Czech composite parts supplier CompoTech (Suez, Czech Republic) has recently launched a new series of lightweight carbon fiber (CF) epoxy composite beam products, available in round tube or square and size options, or can be specified Instead of steel.
CompoTech said that the standard square beam is made of graphite and PAN carbon fiber using its automated robot-assisted fiber placement technology, which can place continuous fibers along the axis of the beam. As a result, compared with conventional filament wound beams of the same size, the high-strength carbon epoxy composite beam has 10-15% higher axial stiffness and up to 50% bending strength.
All CompoTech beams are produced using automatic wire laying (AFP) and are precision pressed using a wet two-part epoxy resin system. The curing process is divided into two stages, first at room temperature to eliminate any residual stress that may cause deformation during molding, and then post-mold curing in an oven. Compared with pultrusion, CompoTech said its pressing technology can provide precision CF epoxy beams with very high dimensional accuracy and close tolerance surface finish, which usually does not require expensive CNC finishing.
According to CompoTech, its carbon fiber composite beams have enabled manufacturers of modular industrial tooling systems (such as Bilsing Automation GmbH, Attendorn, Germany) to replace much heavier steel and aluminum beams, providing significant production advantages , Such as faster operating speed and higher productivity; less vibration and faster damping; greater load handling capacity on the same line; reduced energy consumption and lifetime operating costs; easy to assemble and can be used for needs Structure of bolt connection.
Successful applications of CompoTech products in the aerospace, agriculture, automotive, metering, marine and sports equipment markets include industrial machine tool beams; drive shafts; automated automotive stamping production lines T-arms, structural frames and beams; crop sprayer booms; aerospace Structure; yacht masts and spars; and composite bicycle frames.
Standard square beam options include hollow-angled "bolted" connector beams to extend the length, and beams designed with reinforced corners to increase stiffness, damping, and load-bearing performance.
The size of the standard square beam is 60 x 60 x 5 mm, the wall thickness is 1.7 kg/m, the axial E (elastic) modulus is 196 GPa, the maximum beam is 200 x 200 x 8 mm, and the weight is 4.19 kg/m. The E modulus is 210 GPa, which matches the tool steel. The stiffness design achieves an elastic modulus of 327gpa, which is said to be 69% higher than stainless steel (193gpa) and 56% higher than tool steel (210gpa). The length of the square beam varies between 2.3-5.0m according to the size.
Standard carbon fiber epoxy round pipe, its E modulus is 90 GPa, made of polyacrylonitrile carbon fiber. The size of the pipe ranges from an inner diameter of 428 mm x wall thickness of 4 mm, and a weight of 6.92 kg/m to an inner diameter of 10 mm x wall thickness of 2 mm, and a weight of only 0.11 kg/m. Depending on the diameter, the length of the standard tube is between 3.6-7.8 meters.
The quantity of standard tubes and square beams ranges from one-time to multi-batch orders. Upon request, CompoTech stated that the company will seek to add more sizes to the standard round beam and square beam series, and continue to provide custom design and manufacturing services for industrial beams and other carbon fiber composite parts to meet specific customer requirements.