Lightweight construction boasts big market potential for fibre composites

Weight reduction is one of the most important development criteria across numerous growth industries - not only in the automotive industry, aviation, mechanical engineering and wind power, but also in infrastructure, medical technology and in the marine and sports and leisure sector. Weight is not only reduced by using lighter materials but also by integrating functions and focusing more on load and material driven engineering. This can also be seen in Stuttgart at Composites Europe from 6 to 8 November 2018 as well as at the Lightweight Technologies Forum, which is taking place in parallel.

Interface between integrative and hybrid lightweight construction

Fibre composites bring their strengths to bear especially in multi-material lightweight construction. It has now become clear that the requirements of modern lightweight construction can no longer be met by single materials - optimum solutions can only be achieved with hybrid lightweight construction. The Lightweight Technologies Forum at Composites Europe shows, for the third time, how the application sectors of integrative and hybrid lightweight construction can be brought together. The combined exhibition and lecture forum serves as a cross-material interface between metal and fibre composite technologies in structural components. In applications-oriented themed sessions expert practitioners will address current issues related to composite materials in the automotive, aviation & aerospace and architecture sectors. Participation in the Forum is included in the admission ticket for visitors to Composites Europe. For further information on the forum content go to: www.lite-forum.com

Longer range thanks to lightweight construction

The innovation drivers for lightweight construction are the aerospace and automotive industries: each kilogramme saved on a means of transport means one kilogramme extra payload. A 100 kilogramme lighter car consumes around 0.5 litres less fuel per 100 km. With electric vehicles, the range increases accordingly. An Airbus A 320 requires 10,000 litres less kerosene per year if it weighs 100 kilogrammes less. Considering that materials account for 44.3 percent of the costs in the manufacturing industry, the savings potential available here quickly becomes clear

Composites Europe 2018 in Stuttgart

Technological advances in the process chain are among the current drivers pushing the development of efficient lightweight construction solutions and their implementation in high-volume production. From 6 to 8 November, Composites Europe will show all the manufacturing processes used to make fibre-reinforced plastics, from raw materials and processing methods to lightweight construction innovations in automotive engineering, aerospace, boatbuilding, wind energy and construction.

Visitors will find more than 400 exhibitors from 30 countries in Stuttgart, the leading technology region of the industry, here in Germany, the leading research and development country worldwide. On display will be state-of-the-art technology and the potential of composites – and not just in the exhibition space but also in the numerous event areas, lecture forums, themed guided tours and workshops.