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Technology/Machinery

Multiaxials offer lightweighting solutions

The Chemnitz-based company manufactures the COP MAX5 and the FSA 800 machines, which are aimed at the carbon composites sector in particular.

29th September 2016

Innovation in Textiles
 |  Obertshausen

Transport/​Aerospace

According to German machine builder Karl Mayer, the topic of energy efficiency is becoming a motor for growth in the lightweight construction sector and as in the aviation industry, lightweight components are needed more and more in car production to reduce CO2 emissions. With annual growth rates of from 7 to 8%, the global lightweight construction market is expected to reach EUR 140 billion by 2020 in the transport sector alone, the company says.

These components, with their low weight and high performance, are based on composites reinforced with textiles and Karl Mayer Technische Textilien, the Karl Mayer Group’s technical textiles arm and a leader in the production of specialised production equipment, develops multiaxial warp knitting machines for production of the load-absorbing carbon fibre multiaxial textiles, in order to meet these demanding applications.

The Chemnitz-based company manufactures the COP MAX5 multiaxial warp knitting machine and the FSA 800 fibre spreading machine, which are aimed at the carbon composites sector in particular. The company also supports certain sector initiatives like the C³ Project, a project sponsored by the German government for promoting textile-reinforced concrete, and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Hybride Leichtbau Technologie (Working Group Hybrid Lightweight Technologies), set up by the Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, VDMA e.V. (German Engineering Federation).

Processing carbon

Karl Mayer Technische Textilien developed the COP MAX5 to cater for the special demands of processing sensitive carbon fibres, and it can produce multiaxial textiles with very low weights per unit area. Materials weighing less than 70 g/m² per layer can be achieved when using 12K carbon rovings, according to the manufacturer.

The COP MAX5 operates with parallel weft insertion and has three variably adjustable weft laying systems as standard. By using modern materials and complex devices, the weft can be inserted gently and at a high frequency, and is fed to the knitting process either online or offline. The two versions differ in terms of the way the spreading process operates – a step in which the carbon fibre material is equalised and prepared so that it can absorb forces optimally during subsequent use, the company explains.

FSA 800 fibre spreading machine. © Karl Mayer Technische Textilien

With the online version, the carbon rovings are removed from bobbins on a tangential creel and spread directly during the weft insertion process. The material is, therefore, removed continuously and at a constant tension. With the offline version, the pre-spread, dry, unidirectional (UD) tapes are removed from flanged bobbins and delivered to the weft insertion point. Whether the online or offline process is used, the carbon fibre material delivered is processed on the COP MAX5 at a constant tension and uniformity using intelligent technical systems. The features include an integrated, efficient layer support system, optimised feeding and laying principles based on a cut weft yarn, and specially designed hooking and transport elements, the company reports.

Applications

Karl Mayer Technische Textilien, the subsidiary of Karl Mayer, constitutes around 15 to 20% of the Group’s turnover, and supplies a number of different sectors. “The biggest sector using carbon is still the aviation industry, followed closely by the car industry. Growth is particularly good here. But carbon is also being used increasingly in the wind turbine sector,” commented Jochen Schmidt, Managing Director of Karl Mayer Technische Textilien.

The wind turbine sector mainly uses multiaxial textiles made from glass to produce fibre-reinforced plastic composites for the rotor blades. “As the blade rotates, the centrifugal forces are extremely high, and the multiaxial textiles are used to provide the necessary strength,” said Jochen Schmidt. Steel, which has the required strength but is comparatively heavy, is not a suitable alternative in this application, as it is in many other industrial sectors. For these reasons, Jochen Schmidt says he wants his company to become more involved with the carbon composites sector. “The aim is to press forward with further developments on the carbon fibre market, since we see such a huge potential there. We are expecting the carbon sector to grow continuously over the next few years,” said the Managing Director.

According to Jochen Schmidt, the big hope lies with building the machines in particular. “It is worth using carbon when parts are accelerated quickly, or when large masses have to be moved,” he says. Mr Schmidt adds that there are many applications in which the use of carbon could produce great material savings. One example is for the repair and renovation of bridges. In this case, the steel mats, which are underlaid with concrete, are replaced by multiaxial carbon textiles to save costs where possible, and also to promote sustainability in the building sector.

www.karlmayer.com

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