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10th Internationale Trade Fair for Material Applications, Surface Technology and Product Engineering
October 16 - 18, 2007, New Munich Trade Fair Centre
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MATERIALICA Industry-News
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Huntsman showcase latest Composites Systems for the Automotive Industry at MATERIALICA
Huntsman Advanced Materials specialises in the development and supply of advanced rapid prototyping and production materials for composite manufacturing and will be highlighting systems for automotive applications at the Composites Congress, Materialica 2007.
Marcel Sommer, from Huntsman Advanced Materials will present details on the latest developments in Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM) systems for automotive applications at the Composites Congress.
RTM in the Automotive Industry
First developed for the aerospace industry, composites are now used in automotive manufacturing. For production of these parts, more and more RTM technology is becoming the preferred process. It greatly reduces production time and delivers lightweight and very tough, durable components.
Huntsman has pioneered the development of RTM technology .In a one step process high quality parts are produced which are used for load bearing structures such as the chassis, roof and struts. The flexibility of RTM means it can produce highly complex parts with an accuracy not achievable with traditional stamped metal processes.
Composite parts from engine air boxes to front and rear springs, engine frames and vehicle roofs, used by car manufacturers, including Ferrari, Porsche and BMW are often based on Huntsman epoxy systems.
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RTM used on Ferrari Engine Air Box
An advanced RTM system (XB 3583 Aradur® 3486 LMB 6432) developed by the ATR Group and Huntsman that produces detailed composite parts in a single shot and reduces component weight by minimising the amount of resin required, has been used on an award winning prototype engine air box for the Ferrari F430.
The weight of the prototype part was virtually halved from the aluminium original down from 4.1kg to 2.4kg. This was achieved by using a special, flexible silicone membrane
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rather than the usual metal RTM mould, so resin content could be reduced and reinforced fibre content increased.
Although highly complex, the prototype part was extremely accurate even the engine flange drill holes matched up with no further finishing. No bonding was needed to connect parts such as inserts and internal auxiliary structures as they were formed in the mould during the RTM process.
Contact
www.huntsman.com/advanced_materials
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