VDMA sets up Composite Technology Network

The VDMA has put in place a new network for machinery manufacturers engaged in the development and production of technologies for the manufacture and quality control of composite materials. Initially, firms from four different VDMA associations have come together to form the VDMA Composite Technology Forum, in order to create a platform for exchanges among themselves, with users and with research establishments.

Jochen Zaun, managing director of Georg Sahm GmbH & Co.KG, Eschwege, was elected honorary spokesman of the VDMA Composite Technology Forum at the inaugural meeting.

Composites: Keys to producing and saving energy
Lightweight construction is a central challenge as regards design engineering, and composites are the key materials for fuel-saving transport equipment as well as for sustainable sources of energy.

The tremendous weight savings made by using fibre-reinforced materials in modern aircraft, for example, make a substantial contribution to reducing kerosene consumption. Lightweight composite materials used in modern wind turbine rotor blades, which are capable of withstanding high mechanical stress, lie behind the success of this renewable source of energy. The automotive industry, too, is looking to make ever increasing use of composite materials.

Challenges: Manual work involved, cycle times, component quality
The technology chain for composites begins with the manufacture of reinforcing fibres from glass, carbon and other materials. The textile reinforcing structures are then embedded in a plastic or concrete matrix to create semi-finished and finished products. All this, and the processing of composites, including materials testing and component quality, needs to be increasingly automated.

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