From the Sector

• Construction of a new air purification and sulfur recovery plant
• Further improvement of the exhaust emission values at the Lenzing site
• Important step in achieving the CO2 targets of the Lenzing Group

Lenzing – The Lenzing Group is a global leader in the climate-friendly and sustainable production of wood-based textile fibers. Lenzing announced its climate targets in August of this year. By 2030, the company aims to reduce its specific CO2 emissions per ton of manufactured pulp and fibers by 50 percent. By the year 2050, the Lenzing Group will no longer generate any net CO2 emissions.

Lenzing‘s Management Board has now resolved to invest EUR 40 mn to expand the production of the raw material sulfuric acid at the Lenzing site. This comprises an important milestone on the path towards climate neutrality. In the future, a new air purification and sulfur recovery plant will not only optimize the company’s self-sufficiency for this raw material and enhance process reliability but improve environmental protection within the context of a clear forward-looking strategy.

Improved exhaust emission performance

The new plant represents an important contribution towards implementing the sustainability strategy of the Lenzing Group, and also helps to ensure an even higher level of environmental compatibility of all production operations at the Lenzing site. The application of state-of-the-art technologies will further improve exhaust emission values. Furthermore, the new facility will help further reduce the use of fossil fuels by generating steam which will, in turn, be converted into electricity. In this way, it will also support the energy self-sufficiency of the company’s operations in Lenzing.

Improved CO2 scorecard

As a result, the production plant in Lenzing will reduce its annual CO2 emissions by 15,000 tons. This is an important step towards further advancing the company’s ambitious plans in the coming years and also strengthen Lenzing’s leadership role as a driver of ecologically sustainable industry. “On the basis of these investments, Lenzing is taking the next step in achieving its climate targets. At the same time, it will also reach a significantly higher level of autonomy with respect to a vital raw material”, states Stefan Doboczky, Chief Executive Officer of Lenzing.

STAMFORD, Conn. – At this year’s CAMX conference, taking place on September 24-26 in Anaheim, CA (Booth L42), Hexcel will promote its broad portfolio of composite innovations for aerospace and industrial applications.

On display at the Hexcel booth, visitors will see an integrated wing panel demonstrator made with HiMax™ non-crimp reinforcements that were specially developed to complement a new generation of infusion resin systems. Visitors will also see a wing box demonstrator made from HiTape® dry carbon reinforcements. Both parts were injected with Hexcel’s RTM6 infusion resin and incorporate a toughening veil to enhance mechanical properties to meet the structural requirements for aerospace parts.

With 50 years of experience and the most qualified carbon fiber positions on aerospace programs in the industry with its comprehensive range of high-strength, high-strain PAN-based carbon fibers, Hexcel continues to innovate and is introducing a new fiber to its portfolio. HexTow® HM54 combines high modulus and high tensile strength, which allows structural designers to achieve higher safety margins for both stiffness and strength-critical applications. HexTow® carbon fibers are excellent not only for aerospace applications but also industrial and recreational applications. HexTow® carbon fibers are excellent not only for aerospace applications but also industrial and recreational applications, examples of golfing applications will be on display.

Additive manufacturing is on the forefront of innovation for composite technologies, and Hexcel is leading the way with its HexAM® additive manufacturing process. HexAM® additive manufacturing combines high performance PEKK thermoplastics with carbon fiber to produce flight-ready 3D printed HexPEKK® parts. HexPEKK® structures offer significant weight, cost and time-to-market reductions, replacing traditional cast or machined metallic parts in highly demanding aerospace, satellite and defense applications.

HexPly® M77 snap-cure prepregs are yet another example of Hexcel technology leading the way. HexPly® M77HF, the latest member of this quick-curing prepreg family, is revolutionizing the world of composites for high-performance sporting goods with its faster production times and excellent surface quality. It will be featured in the Hexcel booth in two products – a carbon fiber Goode water ski which is setting records in the competitive world with its precision and durability, and in a HED cycling wheel noted for its aerodynamics and light weight.

Among Hexcel’s latest technologies are the RF Interference Control materials made by ARC Technologies, a Hexcel company. A selection of these industry-leading custom RF / EMI and microwave absorbing composite materials for military, aerospace and industrial applications will be on display at the Hexcel booth.

HexForce® bias weave woven reinforcements are a patented solution to optimize material usage. These bias weave reinforcements are continuous rolls of carbon fiber fabric in which the warp and weft yarns are oriented on the bias at +/- 45° which can reduce prepreg waste up to 60%. Visitors at CAMX will be able to see this new woven reinforcement and learn more.

A wide range of new technologies will be demonstrated by Vandewiele at the ITMA 2019 textile machinery show in Barcelona from June 20-26, including the latest RCE2+ digital carpet weaving machine.

All Vandewiele technologies are now being equipped for machine-to-machine interaction and learning, as part of the company’s comprehensive TEXconnect programme.

Meeting new industry needs
As a leader in complete carpet manufacturing systems – including BCF extrusion lines, heat setting systems and carpet weaving and tufting machines – Vandewiele has rapidly responded to the evolving needs of the textile industry for smaller and customised production runs, the most challenging of designs, and faster and more sustainable manufacturing.

The company’s sensors, software programmes and servers have become increasingly sophisticated as part of the TEXconnect program, and the real-time data from different machines – across connected manufacturing sites and across different countries and even continents – can be collected and shared. Digital models of both machines and production processes can be created and analysed for the optimisation of production settings, to vastly improve scheduling and planning and also make considerable savings in raw materials and energy consumption.

Virtual and remote control now allows for the Big Data analysis that is propelling the industry forward and will pave the way for AI applications. For carpet manufacturers, all of this is leading to the creation of truly Smart Factories.

RCE2 carpet weaving
The new RCE2+ Rug and Carpet Expert weaving machine is a truly digital workhorse, with all yarns continuously controlled and measured and the difficult bobbin changes of the past completely eliminated. This is as a result of Vandewiele’s latest Fast Creel, with the feed and tension of each pile yarn controlled by individual servomotors.

The pile yarns are now fed directly into the machine without having to pass pile-stop motions, to both increase efficiency and eliminate any waste yarns, while achieving previously unreachable industrial speeds.

The filling enters the machine smoothly via the latest IRO X3 winders, heavy duty filling brakes with multi lamellas, an active yarn recuperator and a high speed weft mixer, where again, all tensions are set electronically. Vandewiele’s servo-driven heddle frames (Smart Frames) are meanwhile already well proven in the industry.

TEXconnect further provides readily-available data on all yarn consumption, tension and threading, and then will supply the predictive maintenance that is paving the way to self-learning carpet weaving machines.

All of this would be unnecessary, if it didn’t result in allowing manufacturers to make the highest quality carpets at the most economic prices ever, with savings on the highest-bulk pile yarns from the Vandewiele extrusion lines, reduced waste yarns in the creel and industrial production speeds that have never before been attained.

 

Techtextil 2019: Schoeller launches its new finishing technology called NanoSphere® Plus. The special effect of this new development is its protection against fingerprints and greasy stains. Furthermore, even after being absorbed by the fabric stains are quickly and easily wiped away without washing.

Every human being leaves its marks. In particular, on daily-use items that are picked up or touched often. Especially on textile surfaces, hand and fingerprints in combination with dirt and dust particles leave an unpleasant, greasy dirt film, which is very difficult to clean.

NanoSphere® Plus, developed by Schoeller Technologies AG, the business unit for technologies at Schoeller Textil AG, works on the basis of a functional chain. Textiles are equipped with a matrix finish to reduce the capillary effect in the textile’s fibers. Especially unpleasant sebum residues and dirt that are often released by finger and handprints are less absorbed by the fabric and can be easily wiped away.

Beside the excellent protection against finger and handprints, textiles with NanoSphere® Plus are additionally water and oil repellent, abrasion resistant and extremely durable. The finishing technology rarely affects the look or feel of the fabric.

Non-washable textiles that are often touched by hands or fingers, or fabrics that are in direct contact with the skin benefit most from this new technology. Therefore, NanoSphere® Plus is ideal for woven fabrics and synthetic leather or synthetic suede for bags, covers of electronical devices, head phones, loud speakers or other items in the field of interior equipment.

• Hexcel’s Composite Innovations For Aerospace, Automotive, Energy And Marine Applications At JEC World 2019 Hall 5 - Stand J41

STAMFORD, Conn. – At this year’s JEC World taking place in Paris on March 12-14, Hexcel will promote a wide range of composite innovations for customer applications in aerospace, automotive, energy and marine markets.

Aerospace Innovations

Hexcel’s HiTape® and HiMax™ dry carbon reinforcements were developed to complement a new generation of HiFlow™ resin systems, producing high quality aerospace structures using the resin infusion process. HiTape® was developed for the automated lay-up of preforms and HiMax™ is a range of optimized non-crimp fabrics (NCF). Both products incorporate a toughening veil to enhance mechanical properties, meeting the structural requirements for aerospace parts.

Visitors to JEC will see an Integrated Wing Panel demonstrator and an I-beam, both made with HiTape® reinforcements, and an Opticoms rib made with HiMax™ NCF. The Opticoms rib and I Beam were both manufactured using C-RTM (Compression Resin Transfer Molding). They were injected with Hexcel’s RTM6 resin in a process taking less than 5 minutes. The total manufacturing cycle for both parts was just 4.5 hours.

Also among the Aerospace exhibits, Hexcel will display a composite petal for a satellite antenna, manufactured by Thales Alenia Space Italia. The petal is part of a set of 24 deployable structural elements that form the large area reflector assembly used on board Low Earth Orbit (LEO) observation satellites. Thales Alenia Space Italia selected Hexcel’s HexPly® M18 prepreg for this application, acknowledging the superior mechanical and outgassing properties provided.

Another Hexcel prepreg application on show is a “zero” frame, manufactured by Aerofonctions for the engine area of Daher’s TBM 910/930 single-engine turboprop aircraft. Hexcel’s HexPly® M56 prepreg was selected by Daher for the “zero” frame – a product developed for Out of Autoclave applications that provides the same high quality and performance as autoclave-cured prepregs, from a simple vacuum bag cure in an oven.

With 50 years of experience behind its comprehensive range of high-strength, high-strain PAN-based carbon fibers, Hexcel continues to innovate, and is introducing two new fibers to its portfolio. HexTow® HM50 combines high modulus and high tensile strength, making it ideal for commercial and defense aircraft and engines. HexTow® 85 was developed specifically to replace rayon-based carbon fiber for ablative applications.

HexTow® carbon fiber holds the most qualified carbon fiber positions on aerospace programs in the industry and is the best unsized fiber available on the market. It provides excellent bonding interfacial properties with thermoplastic matrices and is the best-performing fiber for 3D printing applications.

Additive manufacturing is another area of expertise for Hexcel, using PEKK ultra-high performance polymers and HexAM™ technology to manufacture carbon-reinforced 3D printed parts. This
innovative process provides a weight-saving solution for intricate parts in highly demanding aerospace, satellite and defense applications. HexPEKK™ structures offer significant weight, cost and time-to-market reductions, replacing traditional cast or machined metallic parts with a new technology.

Hexcel is well known for its range of weight-saving, stiffness-enhancing honeycombs and the company adds value by providing a range of engineered core solutions to customers from facilities in the USA, Belgium and the newly opened Casablanca plant in Morocco. Hexcel’s engineered core capabilities enable highly contoured parts with precision profiling to be produced to exacting customer specifications. An example of such a part will be on display at JEC. Made from Aluminum FlexCore®, the part is CNC machined on both sides, and formed and stabilized with both peel ply and flyaway layers of stabilization. Aircraft engines benefit from a number of Hexcel core technologies including HexShield™ honeycomb that provides high temperature resistance in aircraft engine nacelles. By inserting a thermally resistant material into honeycomb cells, Hexcel provides a core product with unique heat-shielding capabilities that allows for the potential re-use of material after a fire event.

Hexcel’s Acousti-Cap® broadband noise-reducing honeycomb significantly improves acoustic absorption in aircraft engine nacelles. The acoustic treatment may be positioned at a consistent depth and resistance within the core, or can be placed in a pattern of varying depths and/or resistances (Multi-Degrees of Freedom and 3 Degrees Of Freedom), offering an acoustic liner that is precisely tuned to the engine operating conditions. These technologies have been tested at NASA on a full engine test rig and meet all 16 design conditions without trade-offs.

HexBond™ – the new name in Adhesives

Hexcel’s range of high performance adhesives has expanded considerably following the company’s acquisition of Structil. The company has now decided to unite the range by marketing all of its adhesive products using HexBond™ branding. The comprehensive range of HexBond™ structural film adhesives, foaming adhesive films, paste adhesives, liquid shims, epoxy fillets and Chromium free liquid primers is suitable for a wide range of applications in combination with Hexcel’s prepreg and honeycomb products.

Automotive Innovations

Hexcel’s carbon prepreg patch technology provides an innovative way of locally stiffening and reinforcing metal parts, providing noise and vibration management functionality. HexPly® prepreg patches consist of unidirectional carbon fiber impregnated with a fast curing epoxy matrix that has self-adhesive properties, enabling it to bond to metal in a highly efficient one-step process. These key technology properties are demonstrated in an 18.5kg aluminum subframe (that is 50% lighter than steel equivalents), which was reinforced with 500 grams of HexPly® prepreg and tested by Saint Jean Industries. The part demonstrates a significant reduction in noise, vibration and harshness (NVH). Other benefits include lower production costs, energy savings, increased driver comfort, production flexibility and part count reduction. With this technology Hexcel is a finalist in the JEC Innovation Awards 2019 in the Automotive Applications category.

HexPly® prepreg patch technology was also applied to a hybrid side sill demonstrator developed with Volkswagen and Dresden University to address future crash test requirements, specifically for electric cars. Combining fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) with metal, the hybrid construction allows for optimum performance including weight savings, enhanced safety, increased energy absorption, battery protection in a crash situation and production flexibility.

Hexcel will also display a lightweight CFRP transmission crossmember produced from Hexcel’s high performance HexMC®-i 2000 molding compound. The transmission crossmember was developed in partnership with the Institute of Polymer Product Engineering (at Linz University), Engel and Alpex. As the part connects the chassis together and supports transmission it has to be stiff and strong, resisting fatigue and corrosion. Hexcel’s HexMC®-i 2000 was selected as the best-performing molding compound on the market, curing in as little as two minutes to produce lightweight, strong and stiff parts.
To produce the transmission crossmember HexMC®-i 2000 preforms are laid up in Alpex molds and compression-molded in a v-duo press that was tailored for the application by Engel. Ribs, aluminum inserts and other functions can be molded into the part using the single-stage process, reducing component-count. Any offcuts from the preforms can be interleaved between the plies of material to provide additional reinforcement in key areas - meaning that the process generates no waste.

Other Automotive promotions on Hexcel’s stand at JEC World include a composite leaf spring manufactured by ZF using HexPly® M901 prepreg. In contrast to steel leaf springs, composite versions offer many advantages including weight savings of up to 70%, high corrosion resistance, optimized system integration and superior performance. HexPly® M901 prepreg reduces the cure cycle to below 15 minutes and provides 15% higher mechanical performance, with enhanced fatigue properties. It also operates at high temperatures, providing a Tg of up to 200°C following a post cure.

Marine Innovations

Hexcel has a comprehensive range of products aimed at racing yacht and luxury boat builders that include America’s Cup, IMOCA class and DNV GL-approved prepregs, woven reinforcements and multiaxial fabrics for hull and deck structures, masts and appendages.

At JEC World Hexcel will display an IMOCA yacht mast manufactured by Lorima using HexPly® high modulus and high strength carbon fiber prepreg from Hexcel Vert-Le-Petit. Lorima is the exclusive official supplier of masts for IMOCA 60 class racing boats.

Hexcel’s HexTow® IM8 carbon fiber has been selected as the highest performing industrial carbon fiber on the market and will be used by spar and rigging manufacturer Future Fibres to manufacture their AEROrazr solid carbon rigging for all the teams in the 36th America’s Cup.

Hexcel’s HiMax™ DPA (Dot Pattern Adhesive) reinforcements are non-crimp fabrics supplied pre-tacked, allowing multiple fabrics to be laid-up more easily in preparation for resin infusion. Providing an optimal, consistent level of adhesion, they allow a faster and more consistent resin flow, as well as eliminating the use of spray adhesive for a healthier working environment and lower risk of contamination. Simply unrolled and applied to the mold or core layer before the introduction of resin, HiMax™ DPA fabrics are widely used in boat building, where lay-up times can be reduced by up to 50%.

Wind Energy Innovations

Hexcel has developed a range of HexPly® surface finishing prepregs and semi-pregs for wind turbine blades and marine applications. Providing a tough, durable and ready-to-paint surface without using in-mold coats, these products shorten the manufacturing cycle and reduce material costs. HexPly® XF2(P) prepreg is optimized for wind blades and has a ready-to-paint surface, straight from the mold, saving at least 2 hours of takt time.

Polyspeed® pultruded carbon laminates were developed for load-carrying elements in a blade structure and are manufactured with a polyurethane matrix that provides outstanding mechanical performance in terms of stiffness and durability. The blade manufacturing process is optimized, with increased throughput. The pultruded laminates are supplied in coils as continuous cross section profiles.
HiMax™ non-crimp fabrics using E-glass, high modulus glass and carbon fibers are also available in a wide range of unidirectional, biaxial and triaxial constructions. HiMax™ fabrics have applications throughout the turbine, from the stitched carbon fiber UDs used in the main structural elements, to glass fabrics and hybrids for blade shells and nacelles. There are also specialist applications such as lightweight fabrics for heated leading edge de-icing zones.

• The world’s leading exhibition for additive manufacturing takes place in Frankfurt am Main every year
• With 26,919 visitors, Mesago, organiser of Formnext in Frankfurt, reported a new record with numbers up by 25% on the previous year.

This year Perlon was amongst the 632 exhibitors from 32 countries for the first time, which, represented by Pedex GmbH from Wald-Michelbach, was a co-exhibitor on a stand for companies from the German region Hesse (Hessen Trade and Invest GmbH - HTAI). Some visitors were surprised to discover that the world leading manufacturer of synthetic filaments is also active in the 3D printing filament field. That the Perlon Group, known innovation and market leader in many fields of application, with its decades of experience in the development and manufacture of filaments, has entered into the 3D printing market was well received.

The fact we actually entered the market 6 years ago, was only known to a few experts in the field. In this time, Pedex GmbH had been producing a wide range of performance filaments for a well-known German 3D printer manufacturer, who since then has distributed exclusively under its own brand. The decision, to out ourselves as producer and supplier was taken in summer 2018. This new direction has two main aims, firstly to establish ourselves in the market as a manufacturer of Perlon® 3D printing filaments, producing both small batches and high volume on an industrial scale for professional applications, but secondly and most specifically to continue along the path as a toll manufacturing partner with long-term contracts on an industrial scale.

As a partner with universities/institutions and member of various research networks, we are close to the quickly advancing developments in this field, which is why we were really pleased to welcome Dr. Andreas Baar and Dr (Ing) Thomas Neumeyer onto our stand. They are both members of RESOPT3D (Netzwerk für ressourcenoptimierten 3D-Druck), Germany’s strongest user network for 3D technologies.

Together with Conspir3D in Rheinheim and its owner Jan Giebels, who 10 years ago was a co-founder of the company German RepRap, we were able to forge a partnership to distribute Perlon® 3D printing filaments. With his support we could competently advise trade visitors about filaments and 3D printing as a collective proactive team.

Next year, Formnext will take place from 19th to 22nd November 2019 for the first time in exhibition halls 11 and 12 at the Exhibition Centre in Frankfurt am Main. This will be a debut exhibition for the USA which will be exhibiting as first partner country at Formnext. The USA has a long tradition in the field of additive manufacturing and is one of the most important international exhibiting nations.

• Unique, patented 3D printing process enables production of large-scale components
• First direct investment by BASF Venture Capital in a company in China

BASF Venture Capital GmbH is investing in Prismlab, a leading provider of 3D printing processes and 3D printers, headquartered in Shanghai, China. Prismlab has developed a patented printing process that is characterized by a very high printing speed, high level of precision and lower printing costs. BASF’s venture investment will enable Prismlab to further accelerate its product development and innovation while strengthening its market reach to the global market.

“This is our first direct investment in a Chinese company,” said Markus Solibieda, Managing Director of BASF Venture Capital GmbH. “The trailblazing technology from Prismlab allows large and stable components, such as medical braces and anatomical models, to be 3D printed for the first time. This investment supports BASF’s strategy of actively advancing our technologies and expanding our product offering in the 3D printing sector.”

“China is transforming from a manufacturing-driven to an innovation-driven economy. This investment in Prismlab reflects our commitment to further expanding our innovation capabilities in China, and BASF Venture Capital plays an important role in helping us identifying potential partners that lead us to success,” said Dr. Zheng Daqing, BASF’s Senior Vice President, Business and Market Development Greater China.

“The 3D printing technology must continue to evolve before it is set to change the world. At Prismlab, we aim to spearhead and accelerate that change by providing solutions through specialized customization. The investment allows us to stay laser-focused on our R&D capability, a key factor to achieve that goal,” said Mr. Hou Feng, Founder and Chairman of Prismlab.

Prismlab has developed a patented 3D printing process, “Pixel Resolution Enhanced Technology”, based on stereolithography (SLA). SLA allows comparatively large components to be produced using light-curing resins. Prismlab’s technology increases the printing resolution without compromising printing speed. In order to increase the amount of energy brought into a pixel, Prismlab’s technology divides each pixel in the resin into several small sections, which can be cured individually by exposure to LCD light. This makes the energy input into each pixel significantly higher than similar processes that expose each pixel to light once. This allows comparatively large and stable components or numerous parts to be printed in the same production step. With the use of LCD light, it also reduces process costs. This advantage opens opportunities in the footwear and furniture industry.

Along with this patented process, Prismlab also markets 3D printers and other related services. The Prismlab technology can be used in various key customer applications, including invisible braces, and anatomical models for medical, and education and training purposes.

SLA uses a laser for layer-by-layer curing of a photopolymer solution to shape the required workpiece. SLA and LCD based printing processes determinate the size, stability, and usability of the components to be produced as they are limited by the size of the light spot and the intensity of the light.

Because aircraft engine noise contributes to environmental noise around airports and populated cities, the aerospace industry has been working on new aircraft designs that will emit less noise so they can meet the ever-increasing requirements imposed on the industry to reduce noise pollution. Shielding and absorbing aircraft engine noise at the source represents one of the most effective ways to address this issue.

Hexcel, a global leader in advanced composite technology, has been at the forefront of acoustic technology development with its Acousti-Cap® broadband sound-reducing honeycomb, which enables engine designers to reduce the noise from takeoffs and landings yet without adding significant weight to the aircraft.
 
“Hexcel has continued investing in the evolution of Acousti-Cap® product technology to improve performance and reduce cost,” said Imad Atallah, Group Product Manager for Honeycomb at Hexcel. “Collaboration with industry leaders, including NASA and Boeing, has been key to that development,” he added.
 
The 2DOF (Two Degrees of Freedom) honeycomb core acoustic liner was introduced in 2008 and was subsequently adopted and installed on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner inlet, the Boeing 747-8 inlet and transcowl, and more recently on the Boeing 737 MAX inlet. This success enabled continued technology development and evolution in MDOF (Multi-Degrees of Freedom) where the acoustic septum is inserted in the honeycomb cell at different heights, as well as having two septums in honeycomb chambers. This type of technology allows for improved acoustic attenuation at a broader frequency range, as well as increased absorption.
 
“Hexcel’s Acousti-Cap® technology has shown great performance benefits over competing technologies from the beginning” said Clark Smith, Director of Technology -- Core Products at Hexcel. “We have continued to improve the technology through taking advantage of the single cell treatment concept, by adding capability that the industry was looking for,” he added.   
 
Hexcel’s latest Acousti-Cap® technology was recently tested in a joint NASA-Boeing flight test on a B737 MAX test platform, and the results beat expectations as reported by Aviation Week. Collaboration between Hexcel and NASA over several years on the development of MDOF technology led to the successful test results on this latest flight test.
 
The ability to attenuate a broader noise frequency range and increase acoustic absorption with the Hexcel liner has allowed an optimized design of the overall inlet that reduces drag and improves noise attenuation. Hexcel continues to invest in acoustic liner technology and is proud of the positive results of this NASA-Boeing flight test.

Das Aachener Zentrum für Integrative Leichtbau (AZL) der RWTH Aachen installiert in seinem Technikum eine neue ENGEL-Spritzgießanlage. Die ENGEL Deutschland GmbH, in Kooperation mit dem ENGEL Technologiezentrum für Leichtbau-Composites in Österreich, wird das 2-Komponenten-Spritzgieß-System mit Drehtisch und 17.000 kN Schließkraft im Jahr 2019 in Betrieb nehmen. Dieser Maschinenaufbau ist die Basis für die Weiterentwicklung effizienter Inline-Kombinations-Technologien mit unterschiedlichen Polymerwerkstoffen.

Das ENGEL-Spritzgießsystem ermöglicht die innovative Kombination bereits etablierter Faserverbundkunststoff-Verfahren und die Entwicklung neuer individueller Verfahren. Im Mittelpunkt steht die Steigerung der Ressourceneffizienz in der Leichtbau-Produktion. Mit der neuen Anlage können neue Forschungs- und Entwicklungsinitiativen einen effizienteren Materialeinsatz adressieren, der letztlich der Schlüssel zur Massenproduktion von Leichtbauteilen ist. Der Fokus wird dabei auf Multimaterialsystemen, kontinuierlichen Prozessen und Prozessketten sowie selbstoptimierenden Prozesse liegen.

Dr.-Ing. Michael Emonts, Geschäftsführer des Aachener Zentrums für integrativen Leichtbau (AZL) freut sich darauf, mit dem neuen Spritzgießsystem neue innovative Leichtbauverfahren zu realisieren: „Diese neue Spritzgießanlage bietet uns als Spezialisten für die Leichtbau-Produktionstechnik in Kooperation mit den Spritzgießexperten des Instituts für Kunststoffverarbeitung – dem IKV – die Möglichkeit, Hybridverfahren für industrielle Leichtbau-Anwendungen zu etablieren. Das System wird unseren bestehenden Maschinenpark im AZL-Technikum erweitern und als wichtige Plattform für die Leichtbau-Forschung an der RWTH zur Verfügung stehen."

Als aktive Partnerfirma des AZL-Partnernetzwerks arbeitet ENGEL bereits seit vielen Jahren eng mit dem AZL zusammen. Dr. Stefan Engleder, CEO der ENGEL-Gruppe, betont die Bedeutung dieser engen Zusammenarbeit mit den Technischen Universitäten und insbesondere mit dem AZL: „Das AZL bietet beste Voraussetzungen für industrienahe Forschungsaktivitäten im Bereich Leichtbau-Verbundwerkstoffe, da es sich durch einen starken interdisziplinären Ansatz auszeichnet. Das AZL profitiert von der guten Infrastruktur und der Zusammenarbeit mit namhaften Instituten der RTWH Aachen. ENGEL freut sich auf die Zusammenarbeit mit dem AZL bei der Entwicklung effizienter Leichtbau-Verbundwerkstoff-Massenproduktionsverfahren.“

Das AZL-Technikum umfasst neben den zahlreichen Faserverbund- und Leichtbauanlagen auf dem Campus der RWTH Aachen zusätzliches Großserien-Equipment für die Entwicklung von Verfahren zur Leichtbau-Produktion, wie zum Beispiel eine Composite-Presse der Schuler Pressen GmbH mit 18.000 kN Schließkraft.

Frédérique MUTEL has just been promoted to the rank of Officer in the Order of the Legion of Honour by decree of the President of the French Republic, on 13 July 2018.

Frédérique MUTEL dedicated herself to advanced technologies at Dassault Group Sogitec, Accenture, Thales and Blenheim before joining the company JEC, recently created to develop composite materials, in 1997.

From 1997 to 2018, Frédérique MUTEL, President of JEC Group, made a major contribution to the composites industry. Her pioneering and unifying work helped to secure the international exposure of this industry.

Contact Frédérique MUTEL
Email: frederique.mutel@orange.fr
Tel: +33 6 80 70 78 71