On the path to industrialisation of pultrusion process
THE manufacture of vehicle parts made of composite materials instead of steel is a lightweight and therefore sustainable solution that reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. This also applies to commercial vehicles such as trucks, which are used heavily on a daily basis. Carbon Truck & Trailer GmbH (CarbonTT) designs truck chassis from carbon fibre-reinforced composites and has the know-how and various IP rights to manufacture and assemble them.
At K2019, Covestro will showcase such a composite component. It can be produced continuously by pultrusion with a Baydur PUL polyurethane (PU) matrix system. The material properties of the end part also meet stringent OEM specifications while enabling a lighter structure. Within seconds, the Baydur PUL low-viscosity system penetrates millions of carbon fibres perfectly and enables CarbonTT to achieve significant productivity gains.
The profile design of the composite part was developed and optimized by CarbonTT to meet the mechanical requirements, achieve maximum weight reduction and minimise costs. Covestro supports CarbonTT with its Baydur PUL system and with its expertise in optimal pultrusion processing. Pultrusion runs have been successfully performed to demonstrate the benefits of the PU system and are being expanded.
The pultrusion process is a continuous process that can be automated to a high degree and is currently in the process of achieving industrial application. This makes it possible to produce differentiated and complex composite parts extremely efficiently, especially if a suitable polyurethane resin is used.
