System making fiber-reinforced blanks available

July 5, 2019
Working with industrial partners, Germany’s RWTH Aachen University continues to develop its Ultra-Fast Consolidator machine, which places, orients and levels fiber-reinforced tapes.
Ultra-Fast Consolidator Working with industrial partners, Germany’s RWTH Aachen University continues to develop this machine, which places, orients and levels fiber-reinforced tapes. To form customized composite thermoplastic and thermoset blanks, the Consolidator uses special lasers or infrared heaters to melt the surface of tapes, bonding them to each other without creating pores. The blanks can then be thermoformed and overmolded by injection molding machines in subsequent steps.

What’s new? Commercial availability of the machine, which has applications in the automotive industry, as well as other markets. As part of its project, RWTH Aachen University’s Aachen Center for Integrative Lightweight Production continues to seek partners to further develop the machine. The center’s industrial partners in the U.S. can supply the machine to manufacturers in this country.

Benefits Cost-efficient, fast production of tailored composite blanks that exhibit high interlaminar shear strengths and flexible fiber orientations. The machine can make fiber blanks with a standard width of 25mm and thicknesses ranging from 0.1mm to 0.3mm in less than 3 seconds. Also, the machines are scalable. With them, manufacturers can save costs through lightweighting.

Aachen Center for Integrative Lightweight Production, Aachen, Germany, 49-241-8904-150, www.azl.rwth-aachen.de