CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/830100
NEWS CompositesWorld.com 25 Donna Dawson is CW's (previously) retired senior writer emeritus, now residing and writing in Lindsay, CA, US, in the foothills of the Sierras. donna@compositesworld.com KraussMaffei Technologies in Munich, Germany, one of the biggest European injection molding and reaction technology manufacturers," Jansen reports. "Complete lines, especially for fast or demanding resins, such as polyurethane, epoxy and reactive polyamide, are under development and will be sold through KraussMaffei, using the Radius-Pultrusion pulling units and controls from TTI, with the possibility for the customers to license the technology for curved profiles" (Fig. 2, p. 23). TTI also has a partner in Japan that is selling the machinery there, Jansen says, adding that he is not authorized to identify the company or product, but says the parts might be for infrastruc- ture elements. "ey won't tell us," Jansen says. "Nearly every company that has visited us expressed consid- erable interest and often asked for certain profiles for evaluation — without identi- fying the use for these profiles. ey only tell us the specifications for the profile they want" (e.g., Figs. 3 and 4, p. 23). Another major licensing agreement TTI has recently signed, and one it can discuss, is with Shape Corp. (Grand Haven, MI, US). Although it is a global supplier of multiple material structural components, primarily in the automotive sector, Shape also sells to a diversified group of customers in other markets, says John Keene, Shape's marketing communications lead. e agreement calls for TTI to supply its Radius-Pultrusion machines and technology to Shape to enable manufacture of automotive bumper beams (Fig. 5, p. 24). Jansen expects the first machine will be operational this year. "During the last year, Shape and omas Technik formed a real partnership for the devel- opment of a new generation of automotive profiles, and we are looking forward to future joint-development projects," Jansen says. "e ability of Radius-Pultrusion to manufacture curved and hollow profiles is a perfect fit to both our strategies to bring new technologies to the customer." Today, most composite automotive bumpers are non-load- bearing injection or compression molded thermoplastics. ermoset bumper beams are less common because they are weightier and more brittle than comparable thermoplastic bumpers. Steel beams are still the most widely used because of their low cost, but compared to composites, they add weight to the vehicle and leave the part corrosion-prone. Further, those who use steel sacrifice opportunities for parts consolidation in manufacturing. is also results in less energy absorption during a crash, thus reducing passenger protection. Toby Jacobson, Shape's plastic materials and process manager/ advanced product development, adds that Shape chose TTI's Radius-Pultrusion process primarily for its automation, increased speed and ability to produce tubular and multiple hollow cross sections. Jacobson identifies the material systems Shape chose following extensive trials to develop a laminate architecture and resin formulation that best works with Radius-Pultrusion: "While the process provides the flexibility to run nearly any type of ther- moset resin, our resin of choice is polyurethane," he says. "It offers exceptional toughness properties at reasonable cost while allowing us to achieve some very fast production rates. For rein- forcements, we are running unidirectional, biaxial and triaxial noncrimp [stitched nonwoven] fabrics. We're also pulling some individual unidirectional tows when necessary. While most of the current interest is with carbon fiber, this process will excel with fiberglass and a variety of other reinforcements." Keene adds, "is combination of extensive process and product design research, paired with production trials and physical testing, has Shape in position to install their first curved pultrusion machine in 2017, in preparation for 2019 model year production." Curves make the difference in cars and more Historically, linear pultrusion has not stimulated much interest in the automotive industry because there are simply very few long, straight beams in passenger cars. Almost all automotive parts are curved. Given that reality, curved pultru- sion offers the opportunity to open some doors. "e ability to reliably pultrude a constant curvature could result in replacing steel in a number of applications," says Michael Connolly, program manager for Urethane Composites at Huntsman Polyurethanes (Auburn Hills, MI, US). He names bumper beams, roof beams, front-end support systems, door intrusion beams, chassis rails and, perhaps, transmission tunnels as potential curved pultruded car parts. "Pultrusion is efficient, in that it is automated, low-labor and low-capital, compared to other composite processing equipment," Connolly sums up, "and can have a low scrap rate compared to RTM and other molding processes. I think the automotive community will start to see pultrusion as something they might be able to exploit, now that curved pultrusion may be available and reliable." Such systems — proven reliable and capable of commercial series production — could make a substantial difference in a wide range of other market applications as well. Potential output includes bicycle parts, as well as a host of curved shapes unique to infrastructure, architecture and building construction. In time, a wide variety of curved parts now made in individual molds might be produced continuously by curved pultrusion. Pultruding Curved Profiles Almost all automotive parts are curved. Curved pultrusion should open some doors.