Covestro is further developing continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites (CFRTP) products and capabilities to respond to market trends and meet growing customer demand.
Maezio ™ CFRTP composites are made of continuous carbon fiber thermoplastic resins such as polycarbonate.
At present, Covestro's Leverkusen laboratory is researching a new production line to develop new products with different carbon fiber and resin combinations, and intends to mass-produce it at the Markt Bibart production site in southern Germany.
"We are seeing strong demand for lightweight, thin and beautiful composites, and thermoplastic composites like Maezio ™ cater to those needs," said Lisa Ketelsen, Covestro's thermoplastic composites business leader.
"In order to meet the growing application needs, we need a wider product portfolio with different matrix materials and properties. The new carbon fiber ribbon production line combined with our batch production line will help us to quickly iterate and expand according to the market.
Research and development of new thermoplastic composites
One of the products being developed is based on thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) CFRTP, which has excellent chemical resistance and flexibility over a wide temperature range. Demand for this powerful and diverse product is strong, especially in the footwear and sports equipment industries.
It is reported that thermoplastic composite materials can significantly increase the production speed of mass production, and can be molded by molding and nearly once, thereby eliminating the need for many secondary processing.
In addition, due to their recyclability, they are ideal for the growing demand for sustainable materials solutions.
Strengthen technical processing expertise
At the same time, Covestro invested in new hybrid injection molding machines for CFRTP plants in Germany and China to consolidate the processing technology of complex three-dimensional composite parts, thereby supporting the industry's application development.
A hybrid injection molding machine combines the thermoforming of composite semi-finished parts with in-mold injection molding to form a fully automatic one-step processing technology, thereby reducing production time and increasing the efficiency of mass production of composite parts.
At present, Covestro is working closely with its machining partners such as Krauss Maffei and Engel to provide customers with comprehensive support for the product development process.