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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro is expanding
offerings and capabilities in continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP)
composites in response to market trends and a growing demand from customers,
said Plastemart.
Its
Maezio™ brand of CFRTP composites are based on continuous carbon fibers
impregnated with thermoplastics like polycarbonates. A new tape line is now
commissioned in its Leverkusen laboratory to develop new products with different
fiber and resin combinations. Their manufacture will in turn be scaled and
commercialized at the production site in Markt Bibart in South
Germany.
"We’re witnessing strong market demand for thinner, lighter, and
aesthetically competitive products where thermoplastic composites like Maezio™
are making a difference,” says Lisa Ketelsen, head of the thermoplastic
composite business of Covestro. “To meet the needs of a growing range of
applications we need a broader base of portfolio with different matrix materials
and properties. The new tape line in combination with our mass production lines
will allow us to do quick iterations and scaling based on market
demand."
One such product under development is thermoplastic polyurethane
(TPU) -based CFRTP, which boasts excellent chemical resistance properties and
superior flexibility in a wide temperature range. There’s a strong demand
especially from the footwear and sports equipment industries for such a strong
and versatile product. “Thermoplastic composites enable significant increases in
production speed for mass production, and their ability to be molded with
features and produced to near net shape eliminates the need for many secondary
operations,” says Dr.-Ing. Christian Wilms, Head of Technology of the
thermoplastic composite business of Covestro. “Also, they are inherently
recyclable, making them a genuine answer to the growing need for scalable and
sustainable material solutions."
At the same time, new hybrid injection
molding machines are commissioned in Covestro’s CFRTP locations in Germany and
China to build on processing know-how of complex, three-dimensional composite
parts in support of application development across industries. A hybrid
injection molding machine combines the thermoforming of semi-finished composite
parts with in-mold injection molding – a fully automated one-step processing
technology which reduces cycle times and improved productivity of mass produced
composite parts.
“We’re working closely with our machinery and processing
partners such as Krauss Maffei and Engel to offer customers full support in
their product development process,” says Dr.-Ing. Olaf Zoellner, head of
application development Europe at the Polycarbonates business unit at Covestro.
“A fully functional and supportive value chain with the know-how for mass
production of composite parts is critical to bringing such solutions to the
mainstream market." |
