At this year’s Composites Europe, the European industry trade show for composite materials taking place from September 22 to 24 in Stuttgart, Germany, SGL Group – The Carbon Company – will be presenting its innovative material solutions along the entire value chain, from carbon fibers, textile products and prepregs to carbon fiber-reinforced components (CFRPs).
In addition, SGL Group will be showcasing its current development activities. For the first time, the company will present an isotropic non-woven prepreg (ICV prepreg) based on recycled carbon fibers combined with an epoxy resin. Due to a new manufacturing process that makes it possible to use recycled carbon fibers, this material possesses almost isotropic mechanical properties. The ICV prepreg has an entirely new type of surface appearance and can be used in pressing processes as well as conventional autoclave processes. These characteristics make the material especially interesting as a means of opening up new applications with epoxy resin prepregs.
The SIGRAPREG® prepregs of SGL Group can also be combined with new fast-hardening resin systems that are currently being developed with a view to the requirements of future large-scale component production. These “snap-cure” resin systems combine excellent hardening times, good storage stability and adhesiveness of the pre-impregnated semi-finished products optimized for automated machining.
As an innovation in the field of thermoplastic fiber composites, SGL Group will be presenting long fiber-reinforced thermoplastics (LFRPs) for the first time. These materials are available as both glass fiber-reinforced and carbon fiber-reinforced semi-finished products on the basis of various plastic types and enable significant inherent benefits, such as short cycle times, weldability, good recyclability and ease of combination with other thermoplastic semi-finished products.
The new thermoplastic materials and their applications will be presented at the trade show using the example of a front end. This is made from LFRP consisting of glass-fiber-reinforced polyamide (GF-PA6). Unidirectional (UD) tapes and carbon fiber-based organic sheets are integrated directly in a manufacturing process step and thereby reinforce structures of the front end under high local stress.
An additional highlight in terms of innovative product solutions will be the presentation of the SIGRAPREG® TowPreg, which has already been shown for the first time at JEC 2015. These pre-impregnated rovings made from carbon or glass fibers are especially suitable for challenging winding and lay-up processes thanks to their outstanding winding properties, which results in excellent mechanical properties in the component.
The innovative portfolio of SGL Group is completed by a transparent resin system for prepregs, which is used in particular for visible components, such as in the automotive industry. When used in conjunction with extremely high-quality SIGRATEX® design fabric from SGL Group, this produces components with supreme surface quality and sophisticated visual appeal.
According to Andreas Wuellner, Head of Business Unit Carbon Fibers and Composite Materials: “With the constant development of our portfolio, we can offer our customers tailored and innovative solutions in the fields of fibers and components, resulting in significant benefit to customers thanks to favorable process capability and enhanced properties. We will be demonstrating this with the many product innovations on show at Composites Europe.”
Composites Europe 2015, September 22 to 24, 2015, in Stuttgart, Germany.
Visit SGL Group in hall 5 / stand F34