The rapid unwinding and consolidation in the global plastics industry is happening so fast that it seems major technology innovations are in danger of getting caught in the shuffle. Example: three to four years ago LPKF Laser and Electronics signed licensing agreements with BASF, Ticona, Degussa, and Bayer to develop materials that could be used in laser direct sintering. Most importantly, the materials need to incorporate laser-sensitive additives that contain metal. The plastics are then treated with lasers that engrave conducting tracks on the molded component. The parts are then metallized. The process is booming despite the fact that previous efforts at molded interconnect devices stalled, primarily due to high cost of tooling and equipment for two-shot processes. But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum. Bayer spun out its polyester business to a new company called Lanxess, and Degussa last fall became part of a company called Evonik Industries, a major specialty chemical company. Lanxess didn’t seem to lose a beat, and even introduced a new application last year. It’s less clear what’s happening with the Degussa project.
A new process for laser-welding large-scale, steel-aluminum foam sandwich structures for lightweighting ships, which eliminates intermetallic phase, has been demonstrated.
A major advance in repairing composite structures combining robots and lasers bodes well for commercial aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350XWB, which contain composites in large proportions of their structures.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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