CompositesWorld

MAR 2018

CompositesWorld

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MARCH 2018 30 CompositesWorld WORK IN PROGRESS ยป Composite materials have earned their way into cars and trucks, performing a variety of structural and semi-structural functions. Unit volumes, once limited to hundreds per model year, now increasingly number in the thousands. One application, however, has remained difficult to rein in from a composites perspective: the wheel. It's not that all-composite or hybrid composite wheels cannot be made. ey can, and their benefits are substantial: up to 50% reduction in unsprung rotating mass vs. aluminum wheels, increased acceleration, more rapid braking, improved handling and reduced noise. But at the current minimum price of US$10,000 for a set of four, they are likely to be found only on the highest of high-end vehicles. Lamborghini. McLaren. And the like. So, the ultimate goal โ€” as it is with almost everything automo- tive-related โ€” is to provide these benefits cost-effectively enough to find their way onto a broader range of vehicles. And if you are a manufacturer of composite wheels, cost-effectiveness comes neither easily nor overnight. It is achieved, instead, through inno- vation, creativity and hard work. And that only after you establish a place in the market with a quality product โ€” quality measured not merely by mechanical performance but aesthetic appeal as well. Great and great looking British wheel manufacturer Dymag (Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK) knows well that how a wheel looks is as important as what it does. In 1995, the company developed what it says was the world's first one-piece, carbon composite motorcycle wheel. is was followed in 2004 by a hybrid carbon fiber/aluminum wheel, sold primarily into the automotive aftermarket. In 2009, Dymag hit on hard times and was liquidated. Current CEO Chris Shelley acquired the Dymag name and was able to bring the senior engineering and production team back together, focused on returning to after- market composite and forged-aluminum motorcycle wheels. By 2015, Dymag had secured funding from the UK government to develop a new, patented product design and mass-production process for the next generation of durable, lightweight carbon composite automotive and motorcycle wheels. Dymag now has on the market two carbon fiber/aluminum wheels, the BOXSTROM 7X and the recently launched BOXSTROM Carbon fiber has designs on production wheels A high-performance CFRP wheel manufacturer for nearly 20 years, Dymag is now part of a broader effort to reduce their cost and migrate them into volume vehicles. By Jeff Sloan / Editor-in-Chief The market: Betting heavily on volume viability Dymag has developed the BOXSTROM X and BOXSTROM Y wheels, featuring a carbon fiber composite rim or barrel and aluminum spokes targeted to both the automotive aftermarket and auto OEMs. The goal is to increase manufacturing efficiency and thereby decrease cost, making the wheels viable for higher- volume manufacturing. Source (all images) | Dymag

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