This appears to be a significant commitment on GM's part to advance the use of carbon-fiber composites in their product development and manufacturing processes. At some point, it would seem logical that the other automotive giants will do the same. Perhaps then, it's the tipping point?
Ann, do you happen to know if this an exclusive partnership with Tejin or is that company able to forge similar partnerships with other auto makers?
A composite body is exciting! We've been talking about repairs for aircraft; repairs on cars being much more common will help repair technology improve for all fields.
Beth, Teijin didn't want to divulge any more details. However, reading between the lines, the fact that the company opened a separate pilot plant in Japan, mentioned in the last paragraph, not related to the GM deal, makes me think the GM pact is more of a co-development relationship and non-exclusive, although there's been no mention of either exclusivity or non-exclusivity. Other statements in press releases and on Teijin's site sound like they want to make their material in high volumes for the auto industry as a whole.
Got it. It would makes sense over time for auto makers like GM to make investments or go beyond non-exclusive partnerships at some point as the use of carbon-fiber becomes more prevalent in automobiles. Better economies, I would think.
TJ, I couldn't agree more. The potential volumes achievable from automotive manufacturing should help catapult carbon fiber composites into the mainstream for several industries, with potential applications in aerospace, military and naval vehicles and aircraft.
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) has got to be a big part of this. Reaching 54.5 mpg by 2025 means automakers need to to squeeze every thing they can out of a gallon of gas.
Please don't comment on this subject regarding aircraft and autos in the same breath. What works for cars at ground level doesn't always work for multi-passenger aircraft at 30,000 feet and above! Although thermoplastic vs themoset has advantages, the fibres being built into the matrix are the strength carriers....thermoplastics will become brittle at low temperatures and high altitudes, both circumstances that simply don't exist in the automobile use.Besides aircraft users are looking at 25 years minimum lifespan and a lot of pressurizing and depressurizing takes place over that period of time.
Chuck, I agree, I just noted in a different article's thread that It seems everyone I'm talking to lately, whether composite makers, adhesive makers, coatings suppliers or even machine vision hardware vendors, are mentioning this as the driving force behind the trends impacting their products. And I think this time the automakers really mean it.
There is an increasing demand that vehicles are designed with end-of-life recycling as a main driver. Europe is aiming at 95% recovery (by weight) by 2015. I am not a plastics expert so how does the carbon composite fit in here? Is it a recyclable material?
For 3D printing to make the jump from rapid prototyping to manufacturing, engineers will need to find easier ways to move products from their CAD screens to their printers.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New versions of BASF's Ecovio line are both compostable and designed for either injection molding or thermoforming. These combinations are becoming more common for the single-use bioplastics used in food service and food packaging applications, but are still not widely available.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
2 
