APPLICATIONS

www.reinforcedplastics.com 7REINFORCEDplastics JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014

Collaboration produces paintable carbon fibre panels

direct from the mould

Zoltek Automotive and Krauss

Maff ei have demonstrated a new

carbon fi bre automotive body

panel system - Surface RTM. - for

the manufacture of Class A

carbon fi bre exterior panels.

During the recent K show, Krauss

Maff ei demonstrated, in real-time,

the Surface RTM manufacturing

process, by producing carbon

fi bre roof panels for the new

Roding sports car, on the compa-

ny’s stand fi ve times per day.

Zoltek adds that the Surface RTM

process uses Panex® 35 carbon

fi bre and a polyurethane resin

system. This is then overmoulded

with a polyurethane paint

coating, resulting in a premium

and paintable surface quality

composite part - directly out of

the mould. This new production

process attracted a lot of atten-

The carbon fi bre roof panel of the Roding sports car.

tion from OEMs and Tier 1s. The

Surface RTM process is the result

of a year-long, industrial partner-

ship featuring Krauss Maff ei RTM

technology, Henkel PU chemistry,

Chomarat C-Ply fabrics, Ruhl PU

coatings and Zoltek’s specially

sized Panex® 35 50K carbon fi bre.

The development of Chomarat’s

C-Ply fabrics using Zoltek’s low-

cost, large-tow carbon fi bre is

also a signifi cant step forward in

cost reduction and will set a

new industry standard for price

points and quality carbon fi bre

panels, claims Zoltek.

The new process begins with a

carbon fi bre fabric matrix

produced by Chomarat, which is

injected with a PU resin (Henkel

Loctite Max 2). Once cured, the

mould is opened slightly to allow

the PU overmoulding material to

be injected (Ruhl). The part is

then cured again. (Total time

from ‘tool closure’ to ‘tool open’ is

less than 6 minutes).

The part is then removed from

the tool, power washed and

supplied to the painter – who

applies a top and clear coat.

Zoltek; www.zoltek.com

Glass-fibre reinforced PBT solves flame retardancy on

French railways

French company ABB, based in

Lyon, has selected polybutylene

terephthalate (PBT) Ultradur®

B4450 G5 from BASF for its DC

contactors for use on railways.

Contactors used on railways must

satisfy the stringent fi re preven-

tion requirements of the French

Railway Standard NF F 16-101.

The 25% glass fi bre-reinforced

thermoplastic is based on a

special fl ame retardant system

and, with its especially good

values for smoke density and

toxicity, satisfi es the requirements

for the I3F2 classifi cation in this

standard. This material has found

one of its fi rst production appli-

cations at ABB. It is available in

light colours and exhibits good

Flame retardant glass-fi bre reinforced PBT is used in contactors for the French railways.

Collaborative

venture develops

laser cutting

of carbon fibre

components

Volkswagen AG is working with

Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.

(LZH) and other partners to

develop a laser process for auto-

mated cutting of carbon fi bre

reinforced plastic (CFRP) compo-

nents, to make it possible to use

this lightweight material for mass

production in the automotive

industry.

In the current joint project

HolQueSt 3D, seven partners

from industry and science, under

the leadership of Volkswagen AG,

are working together on devel-

oping a process for 3-D high-

performance laser processing of

CFRP lightweight structures. In

comparison to conventional

technologies, lasers can be used

for non-contact, high-precision

processing without tool wear,

and simultaneously the process

has high reproducibility and fl ex-

ibility. Up to now, due to high

temperatures, laser processing of

CFRP causes damage in the

processing zone. The main

hurdles for using laser processing

for CFRP are at present an

incomplete understanding of the

process, and the lack of suffi -

ciently developed processes.

Based on a new, fi bre-guided,

high performance laser with

pulse lengths in the nanosecond

range (Trumpf Laser GmbH

+ Co. KG), LZH is developing

both a process geared towards

CFRP applications and an opti-

mised process monitoring

system.

www.lzh.de

processability and mechanical

properties.

A special property of the mate-

rial is that installed metal

contacts display only minimal

corrosion even in warm environ-

ment with high humidity. As a

result, electrical components that

come into contact with this

plastic benefi t in terms of relia-

bility and appearance.

With regard to electrical proper-

ties, the material has a CTI value

of 600. This means that Ultradur

B4450 G5 exhibits a tracking

resistance, or insulating ability,

that is exceptionally good for

PBT compounds and in turn

provides a great deal of freedom,

especially regarding component

miniaturisation. The laser contrast

of Ultradur® B4450 G5 is also

good in the case of light colours

and makes it possible to incor-

porate engraved identifi cation

such as data matrix codes that

can be read with a scanner.

BASF; www.ultradur.de

RP0114_Application News 7 20-01-14 09:11:26