BMW first started the additive manufacturing of prototype parts back in 1991, for concept vehicles. By 2010, plastic-and metal-based processes were being rolled out, initially in smaller series, to produce items such as the additively manufactured water pump wheel in the DTM race cars. Further series production applications followed from 2012 on, with a range of components for the Rolls-Royce Phantom, BMW i8 Roadster (2017) and MINI John Cooper Works GP (2020), which contains no less than four 3D-printed components as standard.

Last year, the company produced about 300,000 parts by additive manufacturing. The Additive Manufacturing Campus currently employs up to 80 associates and operates about 50 industrial systems that work with metals and plastics. Another 50 systems are in operation at production sites around the world.

Access to the latest technologies is gained through long-standing partnerships with manufacturers and universities, and by successfully scouting for industry newcomers. Back in 2016, BMW i Ventures invested in the Silicon Valley-based company Carbon, whose Digital Light Synthesis technology achieved a breakthrough in planar processes, using a planar light projector to enable super-fast component production.

Further investments were made in 2017, when the company became involved with Desktop Metal, a start-up specialising in additive manufacturing of metal components and developing innovative, highly productive manufacturing procedures. Close collaborations with Desktop Metal continue. In the same year, BMW i Ventures invested in the US start-up Xometry, a platform for on-demand manufacturing.

The latest investment was in the German start-up ELISE, which allows engineers to produce component DNA containing all the technical requirements for the part, from load requirements and manufacturing restrictions to costs and potential optimisation parameters. ELISE then uses this DNA, along with established development tools, to automatically generate optimum components.

The pre-development unit of the Additive Manufacturing Campus optimises new technologies and materials for comprehensive use across the company. The main focus is on automating process chains that have previously required large amounts of manual work, to make 3D printing more economical and viable for use on an industrial scale over the longer term.

The Additive Manufacturing Campus is also making a contribution to series production of plastic parts. In the POLYLINE project, the focus is on aspects such as digitally linking process steps, and the development of a consistent quality assurance methodology for the entire process chain. The Additive Manufacturing Campus will provide the backdrop for the project’s consortium of 15 partners to develop and test a future-proof, fully linked, automated production line for plastic components. Findings from the project are expected to help reduce manufacturing costs by as much as 50 percent, making a vital contribution to series production. In addition, integrated quality assurance methods will increase the stability of technologies and make manufacturing more sustainable.

Along with component manufacturing, the team at the Campus provides personal consultations and training courses for BMW facilities around the world that all manufacture 3D-printing components already, be it for prototypes or production, or as country-specific parts for customers.

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The suit is integrated with the company’s cloud-based software system which can connect to the industrial Internet of Things and the Smart Factory. The software allows the suit to be personalised for multiple users and comes with a range of apps to further customise the device.

Weighing in at 7.4kgs, the company teamed up with SGL Carbon who assisted in the development of a new carbon fibre load-bearing structure which makes the device stronger and much lighter than previous models.

Combined with the Cray X power suit is the all-new smart Cray Visor which connects wirelessly to the suit and integrates a heads-up display allowing for instructions and other useful information to be displayed on the screen. What’s more, it also helps protect wearers from airborne health risks.

The device is available to buy now and features a “Robotics-as-a-Service” pricing model which allows companies to access the product for a monthly fee with prices starting at €699.

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Researchers at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) have been working with Invent GmbH and the Technical University of Munich on the FlexMat project, which is investigating this question.

Direct transitions between the fixed part of the wing and the moving control surfaces or high-lift devices need to be avoided. Researchers say this could be achieved by adding a flexible skin between the fixed-wing and the moving components, however, things become more difficult when the requirements for such a skin is considered. It needs to be able to withstand extreme aerodynamic loads, but it must not be too stiff, otherwise, the systems driving the moving components would have to be able to exert additional force. Among other things, laminar flow wings result in lower drag, which is beneficial for the environment.

Continuous transitions between flap systems and the main aerofoil would be a huge advantage for future laminar flow wings, which allow air to pass around them without turbulence. This could reduce airflow turbulence and ensure laminar stability.

Martin Radestock of the DLR Institute of Composite Structures and Adaptive Systems

An aircraft configuration based on the Airbus A320 provided the foundation for research on FlexMat. The research team concentrated on the outboard area of the wing and the slat on the leading edge was replaced with a variable-shape leading-edge, referred to as a droop flap, a transition skin between the aileron and the trailing edge of the wing was also installed.

The transition skin tested by DLR has a span of one metre. It consists of a mix of materials, comprising synthetic rubber – ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM) and glass-fibre reinforced composites. The rubber forms the basis for the skin, into which the researchers inserted glass-fibre plates at varying intervals, on both the outer and inner surfaces. The deformation properties of the transition skin can be adjusted by means of the soft, flexible rubber and the positioning of the rigid glass-fibre strips. The researchers endeavoured to keep local deformations to a minimum so that the glass-fibre composites and rubber did not separate.

The final tests using a demonstrator showed that the wing skin being tested is very hard-wearing and can be deformed to a large extent, In the event of extreme deformation, the only thing that needs care is the paintwork, to make sure that it does not crack. The use of a flexible skin on wing leading edges has been shown to be feasible. Further testing will be carried out to check the extent to which noise and drag can actually be reduced using this technique and determine the maximum load limit of the skin.

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The DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) is a touring car series sanctioned by the German motorsports federation. The series is mostly based in Germany but has rounds elsewhere including Belgium and the Netherlands, Manufacturers taking part in the series include Audi and BMW while the vehicles used are based on mass-produced road cars.

The first natural fibre parts using bcomp’s flax fibre technologies have already been validated by BMW Motorsport and Audi Sport during the last DTM tests in Jerez (SPA) and Vallelunga (IT). As a result, the technologies are being introduced into mandatory parts and the technical regulations to enable a direct material changeover from carbon fibre to natural fibres on further applications.

With high exposure to contact, the DTM shoebox is a typical motorsport bodywork wear part which needs to be replaced or repaired after almost every race. With Bcomp’s natural fibre technologies the part can achieve the same weight as with carbon fibre while additionally taking advantage of the anti-splintering and environmental benefits.

Bcomp’s patented powerRibs reinforcement grid, has the same weight as carbon fibre parts, but significantly lower the eco-footprint, improving cost-efficiency, and eliminating the risk of sharp carbon fibre debris.

Further parts to showcase the potential to transfer the sustainable lightweighting solutions from race to road are already in development and will be introduced by the DTM and Bcomp through-out the season.

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Baillie Gifford, known for their track record of investing in technology companies such as Amazon, Tesla, Airbnb and SpaceX has invested $35 million into the company.

The news comes less than three months after Lilium confirmed it had received $240m in additional funding from existing investors including Atomico, Freigeist, LGT and Tencent, who led the investment round.

The funds raised during this round give us the security to weather the challenging economic landscape we see around us and we’re grateful to be able to stay fully focused on our mission

The new funds bring the total sum raised to date to more than $375m, which will be used to support further development of the Lilium Jet as well as underpinning preparations for serial production in Lilium’s newly-completed manufacturing facilities.

The Lilium Jet, constructed using carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) is a new type of aircraft that the company says will deliver regional journeys that are considerably faster than rail or road, yet competitive in price. The demonstrator aircraft first flew in May 2019 and is a five-seater, fully-electric aircraft that can take-off and land vertically (eVTOL). Lilium expects to service a sizeable global market demand by connecting communities at a fraction of the cost of conventional high-speed infrastructure, with zero operating emissions.

As well as designing and manufacturing the Lilium Jet, the company plans to operate a regional air mobility service as early as 2025 in several regions around the world. It recently celebrated the completion of the first stage of flight testing, with the five-seater Lilium Jet demonstrator flying at speeds exceeding 100 km/h.

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Materials made of composites are suited for battery enclosures for different reasons: Besides their lightweight, which enhances the electric vehicle’s range, fibre-reinforced plastics offer high stiffness. In addition, they meet high requirements for water and gas tightness and feature excellent fire protection properties. Composite materials can also help to achieve improved structural stiffness of the underbody, e.g. to protect against penetration, as well as optimised thermal management. Carbon fibres are ideal for especially stressed structures or load-bearing elements, such as the underbody panels and side frames. For components subjected to less stress, such as battery box covers, glass fibres or a fibre mix may suffice.

In addition to the new application for the hybrid model battery enclosure, SGL Carbon will continue producing the usual components made of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic for the BMW i3 and delivering materials for the Carbon Core body of the BMW 7 series and has been nominated as the supplier for all carbon materials – fibres, textiles, stacks – for the BMW iNEXT, set to be launched in 2021.

Over the years SGL has supplied a number of automotive manufacturers with carbon materials and composite components, from sports car parts to large-scale deliveries of leaf springs and structural components.

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Old wind power generators have to be disposed of – whether due to material fatigue or simply because they are being replaced by larger and more efficient systems. A study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT predicts that the 15,000 rotor blades that will have to be discarded in 2024 will be joined by another 72,000 in the subsequent three years. We already have environmentally friendly methods for disposing of the steel and concrete in the wind power generators, but recycling the rotor blades remains problematic.

Firmly bonded and nearly impossible to separate

Rotor blades are not made of steel. “That would be too heavy and inflexible. They are made largely of glass-fibre-reinforced plastic (GFRP) and balsa wood bonded with epoxy or polyester resin,” says Peter Meinlschmidt, project manager at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut, WKI in Braunschweig. This bond is extremely strong. It has to be: the rotor blades reach top speeds of more than 250 kilometres per hour, subjecting them to an enormous force. For single-origin recycling, however, this is precisely the problem, as it is very difficult to separate the individual components of the composite material.

A rotor blade contains around 15 cubic metres of balsa wood, which is not only one of the world’s lightest woods, but also extremely resistant to pressure. “That’s the key advantage of balsa over most plastic foams,” explains Meinlschmidt. Previously, there was no possibility to recover it when disposing of the old rotor blades. “Although it has hardly any energy content, it is burned as a composite material, usually in cement factories. The cement raw materials have to be heated up to about 1500 degrees Celsius before they coalesce and form cement clinker, so these factories require a great deal of energy. In addition, the melted glass fibres and the ash can later be added to the cement and replace portions of the quartz sand that would otherwise have to be input into the process.” But the number of cement plants in Germany is limited (there are 53 in total), and so is their need for rotor blades as combustion material.

Disassembling rotor blades with a water jet lance

But there is still hope for getting the impending flood of rotor blades under control: Meinlschmidt and his team – Fraunhofer ICT colleagues and industry partners – have developed a new recycling technology. To recover and recycle the balsa from the rotor blades, the detached blades are disassembled on the spot. “The conventional approach is to use a band saw to cut the rotor blades into thirds or quarters, but this is a relatively complex process. That’s why we came up with the idea to try it with a water jet lance instead. And what do you know: it was much faster and better,” says an enthusiastic Meinlschmidt. The lance can be mounted on a special vehicle and controlled from there. “The tremendous thrust would make it extremely difficult to guide the lance by hand.” Then, while still on-site, the 10- to 20-metre-long rotor blade segments are fed into a mobile shredder that breaks them into pieces about the size of the palm of a hand.

Finally, the research team uses an impact mill to separate these pieces into their individual components. To this end, they are set in rotation and hurled against metal at high speed. As Meinlschmidt explains, “The composite material then breaks apart because the wood is viscoplastic, while glass fibres and resin are very hard.”

Insulating with rotor blades

At Fraunhofer WKI, the balsa pieces are processed to make, for instance, ultra-light-weight wood-fibre insulation mats. “Currently around 10 per cent of building insulation materials are made from renewable resources – there’s room for improvement here.” With a density of fewer than 20 kilograms per cubic meter, these mats are so far unique on the market and provide similarly good insulation to common polystyrene-based materials.

The recycled balsa can also be used to produce a novel, elastic wood foam. For this, it is ground to a very fine powder and combined with a foaming agent. The foam’s stability is created by the wood’s own cohesive forces, which render synthetic adhesives superfluous. The foam is suitable for use as an environmentally friendly insulating material, but also as a packaging material that can simply be disposed of in the paper recycling container.

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Carbon fibre-reinforced plastics (CFRP) are one of the most versatile composite construction materials. They combine the positive mechanical properties of their constituent parts – a polymer matrix reinforced with high-strength carbon fibres – to create a solution that offers high strength, high stiffness and low density. So why are CFRPs still struggling to achieve a real breakthrough at a time of increasing concerns about energy and resource efficiency? One reason is their high production costs – and another is the difficulty of machining and processing CFRP components.

The conventional way of assembling carbon fibre-reinforced polymer components is to drill holes in the fabricated CFRP module and then glue in metal fasteners such as threaded inserts. Replacing conventional parts with lightweight components requires connections between the CFRP part and the conventional parts that are both detachable and secure.

The CarboLase project, started by Fraunhofer in 2017 pursued a different approach by integrating the fasteners in the textile preforms. The final CFRP is then produced with an additional curing process that includes the fasteners. This can significantly shorten production process chains. However, this method only works if the cut-outs for the fasteners in the textile preform are drilled with extreme precision.

The project team developed a CFRP component manufacturing process that checked all the boxes by opting for a three-pronged approach of CNC cutting, laser processing and automated handling. They combined the technologies for these individual process steps in a single robot cell and automated all the steps in between. First, the preform is created by cutting, stacking and assembling the textiles. Next, an ultrashort pulsed (USP) laser drills high-precision cut-outs in the preforms for the metal fasteners.

The USP laser offers a good alternative to conventional manufacturing – but only if the laser is integrated into the robot cell. In a traditional set-up, the ultrashort pulses would be guided to their destination using mirrors, but this is hardly practical on a robot arm. To tackle this problem, experts from Fraunhofer ILT and AMPHOS GmbH worked together to develop a novel technology for coupling the USP laser beam in and out. The USP laser source is connected to the scanner on the robot arm via a hollow-core fibre.

To test the new method and demonstrate its technical feasibility, the project partners produced a demonstrator of a B-pillar component and subjected it to extensive mechanical testing, which it passed with flying colours. In a series of both pullout and torsion tests, the joints produced using the CarboLase method performed better than those in CFRP components produced by conventional means. Thanks to the interlocking connection between the inserts and the matrix material, the CFRP components produced using this new method can withstand a maximum pullout force up to 50 per cent higher than conventionally manufactured components with glued-in inserts. Depending on the component design, this improvement in mechanical performance offers the potential to reduce the overall component thickness and weight.

The CarboLase method offers designers considerably more creative freedom when it comes to defining fastener size and position. Robots and scanners can move much more freely on both the meter and micron scales than static mechanical machining centres. This paves the way for efficient mass customization of CFRP components that goes beyond the current state of the art. The dynamic USP laser drilling process is of particular interest for lightweight components in the aerospace and automotive sectors, offering the potential to reduce the process and material costs of CFRP component manufacturing.

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From February the company will handle the concept, designing, prototyping, evaluations, marketing and technical research for next-generation automotive components, using the group’s capabilities to provide a range of solutions for next-generation vehicles.

The new centre is expected to speed up concept, designing, prototyping and the evaluation of technical proposals. In future the centre will develop marketing and research functions to explore opportunities for new technologies and M&A, aiming to accelerate developments with European automakers. The company also has plans to establish similar centres in both the United States and China to satisfy demands.

Teijin is targeting automotive composite business sales of approximately EUR 1.7 billion by 2030. Amid the ongoing shift toward Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric (CASE) vehicles, the automotive industry is urgently transforming its business models to create more lightweight and multifunctional next-generation vehicles.

The company has previously acquired Continental Structural Plastics Holdings Corporation back to become a Tier 1 supplier focused on multi-material automotive composite. In Europe, CSP’s French operation will open a new sheet moulding compound plant and Teijin has acquired leading automotive-composite suppliers Inapal Plásticos SA of Portugal and Benet Automotive s.r.o of Czech Republic.

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Founded in 2011 and located in Heinsberg Germany, C-M-P GmbH specialises in the development and manufacturing of customised prepregs and textiles made of carbon and other high-performance fibres.

With the addition of c-m-p, both companies can further strengthen their market position in the composites industry, as well as developing future composite materials. The acquired entity had been a 50:50 partnership between the original founders of c-m-p GmbH and DowAksa B.V. Through this acquisition, MCAM acquires 100% of the shares of c-m-p.

Within Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials (MCAM), the acquisition enhances our ability to produce prepreg solutions for customers in Europe, a further step in our mission of metal to plastic conversion which began more than 80 years ago Michael Koch, CEO Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials

The acquisition which is expected to be finalised in early March 2020 gives Mitsubishi Chemical the capability of producing prepreg materials in Europe, in addition to Mitsubishi Chemical’s capabilities in Asia and USA.

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