China's leading luggage manufacturer SHTJ recently announced the launch of a new carbon fiber suitcase that uses Covestro's Maezio® carbon fiber composite materials as the front and rear door panels of the suitcase to enhance design and quality while enhancing the compression resistance of the box.
Founded in 2005, SHTJ is committed to the design and development of original travel products, and its products have won many international design awards including the German Red Dot Award. The series carbon fiber suitcase creatively combines the aluminum-magnesium alloy frame with the carbon fiber door panel, and uses patented technology to make the two sides of the box seamlessly and tightly engaged, with double TSA customs code locks, double the explosion-proof and safety factor.
The perfect combination of performance and design
The use case of the suitcase determines that its material must stand the test. Carbon fiber reinforced composite materials are ideal materials for making boxes, but different composite materials have different properties. Covestro's Maezio® composites are based on polycarbonate resin. Polycarbonate has good impact resistance and is one of the most commonly used materials for rigid suitcases. The composite material that combines the characteristics of carbon fiber and polycarbonate has high strength and is not easy to deform. Compared with commonly used metal materials, it can improve the resistance of the suitcase without increasing the weight and reduce its impact after a strong impact. Deformation and depression provide better protection for items.
In actual tests, SHTJ carbon fiber suitcases have undergone rigorous load drop, load roller and ball impact tests. The performance of carbon fiber door panels is significantly better than the same type of metal door panels. In fact, the specific strength of Maezio® composites is more than twice that of aviation-grade 2 series aluminum alloys commonly used in aircraft structural parts.
In addition to performance, the appearance of carbon fiber materials is also an important factor to attract brands and consumers. Maezio® composite material has a unique unidirectional carbon fiber texture, which is different from the traditional woven texture, closer to wood grain, simple and natural, and full of scientific and technological sense, which can bring new design and imagination space for designers.
Rapid mass production
For suitcase manufacturers, when choosing a new material, it is necessary to consider not only excellent performance and novel appearance, but also that the material can meet mass production needs at a controlled cost. Carbon fiber suitcases are not uncommon in the market, but traditional epoxy-based thermosetting carbon fiber materials usually need to be processed by hand, which leads to the high price of carbon fiber suitcases, which is difficult to achieve mass production.
Maezio® composite materials are based on thermoplastic resins and can be hot-pressed by molds. The processing efficiency is high, suitable for mass production, and can effectively reduce production costs. The innovative design of the Tujia suitcase greatly simplifies the material processing process: the use of front and rear door panels instead of the overall structural design means that the carbon fiber sheet can be used to assemble the suitcase after simple cutting and coating. The performance advantages of carbon fiber materials have promoted rapid mass production, providing a new direction for the use of carbon fiber materials in suitcases.
Lisa Ketelsen, Head of Thermoplastic Composites at Covestro, said: "Maezio® thermoplastic composites have unique advantages in performance, design and mass production, which will greatly accelerate the large-scale application of carbon fiber in suitcases. We are also developing The overall structure of the carbon fiber suitcase is believed to benefit more consumers in the near future."