MAE Museum dedicated to and built largely from new and recycled carbon fiber

Museum showcases the advancements in carbon fiber development where visitors can observe transformation process of acrylic fiber into carbon fiber.

MAE Museum, designed by Carlo Ratti Associatti (CRA) and architect Italo Rota for equipment manufacturer MAE. Renderings by CRA graphic team: Gary di Silvio, Pasquale Milieri, Gianluca Zimbardi.

“From high-performance bikes to the Lamborghini Aventador car, carbon fiber is driving innovation in multiple sectors. The MAE museum celebrates a defining material of modernity, by focusing on its new circular frontier and envisioning new applications for its use,” says Carlo Ratti, founding partner at CRA and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.). “We are delighted to work with MAE, a company whose history and know-how pioneered the transition from the original use of acrylic fiber in clothing to today’s use of carbon fiber in industries as varied as aerospace and automotive.”
International design and innovation office CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and architect Italo Rota have unveiled the design of the MAE Museum, an exhibition space dedicated to carbon fiber, a material that is central to the future of manufacturing. The museum itself will be built largely out of carbon fiber, both new and recycled, pursuing a circular approach to design. The exhibition path will employ robotics to guide visitors through what is said to be the world’s largest archive of acrylic fiber technologies, documenting scientific advancements in the development of carbon fiber, as well as parallel changes in society and fashion. Developed for leading polymer and fiber machinery manufacturing company MAE (Fiorenzuola d’Arda, Italy), the new museum will be located near the company’s headquarters, south of Piacenza, Italy.
Carbon fiber is a lightweight, high-strength material used in everything from aerospace to the automotive industry to bicycle manufacturing. It is manufactured using a type of acrylic fiber, similar to the one commonly used in clothing, which is transformed into carbon fiber through a complex chemical process made possible by the machines produced by MAE.
Similarly, the MAE museum’s exhibition path is conceived as a twofold journey from the past into the future, from the heyday of synthetic fibers in postwar European clothing, to the latest breakthroughs in chemical and engineering research. While the museum is located inside a renovated warehouse, most interior components are built with acrylic and carbon fiber, including the entrance doors which open like a curtain.

In the first section of the museum, visitors will encounter a robotic archive warehouse, lit with dazzling white light and filled with MAE’s historical documents. A series of mechanical arms will move along the walls to extract photos, technical dossiers and campaigns from the brand’s 50-year history, and bring these items to a raised central platform, where visitors can sit and browse through them. After that, visitors will go through a long corridor where they can observe the process by which acrylic fiber is transformed into carbon fiber. This will be followed by the second section of the museum dedicated to the use of carbon fiber in contemporary industry. Within a black room enriched by an immersive installation, a set of interactive artifacts will explore the experimental applications of carbon fiber and show the most innovative prototypes made with it by leading companies in automotive and aerospace, for example.

The MAE Museum will be located at MAE’s Italian headquarters, just south of Piacenza and a one-hour drive from Milan. It will cater to different audiences including the general public and schools, as well as chemistry and engineering specialists. In early July 2021, MAE announced a collaboration with Leonardo (Rome, Italy), one of the world’s largest defense contractors, to build a €17-million pilot plant at this same location, which will produce innovative materials for use in the fields of aerospace, defense and security.

The MAE Museum project builds on recent CRA research in both the design of cultural spaces and the concept of circularity in architecture. The Italian Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020, designed by CRA and Italo Rota along with F&M Ingegneria and Matteo Gatto, focuses specifically on the use of experimental construction materials, and will open in early October 2021. CRA also recently completed the construction of the MEET Digital Arts Center in Milan and curated the “Eyes of the City” exhibition at the eighth Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture in Shenzhen, China.

#composites #MAEMuseum #RecycledCarbonFiber

Renderings by Carlo Ratti Associatti (CRA).
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Airbus Single-Aisle Airspace cabin enters into service with Lufthansa Group

Lufthansa becomes the first airline in Europe to feature Airbus’ new Airspace cabin, which makes extensive use of composites, on single-aisle aircraft.

As of Sept. 6, the Deutsche Lufthansa AG airline (Lufthansa, Frankfurt, Germany) has started operations with its first A320 Family aircraft — an A321neo — featuring Airbus’ new Single-Aisle Airspace cabin, which makes extensive use of composites. In doing so, the airline is said to becomes the first operator in Europe to introduce the new Airspace cabin feature for passengers on board A320 Family aircraft. In 2018 Lufthansa Group, a long-time A320 Family customer, chose to equip more than 80 of its new A320 Family aircraft on order from Airbus with Airspace cabins.

The new Airspace features include slimmer sidewall panels for extra personal space at shoulder level; better views through the windows with redesigned bezels and completely integrated window shades; large, composite overhead bins for 60% more bags; the latest full LED lighting technologies; LED-lit “entrance area”; and new lavatories with hygienic touchless features and antimicrobial surfaces.

“Lufthansa has once again made a choice of innovation and passenger appeal, raising the bar for the flying public at large to experience next-level, Airbus leading cabin innovations,” says Christian Scherer, Airbus chief commercial officer and head of international. “I am delighted to welcome one of our long-term partners, Lufthansa, to become the first European operator for the A320neo Family Airspace cabin. I can’t wait to fly on one of these aircraft.”

Head of Customer Experience, Lufthansa Group Heike Birlenbach emphasizes that, regardless of the crisis, Lufthansa continues to focus emphatically on a premium product for its guests. “For us, premium means providing high-quality, individualized and relevant offers for all our passengers at all times,” says Birlenbach. “With the new Airspace Cabin, we are significantly improving the travel experience on short-haul routes and setting a new industry benchmark.”

Lufthansa has been operating the A320-family since the 1980s and is reported to have been the first operator of the A321 and the A320neo. The airline group is one of the biggest Airbus operators worldwide.

At the end of July 2021, the A320neo Family had received more than 7,400 orders from more than 120 customers worldwide.

#composites #airbus

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Carbon Mobile relocates smartphone production to Germany

Carbon Mobile’s Carbon 1 MK II, a carbon fiber, plastic-neutral smartphone, aims to close the gap on e-waste.

Carbon Mobile (Berlin, Germany) has relocated its production of sustainable composite smartphones to Germany.

In partnership with commerce and lifecycle service provider Ingram Micro (Irvine, Calif., U.S.), the company's future devices will be produced in the former Motorola factory in Flensburg. In addition, the price of the Carbon 1 MK II smartphone, which launched in March 2021, will lower to €599. Carbon Mobile contends that the Carbon 1 MK II is the world’s first carbon fiber smartphone.

“With the new location in Germany, we can reduce our exhaust emissions for the production and transport of our devices even further and create new jobs in the coming years,” notes Firas Khalifeh, founder and CEO of Carbon Mobile. “Ingram Micro already operates the workshops for the repair of our smartphones and can therefore bring comprehensive knowledge of our technology into production.”

Today, the industry reportedly produces 50 million tons of e-waste every year, most of which cannot be recycled. Khalifeh reports, “Working with advanced materials is the necessary first step to closing the loop on e-waste. The Carbon 1 MK II is built with a lightweight monocoque body, making it 33% lighter than the average smartphone. If all devices were made in this way, the industry could save 100,000 tons of the earth’s resources every year.”

A partnership with Cleanhub (Berlin, Germany) enables 500 grams of plastic waste to be collected from the ocean for every device sold, reportedly making it the world’s first plastic-neutral smartphone. The company says future generations of its smartphone devices will include bio-based carbon fiber and enhanced reparability features to increase the lifecycles of its products.

The Carbon 1 MK II is made from Carbon Mobile’s HyRECM technology, a hybrid material that is characterized by its strength and light weight.

#composites #electronics #sustainability #carbonfiber

Photo Credit: Carbon Mobile
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Brazilian consumption of composites fell 4.6% in 2020

A survey from the Latin American Composite Materials Association (ALMACO) found that despite the drop, Brazil’s composites revenues rose 3.9%, reaching $561 million USD.

The Latin American Composite Materials Association’s (ALMACO) (São Paulo, Brazil) recent survey found that Brazilian consumption of composites fell 4.6% in 2020, totaling 208,000 tons. Despite the drop, the sector revenues rose 3.9%, reaching $561 million USD — a supposed result of increases in the prices of raw materials, particularly resin and fiberglass.

According to the ALMACO survey, civil construction accounted for 35% of Brazilian consumption of polyester composites in 2020, ahead of transport (20%), corrosion/sanitation (17%), leisure/swimming pools (12%), wind energy (6%), electricity (4%), marine (2%) and clothing (1%), among others. For composites based on epoxy resin, wind power generation led with 91%, ahead of oil and gas (4%) and electronics (3%).

“Although there was a strong recovery in the second half of the year, the effects of the pandemic at the beginning of 2020 were very intense and, in some cases, such as in the bus segment, they last until now,” comments Erika Bernardino Aprá, president of ALMACO.

For 2021, ALMACO expects an 11% growth in consumption, totaling 230 thousand tons of composites — in value, $650 million USD (+16%). According to ALMACO, civil construction remains heated, as well as the demand from industries that deal with highly corrosive processes, environments in which composites stand out due to their high chemical resistance.

#composites #ALMACO #fiberglass #Brazilian

Photo Credit: Latin American Composite Materials Association

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LunaLab rover testing.
Photo Credit, all images: Anisoprint

Anisoprint continuous fiber co-extrusion technology powers lunar rover vehicle

Carbon fiber-reinforced wheel mount and control arm design reduces lunar rover weight to as low as 24 and 64 grams, respectively.

Anisoprint (Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, U.K.), a manufacturer of continuous fiber 3D printing systems, has used its continuous fiber co-extrusion technology to produce lightweight parts for a lunar rover designed by student team Kepler, winners of ActInSpace 2020, said to be the largest worldwide “hackathon” for the development of new, space-related solutions. The moon rover was tested at the University of Luxembourg’s LunaLab, which has a simulated lunar environment, on Sept. 21, and was exhibited on Sept. 27 (DemoDay).

The Kepler team that developed the rover itself won the “Configure test a DIY lunar rover” challenge portion of the competition, receiving support from experts at the Space Robotics Research Group from SnT and Technoport to explore the business concept and to build the lunar rover on the basis of a prototyped rover configuration. The primary challenge for the team was to make a robot with a mass under four kilograms. With 3D-printed composites an ideal option for lightweight and high strength, the company turned to Anisoprint.

“Application cases we deal with primarily come from areas where isotropic materials proved ineffective, which means we always change the design for anisotropic reinforcement, both geometry and weight count here,” says Aleksey Ivanov, Anisoprint application engineer. “Composite 3D printing has a large potential for aerospace, and we help people explore it and get maximum benefit from the technology.”

To achieve this weight reduction, two suspension parts — a wheel mount and control arm — were remodeled. Carbon fiber was the chosen reinforcement, and SmoothPA to achieve a polished surface. The resulting part weight is as low as 64 grams for the control arm and 24 grams for the wheel mount (only 15% infill was used).

#composites #Anisoprint #space

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The load compartment well can withstand high mechanical stresses and is around 30% lighter than comparable sheet metal designs.
Photo Credit: Lanxess

Lanxess Tepex composite material lightweights luxury sedan load compartment well

PA6 Tepex dynalite thermoplastic blank reinforced with continuous glass fiber fabrics withstands high mechanical stresses and achieve 30% lighter weight than comparable sheet metal components.

Lanxess (Cologne, Germany) has applied its Tepex dynalite continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials in the manufacture of the load compartment well installed in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class luxury sedan to accommodate the vehicle’s 48V on-board powder supply battery. Lanxess says the composite components can withstand high mechanical stresses and are around 30% lighter than comparable sheet metal components.

“In the event of a crash, the battery must not penetrate or in any way damage the recess wall. This is ensured by the high strength and stiffness of our fabric-based composite material,” says Dr. Klaus Vonberg, application expert for Tepex at Lanxess. “The composite design also ensures that the load compartment well is leaktight, preventing the ingress and egress of fluids like water and battery electrolyte.”

The safety component is manufactured in a hybrid molding process using a ~110 x 80-centimeter blank produced by a water cutting machine. The blank is made from polyamide 6 (PA6)-based Tepex dynalite 102-RG600(2), which is reinforced with two layers of continuous glass fiber-reinforced fabrics. Moreover, Lanxess’ PA6 Durethan BKV60H2.0EFDUS060 is used as a back-injection material to integrate fasteners and reinforce the ribs. Sixty percent of its mass comprises short glass fibers, says Lanxess, which also optimizes its strength and stiffness for its use with the Tepex material.

Forming (draping) of the blank is then performed by a stamp, a highly complex process, among other things, the company says, due to the high draw ratios. This is because the composite material does not expand plastically like sheet metal but undergoes deformation in response to the movement (draping) of the fibrous material, which means that the composite material has to be continuously supplied from the outside during the forming process. If the movement is too great, the fibers can inhibit the forming process, breaking as a result and impacting the rest of the process.

Lanxess also employed a range of virtual calculation models, enabling the company to precisely simulate the draping process — including determining the optimum 3D cutting geometries of the blank and its forming behavior — to better predict and analyze the forming effects and respond accordingly.

“For the load compartment well, we also determined when the critical shearing angle of the fabric is reached during forming, where wrinkles form and where fibers start to break,” says Vonberg. “Our calculations and simulations also helped to ensure that the rounded corners of the component can withstand the expected loads.” The local orientation of the continuous fibers themselves in component areas with a pronounced 3D contour (e.g., in the rounded corners) was also simulated. This is a prerequisite for precisely predicting mechanical behavior in terms of integrative simulation. “All of this is part of our service offering under the HiAnt brand with which we supported our customers’ development experts in designing the load compartment well,” says Vonberg.

Looking to the future, Vonberg notes that Lanxess also sees potential in electric vehicles (EVs). “For safety devices, complete battery system housing or components for the stowage space are now available under the ‘hood’ — because our lightweight structural material is much lighter than metal and so helps to extend the range of EVs,” he concludes.

#composites #Lanxess #lightweights

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Integration of the ESM-2 for Orion. Photo Credit: Airbus

Airbus delivers second composites-intensive European Service Module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft

The ESM-2 module, comprising carbon fiber sheets and 19-meter CFRP solar array wings, will provide propulsion, power and thermal control, as well as oxygen and water for astronauts on the Artemis II mission.

It was announced on Oct. 6 that the second composites-intensive European Service Module (ESM-2), built by Airbus (Toulouse, France) for NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I and II moon missions, is ready for delivery from the Airbus site in Bremen, Germany. An Antonov cargo aircraft will fly the ESM-2 to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Fla., U.S. The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Airbus as the prime contractor for the development and manufacture of six ESMs with the first ESM to fly soon on NASA’s Artemis I mission.

Airbus says the ESM is a key element of Orion, the next-generation spacecraft that will transport astronauts beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) for the first time since the end of the Apollo program in the 1970s. Comprised of more than 20,000 parts and components, ESM-2 is a cylinder around four meters high and wide. It has a distinctive four solar array wings (SAW, 19 meters across when unfurled) that generates enough energy to power two households. The service module’s 8.6 tons of fuel can power the main engine, eight auxiliary thrusters and 24 smaller thrusters used for attitude control.

While its primary structure is made from machined aluminum, the web assembly is composed of carbon fiber sheets and aluminum sandwich, to stiffen the central core and accommodate most of the ESM equipment (i.e., pressurant tanks, water tanks, etc.). The craft’s four SAW are each composed of three deployable carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) rigid panels; at launch, the ESM weighs a total of just over 13 tons.

Overall, the module provides propulsion, power and thermal control and will supply astronauts with water and oxygen on future missions. Furthermore, the unpressurized service module can be used to carry additional payload. The ESM is installed underneath the crew module and together they form the Orion spacecraft, which will reportedly enables astronauts to be transported further into space than ever before.

“Delivery of the second European Service Module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft marks another huge step forward on the journey to return astronauts to the moon,” says Andreas Hammer, head of space exploration at Airbus. “Working hand in hand with our customers ESA and NASA, and our industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Space [see “Lockheed Martin opens new facility, expands Orion spacecraft production”], the program is moving apace and we are ready to meet the challenges of returning to the lunar surface in 2024.”

#composites #Airbus #NASA

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Lone Star completes acquisition of AOC

AOC, a global manufacturer of unsaturated polyester resins, vinyl ester resins and other solutions, will continue to operate under the AOC name, with management of facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.

On Oct. 15 AOC AG (Schaffhausen, Switzerland) announced that private equity firm Lone Star Fund XI has completed the acquisition of the company’s shares from CVC Capital Partners after consultation with the AOC workers’ councils, and approval of relevant regulatory authorities.

“Lone Star appreciates AOC’s approach to value-add product delivery, and the company aligns well with Lone Star’s portfolio of specialty chemical and manufacturing businesses,” says Donald Quintin, president, opportunity funds, Lone Star. “We look forward to working with the AOC team as the company continues to execute its growth strategy.”

AOC is a global manufacturer of unsaturated polyester resins, vinyl ester resins and other solutions for applications in coatings and protective barriers, colorants and visual effects, adhesives, and conventional composite resins. After the transaction, the company will continue to operate under the AOC name, managing multiple production facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.

“We recognize that our customers, suppliers and business partners have been a big part of our success in recent years,” comments Joe Salley, CEO of AOC. “Therefore, I want to thank them for their excellent support and continued confidence in AOC. We are excited about the prospects for AOC and our partnership with Lone Star to create an even stronger company.”

#composites #UnsaturatedPolyesterResins #LoneStar

Photo Credit: AOC AG

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Lanxess is offering a new, particularly sustainable product under the name Durethan BLUEBKV60H2.0EF.
Photo Credit: Lanxess

Lanxess reveals highly sustainable Scopeblue composite material series

PA6 glass fiber-reinforced compound under Lanxess’ new Scopeblue series is made from 92% sustainable raw materials, with content goals headed toward 100%.

Lanxess (Cologne, Germany) introduces its latest product, Durethan BLUEBKV60H2.0EF, a glass fiber-reinforced compound that uses 92% sustainable raw materials, more than other prime quality glass-fiber-reinforced plastic the company notes. The new easy-flowing plastic grade is the first product in Lanxess’ new Scopeblue series, which identifies products that either consist of at least 50% circular (recycled or bio-based) raw materials, or whose carbon footprint is at least 50% lower than that of conventional products.

“A carbon-neutral future can become reality only if we start using more sustainable products,” says Frederique van Baarle, who heads the High-Performance Materials (HPM) division at Lanxess. “Our first product marketed under the Scopeblue brand represents a real solution for the circular economy. The compound is a certified premium material that’s based on sustainable raw materials.”

For example, cyclohexane is one raw material used in the production of the polyamide-6-based (PA6) product, and comes from a sustainable source, meaning it is either bio-based, recycled bio-based or produced by means of chemical recycling. Durethan BLUEBKV60H2.0EF is also strengthened with 60% by weight of glass fibers comprising industrial glass waste instead of mineral raw materials. Moreover, the alternative raw materials that Lanxess uses in the precursors for PA6 are chemically identical to their equivalents of fossil origin (“drop-in solutions”), so Durethan BLUEBKV60H2.0EF is reported to exhibit the same characteristics as the virgin material and can be processed just as easily using the same production tools and facilities with no conversion work needed.

“This high-strength, high-rigidity structural material can be deployed wherever its purely fossil-based equivalent, Durethan BKV60H2.0EF, has traditionally been used in series production — so in automotive construction for the production of car front ends, brake pedals and oil pans,” says Dr. Guenter Margraf, head of global product management at HPM.

Nevertheless, developers are setting their sights on more than 92% sustainable raw materials. “We’re currently working on increasing the content of sustainable raw materials in this compound to 100%,” says Margraf. This requires ammonia synthesized with carbon-neutral hydrogen. Over the medium term, the specialty chemicals company is also planning to replace the additives used in its plastics with sustainable equivalents.

#composites #Lanxess #GlassFiberReinforcedCompound

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Solico delivers lightweight package for Aeolos all-carbon yacht

Solico, a leading composite engineering specialist for the maritime, defense, architecture and industrial sectors, has announced its latest marine collaboration with Aeolos Composites, having engineered the new Aeolos Performance 30, a striking new all carbon 30ft sailing yacht built in the Middle East.

The Aeolos Performance 30 (P30) is a lightweight carbon racing yacht, optimised for single and double handed sailing that was conceived by Aeolos Composites’ founder, Hans Genthe during the Covid-19 lockdown in Dubai in summer 2020. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the project was completed entirely remotely.

In early 2021, Aeolos Composites commissioned Solico to review and optimise the existing structural design, define laminate lay-ups, and perform the structural verification (according to ISO 12215) of the P30 hull, deck, coach roof, bowsprit, keel, and rudder.

Carbon fibre materials were a key part of the P30 design concept, minimising weight and producing a simple, light, and fast yacht. Solico worked with the ISO 12215-5 material properties, along with preferred carbon fibre formats readily available to Aeolos, to conduct a detailed FEA analysis of the components and reduce structural weight to a minimum. The P30’s hull, deck and internal structure were completed first, after which the focus shifted to appendages and additional structures.

One of the novel features of the P30 is the cleverly hinged carbon fibre bowsprit that allows bows to mooring in European marinas that do not permit a bowsprit over the dock. Large enough to project the yacht’s downwind sails well clear of the foretriangle, but able to pivot upwards after sailing, the slender tapered composite sprit provided challenges for the engineers. Several iterations were required to define the final structure that could support gennaker luff loads and satisfy the critical buckling load cases without adding additional weight at the bow of the yacht.

The P30 uses a completely unique full composite construction for its keel, a novel solution which pushes the design limits to new levels. The composite keel structure will be put through extensive tests during the sea trials to ensure maximum performance and uncompromised safety.

Solico also produced a full construction drawing pack detailing laminate sequences and additional reinforcements required around all highly loading fittings, such as chainplates, winches, and sail tracks, which had been considered in the structural verification.

Whilst the Solico engineers would typically like to visit the client and shipyard before and during the build, engineering the composite structures of the Aeolos P30 during the pandemic necessitated an entirely online approach. With a suite of digital tools in place, design review meetings, interim and final reports were managed seamlessly, with both Solico and Aeolos commenting on how well the communications flowed, despite the thousands of kilometres between the Netherlands and the UAE.

“The P30 has been a great project to work on,” commented Matej Prevc, lead engineer, Solico. “We often note that some of our marine projects have further weight saving potential which, due to more conservative design considerations driven by specific vessel class regulations or other commercial factors, we are not able to exploit. The P30 was a fantastic opportunity for the team (many of whom are sailors themselves) to really push the boundaries and develop a fully weight optimised carbon structure, maximising performance on the water.”

With P30 hull #1 finished and painted, fit out underway and the yacht due to hit the water in the very near future, the Solico team will be eagerly awaiting feedback from the first sea trials in Dubai. Several more P30’s are already in build with Aeolos Composites looking forward to expanding the class both locally in the UAE as well as in Europe.

#composites #Solico #AeolosСomposites

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