Composites symposium: focus on “new lightness”
Lightweight designs using innovative materials are increasingly defining developments in important sectors such as the car industry and aircraft construction. The LMT Composites & Plastics Competence Days in Durbach in the Black Forest, made it clear that efficient machining of these new materials depends very much on materials and process know-how. Almost 60 participants from industry, trade associations and the world of research attended interesting presentations on theory and practice.
- Guests at the symposium watched the presentations at LMT Kieninger in Lahr.
“Composites and plastics are the lightweight materials of the 21st century,” said Dr. Michael Heinrich, Chairman of the LMT Management, at the beginning of the event on 21 and 22 June. The transition from small-scale manufacture to industrial mass production is already taking place today in the processing of composite materials. As a result, explained Heinrich, the central factors of productivity and process costs are becoming more important. He emphasized that LMT is well-equipped for this development. Being able to adapt products to handle new high-volume industrial-scale production methods has long been a core competence of the tool experts.
The “new lightness” is advancing process development as a whole – from materials to machine development to high-performance tool systems. This also became clear in a series of presentations. Sebastian Eickens of KraussMaffei Technologies, for example, introduced the subject of “Robot-Guided Machining of Plastic Components”. He explained that this ambitious engineering solution guarantees a highly precise and cost-effective machining process. For example, it even facilitates good machining of 3D geometries. In addition, the robots’ precise sensors ensure optimized feeds during milling processes and as a result optimized cycle times.