Cooperating on new-generation ground transport
CompositesWorld's editor-in-chief Jeff Sloan shares his observations about the mixture of excitement and anxiety about the future of composite in the auto industry on display at the recent Thermoplastics Composites Conference for Automotive (TCCA), held in the Detroit suburb of Novi, MI, US.
We composites professionals look at the automotive market with a unique combination of excitement and anxiety. The excitement grows out of the knowledge that the auto industry has a mandate to lose weight, and composites are an obvious choice to help get that done.
The anxiety grows out of uncertainty: What materials will be used — composites? Aluminum? New light steel? How and where will they be applied? Which OEMs will apply them? How will composites fit into the automotive supply chain?
And, frankly, we should chalk up some of our anxiety to the old adage, “Be careful what you wish for.” That is, depending on how composites are applied in the automotive market, some suppliers and fabricators might struggle to meet what could be substantial and unrelenting demand for composite materials and parts.
There is some irony in this. The composites industry has coveted mainstream automotive applications for so long that it seems to me we are like the persistent, pesky salesman, talking up his products’ litany of benefits as he shops his wares to automotive OEMs around the world, trying to get his foot in the door and prove they can do the job.
But this is an unfair analogy. It’s not fair to the composites indus-try or to automotive OEMs. The truth is that composites will not be sold into an automotive program. Composites will earn their way into automotive programs, and only because they meet a specific structural or aesthetic need cost-effectively.
I was reminded of this forcefully this week (it’s June 17 as I write this) at CompositesWorld’s Thermoplastics Composites Conference for Automotive (TCCA), in the Detroit suburb of Novi, MI, US. I was a conference co-chair, along with Matt Naitove, executive editor, and Lilli Sherman, senior editor, of sister publication Plastics Technology. The conference attracted almost 200 attendees from across the automotive supply chain, who came to see and hear 21 presentations on a variety of material and process tech- nologies aimed at thermoplastic composites for the auto industry. Presentations ranged from the latest on long glass fiber-reinforced thermoplastics to carbon fiber use in compression molding to simulation of chopped fiber orientation in injection molding.
What struck me over the day-and-a-half conference was the variety and quality of the material and process innovation presented, and the intensity of the presenters. These were not salespeople trying to talk a reluctant automotive industry into buying a product. They were technology and material specialists who have listened carefully to what automotive OEMs say they need, and have developed carefully crafted solutions to meet that need.
Some solutions are mature, well-developed and in use today. Others are clearly still in development. All of them, though, are highly targeted and designed to leverage the multi-fiber, multi-resin, multi-process dynamism of the composites industry. Covestro LLC, for instance, announced at the conference that it has begun working on application of fiber-reinforced polycarbonate for the fabrication of Class A automotive body panels. Teijin reported on the status of its compression-molded chopped carbon fiber/polyamide composite material for structural vehicle parts. Sigmatex informed attendees about its efforts to incorporate recycled carbon fiber and thermo- plastic fibers into its reinforcements product line. The Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) reported on its work developing sandwich structures with tailored, foam-injected cores. And Autodesk revealed details of its research into simulating weld line behavior in injection molding.
I will report on all of the conference presentations in next month’s CW, but suffice it to say that I was strongly impressed by the creativity, intelligence and forethought represented throughout the conference — on the podium and in the audience.
Ultimately, my takeaway message was this: Material and process specialists throughout the automotive and composites supply chain are working cooperatively and collaboratively to drive weight out of vehicles, increase fuel efficiency, build in sustainability and usher in a new generation of vehicles that promises to reshape transportation. And that’s as good a thing to wish for as I could hope.
Related Content
From the CW Archives: Airbus A400M cargo door
The inaugural CW From the Archives revisits Sara Black’s 2007 story on out-of-autoclave infusion used to fabricate the massive composite upper cargo door for the Airbus A400M military airlifter.
Read MoreMaterials & Processes: Fabrication methods
There are numerous methods for fabricating composite components. Selection of a method for a particular part, therefore, will depend on the materials, the part design and end-use or application. Here's a guide to selection.
Read MorePEEK vs. PEKK vs. PAEK and continuous compression molding
Suppliers of thermoplastics and carbon fiber chime in regarding PEEK vs. PEKK, and now PAEK, as well as in-situ consolidation — the supply chain for thermoplastic tape composites continues to evolve.
Read MoreOne-piece, one-shot, 17-meter wing spar for high-rate aircraft manufacture
GKN Aerospace has spent the last five years developing materials strategies and resin transfer molding (RTM) for an aircraft trailing edge wing spar for the Airbus Wing of Tomorrow program.
Read MoreRead Next
Composites end markets: Energy (2024)
Composites are used widely in oil/gas, wind and other renewable energy applications. Despite market challenges, growth potential and innovation for composites continue.
Read MoreCW’s 2024 Top Shops survey offers new approach to benchmarking
Respondents that complete the survey by April 30, 2024, have the chance to be recognized as an honoree.
Read MoreFrom the CW Archives: The tale of the thermoplastic cryotank
In 2006, guest columnist Bob Hartunian related the story of his efforts two decades prior, while at McDonnell Douglas, to develop a thermoplastic composite crytank for hydrogen storage. He learned a lot of lessons.
Read More