occurring at each stage of the
upcycling supply chain through the incorporation of new technology and IP into the intermediate product form and the final
end-product, then the scrap prepreg has some intrinsic value. If
this value (resale rate per pound of scrap prepreg) exceeds current
waste disposal fees, then the economic argument for reuse is
apparent.
This value is what companies can take advantage of to offset
their original material costs, in addition to the amount saved on
waste disposal fees and potential non-compliance fines. Even if a
company were to donate their prepreg scrap to an external
party, there are still considerable savings to be realized. In turn,
this creates an opportunity for new businesses to be created
downstream from the major aerospace and composites industries that consume virgin prepreg, wherein these new entities
consume the scrap prepreg and upcycle it into commercial endproducts. This process may occur entirely within one new entity
that converts the scrap prepreg into a usable intermediate form
and immediately consumes that intermediate form, or as multiple entities. For example, the first entity in the supply chain may
manufacture and distribute the intermediate form while the
second entity consumes that intermediate form and manufactures the end-product. For these downstream entities to be
profitable, value addition must occur at each stage of the upcycling and the margins must be sufficient. For this reason, it is
important to identify high volume applications with appreciable margins over applications such as fillers for concrete
or energy recovery that do not have any appreciable value
addition.
The motive force for the incorporation of new companies to
handle the upcycling of scrap prepreg arises from three assumptions:
(1) that the major players in the aerospace and composites
industries do not want to be distracted from their core
competency;
(2) liability concerns, wherein liability is minimized through the
incorporation of new entities; and
(3) the consumers of virgin prepreg material cannot always
consume their own scrap.
For example, it is not feasible to reuse scrap aerospace prepreg
in primary or critical aerospace structures, as they wont meet the
performance requirements or pass certification. Their incorporation in secondary or tertiary aerospace structures is as yet
unclear given the potential lack of consistency in the feedstock
material. In such cases, it is far more practical to find a completely different market segment to reuse the scrap aerospace prepreg,
such as for sporting, recreation, and consumer goods. However,
there are exceptions. For example, it is entirely feasible for
46
automotive composite scrap to be reused within the same automobile, and the BMW i3 model showcases one such innovative
example.
There is a general consensus that it is only a matter of time
before the US follows suit and incorporates legislation along the
lines of the European Union that limits the extent of legal
landfilling and mandates levels of reuse and recycling. Therefore,
it may be advantageous for companies to quickly position themselves for looming environmental regulations and to avoid costly
fines and penalties for non-compliance down the road. The lure
of spurring job creation in todays depressed economy, particularly downstream manufacturing jobs, is another incentive for
companies particularly if it results in additional incentives from
the state and federal government. Finally, many companies want
to be associated with the image of sustainability and being
socially responsible in the public eye, or may want to obtain
certifications such as ISO 14001, which is another reason for
them to support, drive, and incorporate practices such as reduce,
reuse, and recycling.
From scrap prepreg to intermediate product forms

Figure 2 displays the five intermediate product forms that we
envision arising from scrap prepreg, four of which are uncured
and one fully cured form. They are, in order of increasing levels of
additionally required processing:
Resold Prepreg Roll Form (RPRF);
Regular Cutout Form (RCF);
Loose Chip Form (LCF);
Reused Scrap Roll Form (RSRF); and
Composite Construction Material (CCMatTM).
RPRF is comprised unopened or partially opened prepreg
rolls that are no longer within specification. Such material is
typically used for in-house R&D work, donated to research
universities, or sent to landfills. For all practical purposes, RPRF
is equivalent to virgin prepreg; it cannot be used in primary
aircraft structures because it is no longer within the required
specification. RPRF requires little to no additional processing
before sale.
RCF involves identifying scrap pieces that are large enough from
which to cut out regular shaped pieces of prepreg that can be used
as-is in subsequent manufacturing with vacuum bagging, hot
pressing, etc. Figure 2 indicates how such pieces can be cut out
from scrap (see dashed red outlines). RCF can be produced using
standard conveyorized ply cutting equipment in conjunction with
machine vision or simply processed manually. The leftover scrap
pieces at the end of this process can then be converted into LCF.
Higher margins can likely be expected from the sale of the RPRF
and RCF forms as they most preserve the original form of the
prepreg material compared to the other intermediate product
forms described next.
The manufacture of LCF involves mechanically cutting down
the scrap prepreg into rectangular shaped chips. In an automated
process, the cut-outs must move along a conveyor belt through a
two stage cutter, the first stage reducing the scrap pieces into a set
of continuous lineal strips with constant width, with the second
stage cutting the strips into chips of desired length. If the
incoming scrap predominantly consists of extensively cut-out
prepreg skeletons, another option is to use a die press to cut or
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FIGURE 2
Intermediate product forms from scrap prepreg.
stamp out the chips in a batch operation model. Manual labor or

machine vision can be used to align the incoming scrap on
the conveyor belt and align one of the fiber directions parallel
to the cutting blades in order to maximize the fiber lengths
in the final chips. While this is not terribly significant for
woven fabric prepregs because of the bi-directional or orthogonal tows, this alignment step is important for unidirectional
scrap prepreg. Also, the backing paper must be removed prior to
cutting, which depending on the nature of the cut-outs, can be
accomplished either manually or via an automated system
comprising of suction cups and pressurized air nozzles to respectively hold the prepreg plies down while blowing off the
backing paper.
Figure 3 displays scrap chips cut from a 5HS woven fabric and a
unidirectional carbon fiber/epoxy prepreg (Cytec CYCOM1 5320)
with the arrows indicating fiber directions.
RSRF is manufactured by compressing LCF at specific temperatures and pressures into a sheet form that is then packaged into a
roll form with a wax backing paper and/or protective film
much like a virgin prepreg roll. The applied temperature is just
sufficient to cause low extents of resin flow required to bond the
chips together, which is especially necessary when they have no
tack. The applied high compaction pressures give RSRF a thin
structure and a smooth surface.
We envision four forms of the RSRF: general purpose roll,

surfacing roll, hybrid roll, and a tooling roll. The general purpose
roll is highly customizable in its composition (e.g. fiber bed
architecture, resin system, chip shape and size) and structure
(e.g. thickness, areal weight, distribution and orientation of chips)
and can be tailored depending on the end application. The hybrid
roll is a sandwich structure comprised the general purpose roll at
its core with skins comprised either regular prepreg rolls (i.e. outof-spec material) or large scrap pieces (e.g. RCF). Using out-of-spec
FIGURE 3
Individual scrap prepreg chips.
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the limitless potential end-products and applications for scrap

prepreg.
Processing of intermediate scrap-based product forms
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FIGURE 4
Cure cycles.
rolls at the surface of the hybrid roll will keep overall material
costs low, provide the same visual appearance and aesthetic that
customers are accustomed to with regular prepreg composites, and
have a cumulative effect on the mechanical performance
(strength/stiffness).
LCF and RSRF are better known as InfinipregTM; a name that
derives from the Infinite possibilities for scrap prepreg, a reference to
The LCF form resembles a bulk molding compound (BMC) of

which several commercial forms are available from companies
such as TenCate and Hexcel in the form of chopped virgin unidirectional prepreg. LCF can be similarly compression molded into
the final part.
The RSRF form resembles a sheet molding compound (SMC) and
can be processed by all the traditional routes used for virgin
prepreg such as autoclaving, vacuum bagging, hot pressing, and
compression molding. However preferred processing routes for
RSRF are through hot pressing and closed mold compression.
Apart from being simple, rapid, and inexpensive, these two processing routes do not require consumables (sealant tape, breather,
vacuum bags, et cetera) that would add to the overall waste stream.
They also do not require lengthy room temperature vacuum holds
or debulking cycles that add to the overall cycle times. Parts can be
made continuously by placing the two caul/tool plates or closed
mold fixture directly between the preheated platens of a hot press
and removing them at the end of the dwell cycle without waiting
for the part to cool. Another significant advantage of the RSRF
form is the ability to use accelerated cure cycles which reduce the
overall cycle times.
For example, Fig. 4 compares one of the manufacturers
recommended cure cycles for the CYCOM1 5320 prepreg system
(1.5 8C/min ramp up, 121 8C dwell) along with the cure cycles we
used when manufacturing 5320 prepreg scrap (5HS and UNI chips)
FIGURE 5
Exemplary manufacturing routes (a) open platen compression, (b) closed mold compression, (c) VBO processing.
48
FIGURE 6
End product space for scrap prepreg.
based laminates in a hot press, where a 135 8C dwell was used along
with ramp up rates as high as 40 8C/min.
Figure 5 shows three potential manufacturing routes with LCF
and RSRF. VBO-processed laminates produced with RSRF yield a
breather-side finish similar to their virgin prepreg counterparts.
The advantage of VBO processing using RSRF is that the part size is
not limited by the size and capacity of the hot press, and a simple
vacuum pump is sufficient to apply the compaction pressure
(14.7 psi) regardless of the part size moreover, while large convection ovens are not cost prohibitive. The part can also be cured
using simple thermal blankets or self-heated tool plates. The
downside of using VBO and the corresponding reduced compaction pressure is that poorer compaction can result at sharp corners
within the part, and in such cases, compression molding is preferable.
Technology demonstrators and end-products

We believe there are potentially hundreds of end-products that
can be built partially or entirely from scrap thermoset prepreg.
Carbon fiber composites are not just used for their lightweight
properties and superior structural performance but also coveted for
FEATURE
their distinctive visual appeal and therefore find dozens of

aesthetic-based applications such as arm rests, cell phone cases,
and cup holders which are non-structural, and customized home
and office furniture which is structural in nature. Parts made from
Infinipreg possess a unique and distinctive look of their own
because of the random placement of chips on the surface that
tends to reflect incident light differently and create a shimmering
effect, which can therefore compete in the aesthetic-based product
market. Preliminary studies have also established the good stiffness and strength retention properties of scrap prepreg chip based
laminates thereby also opening up structural end-products to
Infinipreg.
We believe that scrap prepreg based parts will be competitive for
two reasons:
(1) they can compete with some existing carbon fiber products
because of the lower price points brought to bear by the much
lower starting material costs; and
(2) they can compete with other traditional materials in
applications where carbon fiber was previously discounted
for being cost prohibitive.
Thus, Infinipreg can not only compete with but also open up
new markets to carbon fiber composites. Figure 6 displays some of
the major industries we have identified that would be highly
amenable to scrap prepreg.
In the medical devices field, the radiolucent property of carbon
fiber composites can be exploited to make hospital/ICU beds and
structural casings for medical devices. We have also made a
prosthetic running foot (GazelleTM) out of scrap CF/epoxy prepreg,
Fig. 7a. Potential sporting and recreation goods include skateboards, snowboards, snow-sleds, go-karts, and kayaks. We have
manufactured skateboards using only scrap CF/epoxy prepreg
(Cobra-ZTM) as well as a mix of scrap CF/epoxy and fiberglass/
epoxy prepreg (Crazy ZebraTM), Fig. 7b.
Figure 7c displays several sub-structural or design elements that
can be used in structural applications, such as thin and thick
panels, hat stiffened panels, cylinders, sandwich structures with
a honeycomb or foam core, and veneers. The black/yellow
colored veneer shown in Fig. 7c consists of scrap 5HS CF/epoxy
prepreg chips + dry plain weave Kevlar fabric chips + custom
formulated epoxy, just to illustrate how different fibers, architectures, and resins can be mixed together. Obviously, the use of
scrap prepreg in aerospace and automotive applications must be
restricted to non-critical components such as interiors and
paneling.
We also see a large potential market for rail, truck and sea
intermodal or freight containers and unit load devices used at
airports. The potential weight savings over currently used materials such as weathering steel and aluminum could result in enormous fuel savings when transporting these shipping containers
apart from the other obvious benefits of composite materials, such
as good FST properties and resistance to corrosion and infestation.
We also see applications of Infinipreg in low cost and potentially
self-heated composite tooling for low volume and prototype jobs,
where a skin of Infinipreg is supported by a carbon or polyurethane
foam backing. Consumer and household goods could include cell
phone cases, desktop computer cases, laptop and tablet covers,
award plaques, cup holders, trays, and other such novelty items,
Fig. 7d.
49
FEATURE
FEATURE
FEATURE
FIGURE 7
Scrap prepreg based technology demonstrators and potential end-products, using Infinipreg and CCMat (a) Gazelle prosthetic foot, (b) skateboards,
(c) design elements, (d) novelty items, (e) constructional material.
Finally, the striking similarity between wood chip board and

oriented strand board with scrap chip-based laminates leads to
potential applications for CCMat as a construction material (e.g.
flat stock and prefab), Fig. 7e.
Concluding remarks
Whether driven by government regulations, corporate policy, or
market economics, the 3 Rs of ReduceReuseRecycling represent the
pillars of sustainability in the context of the global composites
50
industry and the environment. Of the three, recycling has

received perhaps the greatest attention both from academia and
industry. However, active efforts to reduce and reuse waste lag
considerably.
With the ever increasing use of carbon fiber prepreg (thermoset)
material across multiple industries, most notably commercial
aerospace, the volume of uncured scrap prepreg will increase
considerably in the future. The lack of any substantive previous
reuse efforts for uncured scrap prepreg spurred us to address this
Further information
Dr. Gaurav Nilakantan is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Southern California (USC) and the Editor-in-Chief of the
Journal of Multifunctional Composites. His broad research inter-
ests include manufacturing, characterization, and large scale FEA

of advanced composites for aerospace and armor applications; email: gnilakan@usc.edu; composites.usc.edu/
Prof. Steven Nutt is the M.C. Gill Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at USC and the Director of the M.C.
Gill Composites Center. He serves the lead PI of the NSF G8 funded
project. He has authored/co-authored over 200 journal articles and
serves on the editorial board of Composites Part A journal.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation
(NSF) G8 Initiative Material Efficiency: A First Step towards
Sustainable Manufacturing of Composite Materials (Award #
CMMI-1229011). Additional support was provided by the M.C.
Gill Composites Center at the University of Southern California.
51
FEATURE
issue directly to demonstrate a potentially cost-effective and feasible solution to responsibly manage the scrap prepreg stream.
Ultimately, it is not just the basic technology push that is
important to develop from an early stage, but also the end-market
pull. Our intent through our ongoing work at the University of
Southern California is to steer attention to near-term reuse efforts
on a large scale by demonstrating both the technical and economic feasibility along with several potential end-products. We
anticipate a significant first-mover advantage in this emerging
market.
FEATURE
FEATURE
FEATURE
Removing barriers for bio-based

composite production with novel waterinsensitive cure systems
Coen van Dijk
The use of bio-fibers in unsaturated polyester resins has to date been limited since the fibers need to be
dried and processed immediately after to obtain a high quality composite. Curing systems that remove
this costly and time-consuming barrier have now been developed. Roel Zuijderduin, Technical
Development Manager, AkzoNobel Polymer Chemistry, and Ron Verleg, R&D Program manager, DSM
Composite Resins, explain how manufacturers can replace their glass reinforcement with the right biofibers and produce light-weight composites with a much lower carbon footprint.
Bio-composites are defined as fiber reinforced polymeric composites based on natural (or bio) fibers and/or bio-renewable-based
resin systems. Over the last decades, two main trends have driven
the composite industrys interest in the use of bio-renewable-based
raw materials in the production of fiber reinforced polymer components:
(1) the trend from fossil-derived resources to non-fossil based biorenewable raw materials; and
(2) the weight reduction of structural and non-structural
composite components.
The availability in bio-renewable resources in the last 20 years
has resulted in the development of bio-based thermosetting resins
with bio-content reaching up to 50 wt%. In 2010, DSM Composite
Resins launched several grades of styrenated bio-based unsaturated
polyester resins for application in automotive and infrastructure
products. In 2014 the companys styrene-free bio-based vinyl ester
resin was introduced under the Beyone (TM) brand for wind
turbine blade applications.
The specific stiffness of natural fibers allows composite fabricators to increase the stiffness per kilogram of material resulting in
lighter composite parts with comparable stiffness to glass fiber
reinforced composite alternatives. This allows designers and engineers to develop lighter weight alternatives to current glass fiber
reinforced composites.
Bio-fibers in unsaturated polyester resins

At the moment the use of bio-fibers is predominantly limited to
the car industry where polypropylene is used as the matrix material. The use of bio-fibers in epoxy resins is also widespread. In
unsaturated polyester (UP) resins the use of bio-fibers has so far

been difficult because the water content in the fibers deteriorates
the curing process. The fibers therefore need to be dried first. This,
requires an expensive oven, which is also costly in daily operation
consuming energy and having a negative impact on CO2 emissions. In addition the dry fibers need to be stored under certain
conditions to avoid re-uptake of moisture when exposed to air. For
this reason the use of bio-fibers in UP resin composites was not
successful thus far.
In 2012 AkzoNobel and NPSP, a Dutch manufacturer of
sustainable, fiber reinforced plastics, introduced the NouryactTM
cobalt-free accelerators, which are not sensitive to the presence of
water during the cure of an unsaturated polyester resin. This has
led to new opportunities for working in moist conditions and
using wet filler materials such as, for example, non-dried bio-fibers.
AkzoNobel, in cooperation with Polymer Science Park (PSP) and
DSM Composite Resins, has now proven that structural biocomposites based on non-dried flax fibers and different grades
of unsaturated polyester resin can be produced in a vacuum
infusion process.
Water insensitive
For a number of years AkzoNobel has been developing and promoting replacement products for cobalt carboxylates for curing UP
resins. This is in anticipation of possible reclassification of cobalt
carboxylates to CMR 1B in the near future. The products are
marketed under the brand name Nouryact. Apart from being more
user friendly the new curing technologies provide significant
benefits over cobalt.
52
TABLE 1
Reactivity data for a styrene-based high reactive orthophthalic

resin containing different percentages of (added) water
Resin intake (parts)
100
100
100
100
100
100
Water intake (wt%)
Butanox M-50 (medium

reactive MEKP) (phr)
Cobalt-1% solution (phr)
1
1
69
13
39
61
Time to peak (min)
15
72
12
22
54
82
Peak exotherm (8C)
170
27
167
140
126
121
Nouryact CF12 (phr)

Gel time (min)
The experiments discussed below demonstrate that drying of the

fibers is not necessary and that the mechanical properties obtained
using wet fibers are good, provided the proper cure system and
resin are used.
Curing non-dried bio-fibers
Mechanical properties
The findings above indicate that curing of UP resin with non-dried

bio-fibers should be possible using Nouryact. In 2012 NPSP generated further proof for this approach. The company cured standard
UP resin in a resin transfer molding (RTM) process using wet and
dried fibers and noticed that curing with Nouryact worked very
well whereas the cobalt-based cure system failed.
Figure 1 shows panels manufactured with dry and wet flax fibers
and cobalt and Nouryact CF32 (a metal mix accelerator). The wet
fibers in combination with cobalt (panel 2) did not cure at all,
whereas Nouryact CF32 in combination with the same wet fibers
(panel 4) showed excellent cure. In addition, the mechanical
properties did not deteriorate due to the presence of water.
It has always been assumed that it is essential to dry bio-fibers to
achieve good mechanical properties. This might be true for a
cobalt-based cure system but not when using a Nouryact system.
In the past 12 months two students at the Polymer Science Park

(PSP) in Zwolle, The Netherlands, have been working under guidance from DSM Composite Resins and AkzoNobel Polymer Chemistry to develop a bio-composite demonstrator using non-dried
flax fibers as reinforcement and a series of UP resins from DSM
cured with a Nouryact system. Unidirectional (UD) laminates
were manufactured using a vacuum injection molding process
at room temperature (Fig. 2) and evaluated on tensile and flexural
properties.
The raw materials used are shown in the tables below:
AkzoNobel Polymer Chemistry provided the cure systems:

Nouryact CF12
Nouryact CF13
Inhibitor NLC-10
Butanox M-50
Copper-based accelerator
Copper-based accelerator
tert-Butyl catechol
Medium reactive methyl ethyl ketone peroxide
FIGURE 1
Laminates produced using wet and dry fibers. Picture courtesy NPSP.
53
FEATURE
One of the spin-off benefits of Nouryact is that these products

are insensitive to water and can promote cure in water-rich environments. This is of particular interest for companies using large
amount of fillers which could potentially be contaminated with
water, and also for companies working in the monsoon season or
using fillers which contain high amounts of water, such as natural
fibers. Bio-fibers are known to contain up to 12% water. Curing
such water-rich composite systems is challenging if not impossible
when using standard cobalt-based cure systems. Cobalt carboxylate is prone to hydrolysis under the influence of water and then is
unreactive for the curing process.
Table 1 shows the reactivity data for a styrene-based high
reactive orthophthalic resin to which a certain amount of water
is added. Nouryact CF12, a copper-based complex, is compared
with a standard cobalt accelerator. Intake levels are in phr (parts
per 100 resin parts).
The data clearly show that with cobalt the curing collapses
completely when water is present, whereas with Nouryact CF12
the cure remains good, even with up to 6 wt% water in the resin.
FEATURE
FEATURE
Screening and comparative testing
FEATURE
FIGURE 2
The vacuum injection mold at PSP. Picture courtesy of DSM/PSP.
DSM Composite Resins provided the resins:

AtlacW 430
SynoliteW 7500
Styrene-based vinyl ester resin

Bio-based styrene-based unsaturated polyester resin
The UD flax fibers fabrics were obtained from Bcomp: AmpliTex

5009 flax fiber UD woven fabric (300 g/m2). The water content of
the fibers has been determined to be 810%. The fibers were not
dried prior to use but kept in ambient storage in their original
packaging. For comparison a Hexion1 235/237 epoxy infusion
resin and cure system were used. The core material used for the
demonstrator is 25 mm modified polyvinylchloride closed cell
foam (Airex C70.75).
After a series of dose response tests the cure systems for the two
resins, Atlac1 430 and SynoliteTM 7500, were chosen as described
in Table 2, which also shows the curing characteristics at room
temperature (without post cure) for laminates based on six layers
of flax fiber (approx. 2.2 mm thickness) carried out in the injection
molding process set up. The epoxy system is cured under room
temperature conditions and postcured at elevated temperature,
which is the standard process for epoxy. The fiber volume content
of the laminates was 50 vol%.
Comparative testing data on mechanical properties has been
derived for the vinyl ester, unsaturated polyester and epoxy resin.
The results for tensile properties (ISO 527) and interlaminar shear
strength (ILSS ISO 14130) as well as the cure characteristics are
shown.
The results for tensile properties and ILSS show that there is
no significant difference between all resin systems. The biocomposite laminates based on UP (or VE) resins and non-dried
flax fibers have a good fiber interaction, resulting in mechanical
properties that allow the engineering of structural composite
components.
The specific modules of the bio-composite laminates based on
all three resins are of the same magnitude as the theoretical value
for an UD glass fiber reinforced laminate of 19 m2/s2. The comparable specific moduli for flax and glass fiber reinforced laminates
indicate that bio-composite constructions can be engineered significantly lower in weight than the glass fiber reinforced composite alternative.
TABLE 2
Curing characteristics and mechanical properties for laminates based on flax fiber
Resin intake (parts)
AtlacW 430
SynoliteTM 7500
100
100
Hexion 235 (parts)
HexionW 235/237
Theoretical UD glass fiber

reinforced laminate
100
Hexion 237 (phr)
30
Layers Ampliflex 5009 (amount)
Butanox M-50 (phr)
Nouryact CF12 (phr)
Inhibitor NLC-10 (phr)
Laminates at 208C
Gel time (min)
88
99
Time to peak (min)
105
123
Peak exotherm (8C)
82
101
Residual monomer (wt%)
0.9
2.5
Curing performance
OK
OK
OK
Fiber content (calculated) (vol%)
50
50
50
Tensile strength 08 (MPa)
324 10
327 8
280 20
Tensile modules 08 (GPa)
23 1
21 1
19 1
Interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) (MPa)
24 1
20 1
22 1
50
800
36
Density laminate (kg/l)
1.3
1.3
1.3
Specific tensile strength (m2/s2)
250
250
220
420
Specific tensile modulus (m2/s2)
17
16
15
19
54
1.9
FEATURE
FIGURE 3
Detail of the side of the panel (total size 1300 mm 140 mm 27 mm).
The Atlac1 430 recipe was chosen for making the bio-composite
demonstrator.
Demonstrator panel
The mechanical properties were also verified using SolidWorks
engineering software and proved to be in line with the engineering
theory and with the actual measured deformation. Using the
engineering parameters a demonstrator was designed and built.
The demonstrator is a flat panel (Fig. 3) based on the process
settings for Atlac1 430 cured with Nouryact CF12. The outer two
laminates consist of three layers bio-fiber (1.1 mm thick), with a
core of 25 mm PVC foam.
The panels mechanical properties were found to be in line with
the mechanical properties derived from earlier tests and from
SolidWorks.
It can be concluded that curing with Nouryact cobalt-free accelerators allows for the elimination of the pre-drying step of biofibers while maintaining excellent cure and mechanical properties.
The use of a cobalt-free curing system is an advantage in view of
possible future CMR1B classification of cobalt carboxylates (which
is presently CMR Reprotoxic category 2).
The mechanical properties of the bio-composite based on unsaturated polyester or vinyl ester resin and non-dried Bcomp flax
fibers and cured as described are on a similar level to an epoxybased laminate using the same fibers and produced under the same
conditions. Although Altac1 430 was chosen for the demonstrator, other resins can also be used in combination with non-dried
bio-fibers and Nouryact and deliver excellent mechanical properties.
The mechanical properties as derived in this investigation can
be used in engineering tools such as SolidWorks to be able to
design and calculate structural composite parts.
The elimination of the drying step of the bio-fibers will enhance
the fibers sustainability rating.
The fact that pre-drying and separate storage of dried bio-fibers
is no longer needed makes the use of bio-fibers easier and cheaper.
This can allow more companies to start using bio-fibers for their
composite end products.
Further information
AkzoNobel will present these curing systems at booth P47/Hall 7.3
at JEC Europe 2015 in Paris. A technical presentation will be held
in the Agora room at 1212.30 hours on 11 March.
Roel Zuijderduin, Technical Development Manager, AkzoNobel
Polymer Chemistry, Stationsstraat 77, PO Box 247, 3800 AE Amersfoort, The Netherlands; e-mail: roel.zuijderduin@akzonobel.com,
www.akzonobel.com/polymer
Ron Verleg, R&D Program Manager, DSM Composite Resins,
Ceintuurbaan 5, 8022 AW, Zwolle, The Netherlands; e-mail: ron.
verleg@dsm.com, www.dsmcompositeresins.com
Further reading
Cobalt-free curing taking off: http://bit.ly/1wkgnty.
Cobalt-free curing based on iron: http://bit.ly/11OKQCN.
55
FEATURE
Conclusions
EVENTS DIARY
Reinforced Plastics Volume 59, Number 1 January-February 2015
1416 April 2015

Maastricht, The Netherlands
Innovation Awards Europe 2015
Website: www.utecheurope.eu
Events
Diary
March 2015
812 March 2015
New Orleans, LA, USA
PITTCON 2015
Website: pittcon.org
1012 March 2015
Paris, France
JEC Europe 2015
Website: www.jeccomposites.com
1012 March 2015
Copenhagen, Denmark
EWEA Offshore 2015
Website: www.ewea.org/offshore2015
1719 March 2015
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
UzChemplast Expo
Website: expo-tashkent.com
1620 March 2015
Dallas, Texas, USA
American Chemical Society Meeting
Spring 2015
Website: www.acs.org
2325 March 2015
Busan, Republic of Korea
1st Annual World Congress of Smart
Materials-2015 (WCSM-2015)
Website: www.bitcongress.com/wcsm2015
15 June 2015
Leuven, Belgium
EUSPEN 15th International Conference &
Exhibition
Website: www.euspen.eu
July 2015
411 July 2015
Thessaloniki, Greece
NANOTEXNOLOGY 2015
Website: www.nanotexnology.com
1416 April 2015

London, UK
Plastic Pipes in Infrastructure
Website: www.amiplastics.com/events/
event?Code=C649
36 June 2015
Casablanca, Morocco
Plast Expo
Website: www.plast-expo.com
2324 April 2015

Montreal, Canada
Second International Symposium on
Automated Composites Manufacturing
Website: concom.encs.concordia.ca/autocomposites/index.htm
1112 June 2015

Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
International Conference on Tribology and
Interface Engineering 2015
Website: www.ictie.org
1218 July 2015

Chengdu, China
ICCE-23: 23nd Annual International
Conference on Composites and Nano
Engineering
Website: www.icce-nano.org
May 2015
48 May 2015
So Paulo, Brazil
Feiplastic
Website: www.feiplastic.com.br/en
1518 June 2015

Lisbon, Portugal
ICCS 18th International Conference on
Composite Structures
Website: sites.google.com/site/18thiccs
59 May 2015
Milan, Italy
PLAST 2015
Website: www.plastonline.org
1517 June 2015

Telford, UK
PDM15
Website: www.pdmevent.com
79 May 2015
Izmir, Turkey
4th International Polymeric Composites
www.kmoetkinlik.org/PK15/amac.php
1519 June 2015

Frankfurt, Germany
ACHEMA 2015
Website: www.achema.de
September 2015
2024 September 2015
Warsaw, Poland
Euromat 2015 European Congress and
Exhibition of Advances Materials and
Processes
Website: euromat2015.fems.org
911 May 2015

Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Guangzhou Wood-Plastic Composites Fair
Website: www.chinaexhibition.com
1617 June 2015

Stade, Germany
International CFK-Valley Stade Convention
Website: www.cfk-convention.com
2224 September 2015

Stuttgart, Germany
COMPOSITES EUROPE 2015
Website: www.composites-europe.com
1821 May 2015

Baltimore, USA
SAMPE Baltimore 2015
Website: www.sampe.org
1617 June 2015

Telford, UK
PRE15
Website: www.plasticsrecyclingexpo.com
1922 May 2015

Nitriansky, Slovakia
International Fair for Plastics Technology
and Chemistry
Website: www.incheba.sk
1819 June 2015

Dresden, Germany
19th International Dresden Lightweight
Engineering Symposium
Website: leichtbausymposium.de/en
October 2015
27 September 1 October 2015
Nice, France
10th European Congress of Chemical
Engineering
Website: www.ecce2015.eu
2022 May 2015

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Afriplast Expo
Website: www.exhibitionsafrica.com
2126 June 2015

Dresden, Germany
European Polymer Congress 2015
Website: www.europolyfed.org/events/
european-polymer-congress
2628 March 2015

Parma, Italy
PlastixExpo
Website: http://10times.com/plastix-expo
2022 May 2015

Riva del Garda, Italy.
Fourth International Symposium Frontiers
in Polymer Science
Website: www.frontiersinpolymerscience.
com
2327 March 2015

Orlando, Florida, USA
NPE 2015
Website: www.npe.org
2023 May 2015

Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Chinaplas
Website: www.chinaplasonline.com
2425 June 2015

London, UK
Global Offshore Wind 2015
Website: www.renewableuk.com
April 2015
810 April 2015
Tokyo, Japan
Plastic Japan
Website: www.plas.jp/en
June 2015
24 June 2015
Houston, USA
JEC Americas 2015
Website: www.jeccomposites.com
2425 June 2015

Bristol, UK
ICMAC 2015: 10th International Conference
on Manufacturing of Advanced Composites
Website: www.icmac2015.org
56
2325 June 2015

Munster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Kunststoffe Regional
Website: www.kunststoffe-regional.de
1924 July 2015

Copenhagen, Denmark
ICCM20: 20th International Conference on
Composite Materials
Website: www.iccm20.org
August 2015
613 August 2015
Busan, Korea
45th World Chemistry Congress (IUPAC2015)
Website: www.iupac2015.org
1317 October 2015

Friedrichshafen, Baden-Wurttemberg,
Germany
Fakuma
Website: www.messe-sinsheim.de
2629 October 2015
Dallas, Texas, USA
CAMX 2015: The Composites and Advanced
Materials Expo
Website: www.thecamx.org
29 November 4 December 2015
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
2015 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit
Website: www.mrs.org
1520 December 2015
Honolulu, Hawaii, US
Pacifichem 2015
Website: www.pacifichem.org
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

the voice of the composites industry worldwide

Deal volumes remain strong

Composites come together

The world on a composites diet

Outstanding fatigue resistance

Easy processing with most

High processing temperature of 150C

Good screw retention & bonding

Superior mechanical properties

Armacell Benelux S.A. | www.armacell-core-foams.com |

Reinforced Plastics, restyled

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Comment: Deal volumes remain strong in 2014

Composites come together

Reuse and upcycling of aerospace prepreg scrap and waste

Removing barriers for bio-based composite production with novel

2015 Elsevier Ltd.

The PGI Composite

Nonwovens designed with specific

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0034-3617/ 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.repl.2014.12.085

Reinforced Plastics  Volume 59, Number 1  January/February 2015

plastics and composites in the modern car

A few years ago thermoset composites

New generation of fire protection

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Compared with traditional E fiberglass, E7 fiberglass delivers the following unique

Up to 23% Increase in Modulus.

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Reinforced Plastics  Volume 59, Number 1  January/February 2015

IDG says this is the first time that solar

from fragmentation to high-power rifle

CPBS introduces composite structural insulated panels

Composite Panel Building Systems (CPBS) has

house wraps, water resistive barriers and

Reinforced Plastics  Volume 59, Number 1  January/February 2015

Amiantit wins major pipe contract in Sweden

Amiantit Norway AS has signed a SEK115

Modular wind turbine blade promises reduced costs

Transporting large one-piece wind turbine blades

Wetzels blade design.

from a project that the companys parent

design must generate more electricity, cost

Improvement in quality: elimination of

are the largest that can be transported in

Wetzel Blade is currently in the structural

Unique tennis racket made with 3D printing

The racket was made using Windforms carbon

The 3D printed composite tennis racket.

three fundamental parts: the handle, the

same time, work was carried out on the

AIMPLAS assists in Spanish composite lighthouse

In this particular case, six carbon fiber

Reinforced Plastics Volume 59, Number 1 January/February 2015

Reinforced Plastics Volume 59, Number 1 January/February 2015

Reinforced Plastics Volume 59, Number 1 January/February 2015

Reinforced Plastics Volume 59, Number 1 January/February 2015

Reinforced Plastics Volume 59, Number 1 January/February 2015

Reinforced Plastics Volume 59, Number 1 January/February 2015

Reinforced Plastics Volume 59, Number 1 January/February 2015

Reinforced Plastics Volume 59, Number 1 January/February 2015

Reinforced Plastics Volume 59, Number 1 January/February 2015

Reinforced Plastics Volume 59, Number 1 January/February 2015