OREANDA-NEWS. March 20, 2014. ThyssenKrupp is to take part in the world’s biggest composites show. The company will be displaying its capabilities in carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) at booth M35 in hall 7.2 at the JEC Europe show in Paris.

Composites represent a cross-cutting technology at ThyssenKrupp. Five of the Group’s six business areas are active in this area. Last year the Group opened its own TechCenter Carbon Composites in Kesselsdorf near Dresden as a center of excellence for the development of this technology of the future.

As a diversified industrial group, ThyssenKrupp has expertise in both the use and manufacture of CFRP parts. In naval shipbuilding, for example, ThyssenKrupp’s know-how covers the complete production chain for CFRP components, from design and simulation to quality assurance. The Materials Services business area is stepping up its supplies of composites to aerospace companies and aircraft manufacturers. This is an area in which custom processing and appropriate storage of composite products and materials is gaining in importance.

ThyssenKrupp System Engineering, part of the Industrial Solutions business area, has moved into production of composite parts with its Lightweight Solutions division. ThyssenKrupp System Engineering is also a leading supplier of dies, production equipment and automation systems. Customers include automotive OEMs and aircraft manufacturers. In the Components Technology business area, ThyssenKrupp is developing a variety of lightweight chassis and steering components.

In 2012 ThyssenKrupp established ThyssenKrupp Carbon Components GmbH as a joint venture with a spin-off from Dresden University of Technology. The company produces CFRP wheels which are 30 to 50 percent lighter than conventional alloy wheels.

The TechCenter Carbon Composites was established as a logical extension of ThyssenKrupp’s CFRP development activities. The innovative solutions developed there will benefit all users of CFRP in the ThyssenKrupp Group. A key area of the center’s work is the development of production and simulation technologies for a broad range of materials, including hybrids of steel and CFRP. The TechCenter has the equipment and facilities to simulate production-ready manufacturing processes and produce prototypes and small production runs.

In its work on CFRP materials, ThyssenKrupp collaborates closely with universities and research institutes. Under the InEco project, for example, the company cooperated with the Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology at Dresden University of Technology and Leichtbau-Zentrum Sachsen GmbH to develop solutions for an ultralight electric vehicle. InEco uses an innovative material mix of high-strength lightweight steels and CFRP.

Examples of current research and development projects on display at JEC will include the new lightweight wheels from ThyssenKrupp Carbon Components, a CFRP-steel part from the InEco project, shipbuilding components, and a CFRP steering column.