JEC Composites 2005 Show Review
Paris composites exhibition posts 12 percent increase in attendance, underscoring industry health.
By Staff | June 2005
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In preparation for the 2005 edition of the JEC Composites Show, show organizers increased by 20 percent the exhibit floor space allotted in 2004 — from 29,000m2 to 35,500m2 (312,150 ft2 to 382,100 ft2) — to accommodate a predicted record turnout of exhibitors and visitors. Post-show figures compiled by JEC supported that conclusion: A reported 900 exhibiting companies and 25,600 individuals were on site for the event, held April 5-7, at the Paris Expo, Porte de Versaille, in Paris, France. The attendance figure represents a 12 percent increase over last year. JEC reports that half the total were users of composite materials who traveled to the show from outside France. |
Source: Dirk Weed
The show was the venue for public announcement of the first board of directors for Assocompositi, the Italian composites association formally organized in December 2004. Appointed for a two-year period were association president Roberto Frassine of Politecnico di Milano, and vice president Antonio Ferrante of Saint-Gobain Vetrotex Italia. Board members hail from Italy-based suppliers and academic institutions among its 26 member companies. The new association has become a member of the overarching EuCIA (European Composites Industry Assn.), and will represent Italian interests in EuCIA's European Union activities.
JEC INNOVATION AWARDS
In its eighth year, JEC's annual awards program got a new name and an expanded set of competition categories, up from five in 2004 to eight this year. The JEC Innovations Awards proved unusual in several other respects: One award winning team was the first to use natural fiber reinforcement in an exterior passenger car component, while another was the first ever to support a poured concrete bridge deck on beams made exclusively from a carbon/polymer composite.
In the "Aeronautics & Space" category, software developer Galorath Inc. (El Segundo, Calif.) and partner Airbus Industrie (Toulouse, France) took top honors for SEER-DFM cost-analysis software. Developed with assistance from Airbus UK, the software is designed to help design engineers efficiently explore a large number of "what if" scenarios and accurately estimate costs to determine the most cost-effective combination of materials and manufacturing process. A Composite Plug-in module enables concurrent calculation of costs for a variety of production alternatives in any combination of material placement (including hand layup, braid, tow placement, 3-D weaving, filament winding and P4A preforming) process (autoclave cure, RTM, VARTM or E-beam) and methods of manual or automated trimming and assembly (e.g., drilling/fastening, adhesive bonding). The software takes into account material, process and staffing variables but also operational factors like machine depreciation, reportedly enabling accurate estimates of cost in days rather than weeks.
A long fiber molding process, featuring a natural fiber-reinforced polypropylene thermoplastic component molded by Rieter Automotive Systems (Winterthur, Switzerland), took first place in "Ground Transport." The material, developed and patented by DaimlerChrysler AG (Germany), is reinforced with fiber provided by Manila Cordage Co. (Manila, The Philippines). Derived from the abaca plant (a plant in the banana family), the fiber is better known as Manila hemp, used to make rope. According to DaimlerChrysler, abaca is the first natural fiber to meet stringent standards for resistance to stone strike and exposure to UV, moisture and temperature extremes for components used on the exterior of road vehicles. Also the first natural fiber used in an exterior passenger auto component, abaca replaced glass fiber in the underfloor protective panel for the spare wheel well on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class coupe in September 2004.
Devold AMT (Langevaag, Norway) and boatbuilder Brødrene Aa (Norway) got the highest marks in the "Marine" category by tailoring carbon-fiber reinforcements for vacuum-infusion molding. Using multiaxial carbon fabrics supplied by Devold, Brødrene employed cored sandwich construction with skins made entirely of carbon/vinyl ester composites, infusing one-piece hulls for an ambulance boat capable of 44 knots; the 64-passenger Rygerkatt harbor ferry and a medium-capacity ferry (97-passenger catamaran). A 300-passenger craft is under development. The use of carbon reportedly reduces boat mass by 40 percent (compared to glass) and also saves fuel, reduces emissions and damps sound for greater passenger comfort, but only increases cost by 10 percent.
In the "Construction" category, JEC honored the first use of all-carbon-composite beams in a road bridge. The work of Advanced Composites Group Ltd. (ACG, Heanor, Derbyshire, U.K.) and primary bridge contractor and beam molder NECSO Entrecanales Cubiertas SA (Madrid, Spain). The beam was constructed using ACG's VTM (Variable Temperature Moulding) prepregs. The 46m/151-ft beam element's structural strength is provided entirely by the fibers and polymer matrix. Low beam weight made it possible to deliver entire units to the site, where they were jointed and located onto the precast concrete support columns in a single crane lift. As a result, the bridge was installed in only two days rather than the industry-typical 40 days.
In the "Industrial" category, the winner was a composite anti-intrusion shell co-developed by RocTool (Le Bourget du Lac, France), compounder Menzolit SA (Vineuil, France) and French electronics hardware/software developer Upstart Ingénierie. The sandwich structure consists of a nonconductive core material between skins of conductive SMC or BMC. The assembly acts as a capacitor whose capacitance value is read by an electronic circuit. Any attempt to breach the housing (e.g., with cutting tools or torches) sets off an alarm, making the product suitable for a wide range of potential applications in security-conscious sectors.
The innovation award in "Sports & Equipment" went to the "Franco Garda" mountain rescue stretcher, developed for TSL Sport Equipment (Haute-Savoie, France). The stretcher features a metal chassis overmolded with vacuum-infused Twintex (commingled uni-glass and thermoplastic fibers) by molder Comitech (Ain, France). Development partners included customer/user Chamoniarde de Secours en Montagne (France) and Twintex supplier Saint-Gobain Vetrotex International (Chambery, Cedex, France). Designed to breakdown into three pieces for easy transport in high-altitude, rugged terrain, the lightweight stretcher reportedly assembles easily. Field tested by French and Italian rescue teams in 2004, the stretcher was available for sale beginning in May 2005.
JEC also conferred two "Special Jury Awards": The "Recycling & Environment" award recognized iNoMARBRE, a marble substitute for home decoration products, developed by iNoPLAST (Desirat, France). The 50/50 mix of powdered glass and white powdered SMC and BMC contains 70 percent recyclate. Reportedly impact-, scratch- and abrasion-resistant when properly cured, the material complies with current building-industry standards and offers considerable weight savings at half the price. The "Spirit of Conquest" award recognized a composite cylinder built up from a metal liner overwound with a thermoplastic composite developed by tank/pressure vessel maker Amtrol Alfa Metalomecãnica SA (Guimarâes, Portugal), fiber supplier Saint Gobain Vetrotex International. The solution combines the advantages of steel and thermoplastic composites and is suitable for storage tank, pipe and machine applications.
INNOVATIONS ON DISPLAY
On the show floor, new technology was again in abundance, including new products and materials from first-time exhibitors based in China and Russia. The CT staff observed the following:
Aerovac Systems Ltd.'s (Keighley, West Yorshire, U.K.) premiered new high-elongation VACFILM bagging films, multilayer co-extrusions with reportedly excellent resistance to polyester, vinyl ester and epoxy resins. Available in a variety of weights, thicknesses and lengths/widths, the films come in three variants, with processing temperatures ranging from 150°C to 170°C (302°F to 338°F).
Airborne International BV (Leidschendam, The Netherlands) exhibited one of the carbon fiber/epoxy body panels it makes for the Mercedes Visser Carosserie ambulance. SP Systems' Sprint materials are used to fabricate all the body panels behind the front doors and the roll bar. The panels retrofit to existing vehicles, and were first put on vehicles in January.
Aksys Group LLC (Worms, Germany) premiered its Injection Molding Compounding (IMC) process used to mass-produce 30 percent glass fiber-reinforced front-end structural members weighing only 3.5 kg/7.7 lb for the VW Golf A5. The compact manufacturing cell includes a robot mounted on the injection molding system's fixed platen, which removes parts from the mold and transfers them directly to the sprue-removal unit.
Akzo Nobel Polymer Chemicals LLC (Chicago, Ill.) announced development of Perkadox PF-MT40Z, a new ambient-cure acrylic solid-surface catalyst for the U.S. market. Typically added in the compounding step, the catalyst also may be pre-dissolved in acrylic syrup and remain stable for up to 72 hours or until Accelerator CTA or ZTA is added to begin polymerization. For the European market, the company presented its Butanox VR peroxides, with "Visual Red" coloration that fades to clear to indicate cure completion.
Alcan Airex/Alcan Composites (Sins Switzerland and Northvale, N.J.) showed AIREX T90, a new polyethylene terephthalate (PET) structural foam. The material reportedly exhibits high mechanical strength and stiffness (e.g. in compression) and thermal stability to temperatures as high as 160°C/320°F. According to the company, the foam can be thermoformed and is suitable for sandwich construction with any resin system or production method, including prepreg systems at up to 150°C/302°F processing temperatures.
