{"id":16886,"date":"2020-08-31T21:02:51","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T01:02:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acmanet.org\/?p=16886"},"modified":"2025-02-04T16:19:57","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T21:19:57","slug":"strength-in-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acmanet.org\/strength-in-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"Strength in Numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two years ago, leaders from material supplier Johns Manville and engineering firm Forward Engineering met for the first time at an automotive conference in Michigan. Initial conversations about a shared interest in developing innovative lightweighting solutions quickly led to a formal collaboration between the two companies. In May 2019, the companies participated in a design challenge at ACMA\u2019s Composites Technology Day at Ford Motor Company, presenting a jointly-developed design for a structural thermoplastic battery enclosure.<\/p>\n

Collaborations such as this one are key to continued growth of the composites industry. \u201cThe industry needs complete solutions,\u201d says Adam Halsband, managing director of Forward Engineering North America LLC. \u201cBringing together experts at every stage of the product development process and every point along the value chain maximizes the potential to prepare a complete solution that will resonate with the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

While all industries talk about the importance of breaking down silos and working together, collaboration is imperative in the highly complex world of composites with exacting demands on material performance, processing technologies and end-use requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201cA broader view from different perspectives provides a much wider spectrum of information regarding requirements of the market, but also more versatile solutions,\u201d says Martin Grosskreutz, sales director of Roth Composite Machinery. \u201cThe composites industry has a bright future if companies, government agencies, universities and other institutions see the benefits and enhance the implementation of composites in our daily life.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Network of Companies<\/strong><\/p>\n

In June, Roth Composite Machinery launched a four-year partnership with AZL Aachen GmbH. One of the initial activities will be contributing to a joint study on filament winding technologies for composite pressure tanks as part of AZL\u2019s workgroup on composite pipes and vessels. The working group is one of six spearheaded by AZL, which partners with more than 80 companies to pursue business and technology development.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe offer our network a systematic approach to jointly identify business opportunities and market potential for lightweight technologies,\u201d says Kai Fischer, managing partner of AZL Aachen GmbH. \u201cWe then develop these technologies involving our partners from industry and our high-tech ecosystem at the RWTH Aachen University campus, where several hundred collaborations on composite and lightweight solutions are initiated each year.\u201d AZL partners have completed many projects, including material and processing benchmarks for thermoplastic tapes, ultra-fast manufacturing of tailored composite blanks and development of a low-cost, energy-efficient double belt press.<\/p>\n

The new benchmarking study aims to provide economic insights on composite technologies in high pressure vessels, a key enabling technology for sustainable transportation in automotive, trucks and rail. AZL has assembled a team of experts along the value chain to provide realistic production figures and cost, including Roth Composite Machinery.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen enormous cost reduction in carbon fiber pressure vessels in the upper two-digit percentage range within the last decade because of the transformation to high-volume production,\u201d says Michael Emonts, managing partner of AZL Aachen GmbH. \u201cFuture cost cuts will require a more efficient use of materials. This can only be achieved by close cooperation of experts along the entire process chain who discuss fields of action, derive roadmaps and implement R&D projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an equipment supplier that has installed more than 550 machines around the world, Roth offers expertise in filament winding technology processes. \u201cWe can contribute a very special and detailed knowledge as to what filament winding processes require, how they work and which productivity advantages they can offer,\u201d says Andreas Reimann, managing director of Roth Composite Machinery.<\/p>\n

Complementary Expertise<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just as AZL fosters industry growth through collaboration, so too does ACMA as the industry\u2019s largest trade association. \u201cThe Composites Technology Day at Ford that ACMA initiated really created a mechanism for [Forward Engineering and Johns Manville] to highlight the work we are doing together,\u201d says Halsband.<\/p>\n

As part of the event, Ford held a design challenge, assembling a list of several complex parts manufactured by the OEM and asking companies to re-imagine the parts as composites-intensive designs. Participating companies had approximately five weeks to complete the project from the time the challenge was issued to their presentation at the Composites Technology Day. \u201cTo do a good job really required the support of multiple companies,\u201d says Halsband. \u201cNo single company could do it justice.\u201d\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Dana Miloag\u0103 agrees. \u201cUnless a company happened to have worked on a related concept, it was very difficult for anyone to respond by themselves,\u201d says Miloag\u0103, product leader for composites at Johns Manville. \u201cWe reached out to other companies in our network for specific topics, particularly regarding manufacturability because one of Ford\u2019s requirements for the part was that it can be manufactured in large numbers per year. We wanted to show that the concept we proposed, from a material and manufacturing perspective, met that requirement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miloag\u0103\u2019s team presented a structural battery enclosure made from Johns Manville\u2019s new AP Nylon 6 Organosheets, which utilize a proprietary continuous manufacturing process featuring in situ polymerization of caprolactum to form the polyamide 6 thermoplastic. While Johns Manville is the materials expert, Forward Engineering contributed its know-how in simulation-driven design and production-based engineering. In addition, the firm has worked on battery electric vehicles and battery enclosures for several years.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the challenges faced by companies further up the value chain is translating the unique features of your product to attributes that resonate with the end customer,\u201d says Miloag\u0103. \u201cPutting those attributes into the context of a finished part completely changes the conversation and was a key driver for this initiative\u201d<\/p>\n

Miloag\u0103 adds that as a material supplier, Johns Mansville was excited to have a design engineering firm on its side. \u201cThe more aspects of a solution you have in a collaboration \u2013 materials, design and manufacturing \u2013 the more credibly you are able to present the value proposition and the greater the chances that solution will be considered [by an OEM] and make its way into a commercial application,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

A Good Material Match<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perhaps the most common collaborations within the composites industry are among suppliers who work together to ensure that specific combinations of materials yield the right results. While it may not seem novel for suppliers of resins, reinforcements, additives and fillers, core materials and surface finishes to team up, it\u2019s incredibly important \u2013 and might not happen as often as you think or to the degree required.<\/p>\n

One example of a true partnership is the collaboration between 3A Composites Core Materials and Vectorply Corporation, both of whom distribute their products through Composites One. The two material suppliers have worked on projects together for more than a dozen years, but began taking their relationship to the next level in 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlass and core are natural collaborative ingredients to a laminate,\u201d says Richard Knipe, sales director for 3A Composites. \u201cOver the last three years, we\u2019ve developed proprietary combination products.\u201d Many of the products are designed for infusion processing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen customers switch from open mold to infusion, they often experience challenges in achieving the cosmetic surface they were used to with open mold laminates,\u201d says Knipe. \u201cTo assist, we collaborate with Vectorply, who stitch their glass fiber to our core. By doing so, we create a far better cosmetic condition and eliminate a step for the customer in laying out the glass and the core separately.\u201d<\/p>\n

The companies currently have nearly 100 combinations of glass and core for the marine and industrial markets, and they are moving into aerospace. \u201cVectorply and 3A are continuously working on closed mold applications where our joint goal is to bring consistent thickness, flow and cosmetics with a single fabric solution while reducing overall cost,\u201d says Tamir Levy, vice president of sales for Vectorply.<\/p>\n

Working together helps ensure that suppliers don\u2019t think solely about their product \u2013 their narrow piece of the puzzle. \u201cYou have to look at the total solution, and a lot of the solution is in the process,\u201d says Jordan Haar, southeast regional sales manager for Vectorply. \u201cIt\u2019s about constantly pushing the envelope by taking more feed lines out, more consumables out and reducing the cycle times required by manufacturers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although team members from 3A and Vectorply don\u2019t share office space, they are in constant communication and, before the COVID-19 pandemic, often met in person at customer\u2019s facilities, trade shows, golf outings and other venues. Developing strong professional and personal relationships with fellow suppliers breeds innovation, says Levy.<\/p>\n

Tips to Foster Teamwork<\/strong><\/p>\n

Composites industry professionals involved in collaborations echo a statement made by Levy. \u201cThe more collaboration we have, the brighter the future will look for our industry,\u201d he says. But believing in the concept of collaboration is quite different from making cross-industry partnerships work in day-to-day operations. Here are eight tips for finding partners and cultivating collaborations:<\/p>\n