Toray to increase carbon fiber tow capacity by more than 20%

Capital investments to Spartanburg, S.C., and Gumi, Korea facilities, in response to market demand, will increase annual capability to 35,000 metrics tons beginning in 2025.

Toray Industries Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) has announced plans to increase regular carbon fiber tow production capacity at two facilities. Capital investments will add lines to Toray Composite Materials America’s Spartanburg, S.C., U.S. plant and the Toray Advanced Materials Korea plant in Gumi. These investments will increase the Toray Group’s annual capacity by more than 20% to 35,000 metric tons beginning in 2025.
Toray reports that these capacity increases are in response to the market situation in the U.S. and Korea, where demand for pressure vessel applications is rising. Fueled by the ongoing clean energy revolution in hydrogen, natural gas and other industrial applications, these expansions target high-strength carbon fibers up to 24,000 filaments per tow. The capacity increase will also complement total supply for other core markets such as aviation.

Toray anticipates demand for regular carbon fiber tow to expand by 17% annually on a decarbonization megatrend. This trend is signaling the growing demand for compressed natural gas (CNG) delivery vehicles and gas transportation tanks, increasing the need for CNG, hydrogen tanks and other pressure vessel applications. This trend will also increase the adoption of this material for passenger cars, trucks, trains and ships that use fuel cells.
Toray has made growing sustainably pivotal to Project AP-G 2025, its medium-term management program. Accordingly, the company has positioned industrial applications of its carbon fiber composite materials business to accelerate measures tackling climate change. Toray will fully leverage its comprehensive capabilities in keeping with its corporate philosophy of contributing to society by creating new value and help materialize a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.

#сomposites #CompositeMaterials #Toray #CarbonFiberTow

> source

Dear participants and visitors!

A video report on the Composite-Expo 2023 exhibition held on March 28-30 is posted on the official YouTube channel of the event.

Interviews with exhibitors can be found in the "Video materials 2023" section on the official website of the Composite-Expo exhibition.

Stand bookings for 2024 are actively underway!

Karman Space & Defense expands production capacity for carbon-carbon composites components

Increased capacity supports growing demand for MG Resin and ultra-high temperature materials utilized in space and defense applications.

Karman Space & Defense, a market leader for critical systems including crewed-space flight and hypersonic missions, expands production capacity for Carbon-Carbon (C-C) Composite Components to support the growing production volumes for MG Resin and Ultra-High Temperature Materials utilized in space and defense applications. The expansion includes new facility space and equipment for larger components, increased product rates, and high temperature material testing.

Karman’s MG Resin Technology addresses the need for ultra-high temperature materials with higher char yields, improved processability, and reduced cycle times. The combined mechanical properties of these unique resins enable the production of best-in-class, high-strength carbon-carbon components and structures for propulsion systems, missiles, hypersonic systems, and spacecraft at lower costs and reduced lead times.

“We are committed to efficiently delivering the highest quality resins to meet our customer’s demanding schedules and requirements, and our expanded production capacity is a testament to that commitment. This investment will help us maintain our leadership position in the industry and continue to grow our capabilities,” said Tony Koblinski, CEO.

About Karman Space & Defense

Karman Space & Defense is a concept-to-production solutions provider for the Space and Defense industry’s most complex and mission-critical systems, including crewed-space flight and hypersonic missions. Headquartered in Huntington Beach, CA, with facilities in Washington, Alabama, and Washington DC, Karman brings together industry-leading capabilities, advanced technologies, and the multi-decade history of its four business divisions, AAE Aerospace, AEC, AMRO, and Systima.

#сomposites #CompositeMaterials #СarbonСarbonСompositesСomponents

> source

Teijin Ltd. to sell composites business subsidiary in Japan

Teijin is transferring its entire stake in GH Craft Co. Ltd. to Tokyo-based TIP composite Co. Ltd. in order to better focus key resources in North America.

Teijin Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) announced that it has agreed to sell its entire stake in GH Craft Co. Ltd., an equity-method subsidiary of Teijin’s composites business in Japan, to TIP composite Co. Ltd (Tokyo). Teijin signed the share transfer agreement on Sept. 1, 2023.

Teijin acquired GH Craft in July 2008 as part of its downstream strategy. Leveraging its technological capabilities, GH Craft has been involved in the design, prototyping and evaluation of composite materials centered on highly demanding applications for the aerospace, railway and automotive industries. As one of Teijin’s composites business hubs in Japan, GH Craft earned the trust of customers.

Since acquiring its North American business in 2017, Teijin has been expanding its automotive composites business. However, the business has significantly fallen short of its expected profit levels due to factors such as a deterioration in the business environment due to semiconductor and labor shortages and raw material price rises. In response, Teijin has been concentrating the resources on its base in North America as its key region to implement measures to improve profitability. Under these circumstances, Teijin has decided to sell the GH Craft while considering the company’s further growth.

TIP composite manufactures and sells composite materials for a wide range of industries, including aerospace and industrial. The company has already collaborated on selected projects with GH Craft. Now, by obtaining GH Craft's knowledge and technology, TIP composite is expected to grow its business significantly.

The share transfer is scheduled for Sept. 7, 2023. The impact of this transaction on Teijin’s consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, is expected to be minor.

#сomposites #CompositeMaterials #Teijin #CarbonComposites

Photo Credit: Getty Images

> source

New Clean Aviation projects to facilitate highly efficient aircraft by 2035

Clean Aviation, approved for €380 million to advance eight topics revolving around new aircraft concepts and propulsion architectures, reveals project focuses and partners.

The Governing Board (GB) of the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking (Brussel, Belgium) has approved €380 million, including €152 million in EU funding, for an additional eight projects accelerating aviation’s trajectory towards climate neutrality in support of the European Green Deal.

These projects in the field of new aircraft concepts and innovative propulsion architectures, mentioned below, will complement those funded under Clean Aviation’s first call for proposals. They will help prepare all of the necessary elements for ground and flight test activities starting in 2026. According to Clean Aviation, activities proposed will exploit the maximum potential of composite materials for significant weight reduction opportunities. Overall, projects under this second call for proposals seek to help reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases for commercial air travel by no less than 30% compared to the best aircraft models available today.

“Pulling together the best talent and capabilities from the private and public sectors is key in the interest of bolstering European innovation,” Sabine Klauke, co-chair of the GB, CTO, Airbus, says. “Collectively, we are driving the world towards cleaner skies and a more sustainable future.”

The 8 projects cover topics elaborated from the Clean Aviation Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) built around three thrusts:

• €86 million to EU funding dedicated to hydrogen-powered aircraft;
• €33 million to EU funding for hybrid-electric regional aircraft;
• €33 million to EU funding for short and medium range aircraft.
A further €0.75 million is dedicated to impact monitoring of EU aviation research and innovation.

The following projects and partners are detailed below:

Hybrid Electric
• HERFUSE (Hybrid-Electric Regional Fuselage & Empennages): Leonardo
• ODE4HERA (Open Digital Environment for Hybrid-Electric Regional Architectures): DLR – German Aerospace Center
Ultra-Efficient/Short-Medium Range
• COMPANION (Common Platform and Advanced Instrumentation Readiness for Ultra Efficient Propulsion): Airbus
• AWATAR (Advanced Wing Maturation and Integration: ONERA
Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft
• TROPHY (Technological Research on Propulsion by Hydrogen): Safran
• FAME (Fuel Cell Propulsion System for Aircraft Megawatt Engines): Airbus
• HEROPS (Hydrogen-Electric Zero Emission Propulsion System): MTU Aero Engines AG
Support Action
• CLAIM (Clean Aviation Support for Impact Monitoring): DLR

The projects’ official launch is still subject to legal redress and to successful completion of grant preparation targeted for completion by the end of 2023.

#сomposites #CompositeMaterials #aircraft #aviation

Photo Credit: Getty Images

> source

Fully recyclable Fully recyclable composite mold incorporates Arkema Elium resin

Collaborative project with milling and tooling company Merritt Precision achieves sustainable fiberglass boat mold that meets manufacturing, recyclability needs.

In collaboration with milling and tooling company Merritt Precision (Merritt Island, Fla., U.S.), a Correct Craft company, Arkema (King of Prussia, Pa., U.S.) unveils its first entirely recyclable glass fiber composite mold using Elium liquid thermoplastic resin. The recyclable resin has been meticulously tailored for infusion processes of sizable components with low viscosity, long reactivity and a low exothermic reaction. While its use extends to diverse mold types, Elium resin is particularly suited for the marine sector, catering to the fabrication of composite watercraft.

Following IBEX 2023 in Tampa, Fla., U.S., Elium will be made commercially available. “The qualities inherent in the fully recyclable composite mold are not only beneficial for the ecosystem but also meet the needs of our manufacturing process,” Greg Warren, Merritt Precision’s technical director of operations, says.

Industries spanning marine, wind energy and transportation sectors, among others, rely on composite molds for production component manufacturing. These molds are predominantly fabricated from thermoset resins. Although they meet manufacturing requirements, their use is confined to a specific number of parts or years, averaging around four years before replacement. This conventional practice, says Arkema, creates substantial landfill waste, as the non-recyclable thermoset resins are commonly disposed or discarded.

Elium resin delivers attributes like those of thermoset resins while granting the recyclability advantage, enabling retired mold laminates to be reused to make new tooling or marine products themselves.

“Elium resin consistently forges pathways to solutions and opportunities in the marine industry and we are excited to present our progress in sustainability in partnership with Merritt Precision,” Nicolas Valloir, business manager at Arkema, says. “This innovation reflects the shared values and commitment of our respective companies in shaping a more sustainable collective future.”

#сomposites #CompositeMaterials #Arkema #FullyRecyclable #CompositeMold

> source

Mikrosam filament production line supports Amargo tank production

Mikrosam system features will support the production of Amargo’s chemically resistant pressure vessels or hydrogen storage in industrial plants.

Consulting and production company Amargo (Koprki, Poland) is now home to Mikrosam’s (Prilep, Macedonia) newest, floor-based, state-of-the-art filament production line for chemically resistant tanks or hydrogen storage in industrial plants. Using wet-impregnated fibers, this machine can produce composite tanks in a diameter range of 200-4,300 millimeters and a length range up to 12,000 millimeters with mandrel shafts.

Amargo covers many applications through concept, project, production, delivery and full service during the whole lifetime of the tank. In addition, the company has teamed up with two technical universities — Warsaw and Wroclaw — and is working on a 3-year project entitled “Development of an intelligent construction for a composite pressure vessel with a big hinged bottom,” that will enable the company to design and produce even complex tanks using the filament method winding process.

“Amargo has been supporting many industries for over 18 years by providing chemical-resistant tanks with complete installations and the necessary additional equipment and controls,” Szczepan Gorbacz, president of the management board of Amargo, says. “When the operating conditions of the tank, including the corrosive environment, temperature and pressure, are very demanding, solutions based on materials from the thermoplastic group, e.g.. polyethylene PE100 and polypropylene PP-H, are no longer sufficient. It is then necessary to use resin tank structures and glass fiber reinforcement, preferably with the use of continuous fiber.”

Amargo chose Mikrosam for its experience, expertise, engineering support, and flexibility in equipment design and integration.

Mikrosam’s system features a filament winding machine, an impregnating bath system for deep impregnation, a fiber creel, a fiber delivery system, software for programming and a quality inspection system. It has a single spindle, four axes of interpolation and a carriage floor-based configuration. Normally, the machine uses glass fiber, but it can be converted to carbon fiber, which the company says is important, especially for high-pressure tanks and hydrogen storage tanks. A fiber delivery system guides and transports fibers up to the resin bath and mandrels with minimal fiber damage. The ceramic eyelets minimize friction between the fibers as they are guided in a precise order until they reach the resin bath. Designed for high production speed, the deep immersion bath has 32 tows (fibers) for optimal impregnation quality.

The machine is also equipped with WindingExpert software, which can generate mandrels and patterns, simulate parts, produce parts and export FEA data (e.g., Nastran, Abaqus), among other features. For advanced control, the system offers a quality control system with SCADA integration. By using this manufacturing historian, the customer monitors and controls critical filament winding parameters. This includes precise tension control of the continuous fibers, accurate resin flow control and maintaining consistent winding angles. This ensures that Amargo can guarantee high-quality, well-balanced and reliable tanks.

Along with this new installation, Amargo and technical university engineers are working to prepare special detection systems — sensors that can measure elastic waves excited by piezoelectric transmitters, installed on the outer glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) layer of the tank. As aggressive chemical agents stored under elevated pressure can cause significant damage to both people and the environment, it is essential to develop systems for early damage detection and structural integrity monitoring of such vessels. These sensors also help to reduce maintenance costs and unforeseen operational breaks.

Additionally, as part of a complete solution, Amargo is incorporating the use of digital twin solutions.

#сomposites #CompositeMaterials #Mikrosam #FilamentProductionLine #tank

> source

Sicomin epoxy resins power construction of new zero-emission foiling passenger shuttle at Candela Boats

Sicomin announces its latest partnership with Candela, the renowned Swedish electric foiling boat manufacturer. Sicomin will supply a complete package of epoxy resins and adhesives for Candela’s latest ground-breaking project, the new P-12 foiling passenger shuttle.

Candela’s innovative approach to sustainable boating has generated massive international attention, and its latest vessel, the Candela P-12, is no exception. The new, zero emission, 12 metre passenger shuttle has been conceived to enable higher journey frequencies and increase utilization across urban water transit networks.

A full carbon fibre and epoxy construction results in a low vessel weight that allows Candela to provide operators with capacity for 30 passengers and a range of up to 60 nautical miles at 25 knots. Intended to replace larger, slower, fossil-fuelled ships, the P-12 uses 80% less energy than a conventional ferry whilst producing no local emissions and removing the risk of fuel or oil spillages.

The P-12 has been developed using the same lightweight, infused composite, foiling DNA for Candela’s earlier C-7 and C-8 leisure craft and is built using the same high-performance DNV-GL type approved Sicomin resins and adhesives as the previous models. Sicomin’s SR1710 epoxy infusion resin produces extremely high laminate mechanical properties and delivers excellent performance in hot and wet conditions, critical for such a lightweight foiling craft.

Sicomin’s premium epoxy adhesive, Isobond SR7200HTG is also used extensively in the P12 construction for bonding of the carbon fibre hull’s internal structure and final assembly of the vessel’s composite components. Suitable for both thick and thin bond lines, SR7200HTG provides superior bonding performance and is particularly resistant to micro-cracking in long term fatigue.

“Sicomin epoxies have helped us create the lightweight structures that give Candela vessels their game changing performance,” said Karl Fägersten, Chief Procurement Officer at Candela. “Thanks to this, we can provide fast and cost effective, more comfortable, zero emission journeys on our waterways.”

#сomposites #CompositeMaterials #Sicomin #EpoxyResin #boat

> source

COMPOSITE-EXPO Exhibition is expanding!

On March 26 – 28, 2024, the main event of the composite industry - the 16th international specialized exhibition of composite materials, equipment and technologies COMPOSITE-EXPO 2024 - will take place at the Expocentre Fairgrounds in Moscow.

At the moment, the exhibition area has grown by 20%, and the number of Russian and foreign exhibitors is several times ahead of last year's figures.

❗️ Since there are no vacant spaces left in Pavilion No. 1, the exhibition will increase via Pavilion No. 5.

COMPOSITE-EXPO will feature a three-day free-to-attend exhibition with 100 exhibiting companies and 7,000 attendees from industrial end-user markets including automotive, aerospace, marine, construction, consumer appliances, furniture, oil & gas and transportation sectors.

Exhibitors confirmed on the show floor include 3D Solutions NPO, Attika, BauTex, BMP Technology, Carbon Studio, CNBM International Corporation, CS Composites LLC, Dugalak, Electroizolit, EPITAL, F2 innovations, Glasstex, Hydromania Ltd, Jiangsu Maysta Chemical Co., Ltd, ITECMA, Kombinat Kamensky FSOE, Melytec, Neva Technology, Polypark, Rusatom Steklovolokno JSC, Tatneft-Presscomposite LLC, Slantsy-Him TK, Shelangersky Chemical Plant SAIVER, Sibur, Vitrulan Tekstilglas, UTS group, VIST COMPOSITE and more!

🔸 Exhibition plan

🔸 Exhibitors list

🔸 Booking a booth at COMPOSITE-EXPO 2024 (online application)

🔸 Visit the event and business program

You can find results press release of COMPOSITE-EXPO 2023 (statistic. photos, videos etc.) at the website

COMPOSITE-EXPO will be co-located with POLYURETHANEX 2024 trade show, the 15th annual exhibition for the PU materials & equipment industry. The coalition of these two events will create a synergy of processes and solutions for all visitors that register for this unmissable gathering of an astounding 10,000 attendees expected over the three days.

Dear exhibitors of the Composite-Expo 2024 exhibition!

Documents are posted on the official website of the event, which must be filled out and sent to the directorate no later than the date specified therein. Timely completion of documents will ensure your comfortable arrival at the event during the construction days of the exposition.

We also draw your attention to the current participant manual.