CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/632301
FEBRUARY 2016 4 CompositesWorld FROM THE EDITOR » Te Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innova- tion (IACMI, Knoxville, TN, US), the public/private consortium created to accelerate the evolution of composites technologies in automotive, wind, pressure vessels, design engineering and manu- facturing processes, is six months old and in January hosted its second member- ship meeting in Detroit, MI, US, to coincide with the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). Te meeting — a "where are we now" update on the consor- tium's progress — gathered 290 members, representing every stratum of the composites industry, including suppliers, OEMs, academicians and government ofcials. In terms of size (US$259 million in public and private funds), scope and ambition, IACMI is a frst-of-its-kind organization for the American composites industry, and it has set some decidedly ambitious goals, ranging from dramatically reducing the cost of carbon fber manufacture to development of automated, high- speed manufacturing processes for wind energy and automotive applications. It is, thus, understandable that some members — despite already having invested in the consortium — exhibited skepticism about its viability. Indeed, during breaks at the Detroit meeting, it was not uncommon to be asked, "So, what do you think? Does this thing have a chance?" If the frst six months of progress represent what is to come, I, for one, am optimistic. Tere are, at IACMI's helm, people passionate and knowledgeable about composites manufacturing, and clearly dedicated to seeing the consortium sustain itself beyond the initial fve-year funding window. Already, IACMI is investing in substantial development work that proves this is not a government-sponsored boondoggle (for a full report on the meeting, visit short.compositesworld.com/IACMI16). Most of IACMI's goals, although ambitious, strike me as realistic and, if achieved, could move the composites industry forward substantially in terms of efciency, manufacturing quality and cost. Tere is one goal, however, that, to be met, will require not just money and efort and creativity, but the creation of an entirely new end-market. By 2020, 80% of all glass and carbon fber composite parts must be recyclable, and by 2025, >95% of those parts must be recyclable. We have the technology, today, to recycle cured and uncured composite materials of many types. In this sense, nearly every composite part is already "recyclable," and could be recycled with an investment in the capital and equipment required for the task. But it's one thing to assume that the part eventually will be recyclable, but quite another to presume that it, in fact, will be recycled and reused in one of a host of applications designed to consume used or non-virgin fber. And that's the rub. Tere is, today, no "host of applications" waiting for the wave of recycled fber that will, if IACMI succeeds, food the market. Creating that host of applications will be no trivial undertaking. Recycled fber must frst be tested and characterized. Is it glass or carbon? Is it chopped? If so, how long are the fbers? What are the strength and stifness properties? Tese properties then must be matched up with potential applications. Further, given the volume of used material that conceivably could be made available, it will probably be necessary for some large OEMs — Boeing, Airbus, Ford, Toyota, etc. — to step up and commit to an efort to fnd a use for recycled fbers, like BMW has done with its i3 roof. One step in the right direction can be found this month, on p. 36, in a story by senior editor Ginger Gardiner about use of recycled carbon fber by Airbus in an aircraft interiors R&D; program. A successful recycling industry, however, will require thousands of eforts like this one. And soon. Te bottom line is this: Te composites industry's expansion is creating a waste stream for which we all must take responsibility. I hope that IACMI's edict will provide the spark we need. Recyclable composites must, in fact, still be recycled and reused. JEFF SLOAN — Editor- In- Chief