LESLIE takes off
New lightweight construction solutions for large-scale series production from FRIMO and 3D|CORE™
09 / 2013 - In conjunction with Composites Europe, which is being held from 17-19 September 2013 in Stuttgart, the FRIMO Group GmbH with its headquarters in Lotte and ESC GmbH & Co. KG based in Herford are announcing their partnership in the development of cost-effective lightweight construction solutions for series production.
Hans-Günter Bayer, CEO of FRIMO Group, and Fritz M. Streuber, General Manager of Expanded Structured Composites GmbH & Co. KG, also known as 3D|CORE™, are signing a partnership agreement, which will serve as the basis for continuing the intensive collaboration on RTM process optimization which the two companies successfully began at the end of 2012.
L.E.S.L.I.E. is the name of the joint project that FRIMO and 3D|CORE™ are using to demonstrate new ways of effectively manufacturing even large-volume lightweight components to the interested professional audience. L.E.S.L.I.E. stands for “Low Energy, Speed and Less Input of Material and Equipment”. 3D|CORE™ is the leading manufacturer of structure-reinforcing foam cores. With the new product line C+, the users of carbon fiber can reduce the material input for fiber and resin by up to 50%. The acoustic, thermal and electrical insulation values and the vibration behaviour are improved significantly. As a technology specialist, FRIMO offers the full range of tooling and equipment for PU processing, and also has a long list of reference customers who use its RTM (Resin Transfer Molding) processes.
Meanwhile several PURe Mix and mixing and metering machines designed for the material-specific processing of polyurethane-based matrix materials such as VITROX® have been developed and built – equipment which is now also operating at customers’ facilities.
Karl-Heinz Stelzl, Director Advanced Technology at FRIMO, underscores the point: “Innovative solutions are needed for the large-scale industrial use of composites. And that will require completely new approaches. At the same time, practical means of reducing unit costs must be found in order to achieve truly sustainable lightweight construction solutions. We are firmly convinced that the only way this process can succeed is to make optimal use of advanced materials together with the right equipment.”
Along the road to electromobility, the automotive industry in particular is redoubling its efforts in its search for ways to significantly reduce vehicle weight. The use of conventional materials to achieve such weight reduction necessitates high investment costs and the resulting cycle times cannot even come close to satisfying the requirements. One example of an impressive technology demonstrating how fiber-composite components might be used in the automotive industry in the future which will be on display is the “Street Shark” (special presentation area / PDA, lobby, hall 6). The bonnet and roof module of this prototype are made of a VITROX®-based composite produced in a 3D|CORE™ sandwich construction. The two partners also see further application areas in boat and shipbuilding, in the aerospace industry, and in the tuning and racing segment.
Contact for further information and documentation
FRIMO Group GmbH
Martina Schierholt
Hansaring 6
D-49504 Lotte
Phone.: +49 (0) 54 04 / 8 86 - 1 57
Fax: +49 (0) 54 04 / 8 86 - 51 57
E-Mail: schierholt.m[at]frimo.com
