AVK, the German Federation of Reinforced Plastics, presented its Innovation Awards at the new JEC Forum DACH in Frankfurt on November 23^rd.

First place in the Innovative Products/Applications category was awarded to Nabasco Products and partners for N-BMC traffic signs made of SMC (sheet moulding compound) which are more sustainable than conventional aluminium products. All the raw materials are purchased within a radius of 500 kilometres of manufacture. The signs have already been awarded the bronze level Cradle-2-Cradle certificate for sustainability.

Evonik Operations GmbH took second place for its ultra-tough vinyl ester resin for use in the construction of large marine vessels and third place was awarded to MAN Energy Solutions and partners for the development of an air intake housing with a multi-material design for gas turbines.

Processes

First place in the Innovative Processes category was awarded to the BMW Group and Renolit for an in-mould wrapping process – a new type of component coating for a sustainable fibre composite exteriors. The process reduces the time, materials and costs associated with surface coatings by applying a film to the component during pressing. Conventional surface preparation and painting processes usually cause a large proportion of the CO2 emissions that occur during the production of components. The new process is suitable for a variety of thermoset pressing processes and uses films that can be vacuum-formed without additional heating steps. In total, the process can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 93% compared to standard painting techniques.

Second place went to Lufthansa Technik and its partner iSAM for the adaptive automated repair of composite structural components in the aerospace sector. The robot-based, adaptive automated repair system uses path planning software to conduct repairs on a range of composite structural parts. The areas being repaired can cover several square metres on multi-curved components and the system can achieve accuracies of up to ± 0.06 mm.  

CTC GmbH came in third place for its automated surface pre-treatment using VUV excimer lamps.

Research and Science

First place in the Research and Science category was awarded to the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and partners for Bondline Control Technology (BCT). This process is used for the quality control and assurance of bonded joints. The core element is a porous fabric which is applied to a joining surface using an epoxy adhesive or matrix resin. Peeling away the fabric creates a chemically reactive and undercut surface that can also be used as a test to check adhesion to the substrate.

Second place was taken by the Institute of Textile Technology (ITA) at RWTH Aachen University and its partners for StoneBlade – a lightweight construction with granite project for the wind industry.

Third place went to the Dresden University of Technology – Institute for the development of a lightweight construction and plastics technology with its partner Mercedes, for a highly integrated inductive charging module for electric vehicles.

“As usual, the submissions included a lot of very interesting and promising products and processes this year,” said Dr Elmar Witten, managing director of the AVK. “The Innovation Awards highlight the outstanding efficiency, cost-effectiveness and sustainability of fibre-reinforced plastics.”

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