- Roof module of sportscar honored with the Materialica Design + Technology Award 2014
- Paintable CFRP components come directly out of the mold
KraussMaffei received the Gold Award of the Materialica Design + Technology Awards 2014 in the category of “Surface & Technology”. The award was presented for the roof module of the Roding Roadster R1 sportscar. The reason: The carbon-fiber-reinforced component based on a polyurethane matrix is immediately paintable, because the fiber structure does not show on the surface.
Paintable components are produced by flow-coating with PU layer
The component is produced using the Surface-RTM process (surface resin transfer molding) developed by KraussMaffei in collaboration with partners. Paintable components are created by flow-coating the Surface-RTM component surface with a polyurethane layer directly in the cavity. This eliminates the need for any additional intermediate steps such as adding a primer or pre-finish. That saves on time-consuming rework, which can amount to up to 60 percent of the costs per component. The metering systems and the mixing heads operate in the high-pressure range during the surface resin transfer molding process. This makes it possible to use fast-reacting matrix resins. This shortens the cycle times to under 6 minutes, so that large quantities can be produced with the surface resin transfer molding process. The high fiber content of 50 percent by volume in the substrate ensures very good mechanical properties with low component weight.
C-RTM process allows optimum fiber wetting & low fiber displacement
The award-winning roof module consists of a CFRP continuous fiber in a quasi-isotropic configuration and has a surface area of approximately 0.45 m2. The part is 2 mm thick and its surface material is around 0.2 mm thick. It has a fiber content of around 50 percent. The C-RTM (compression) process also allows for optimum fiber wetting and low fiber displacement. In addition to the two partners who supplied PU systems, Henkel and Rühl Puromer, there are several other companies in KraussMaffei’s network of expertise. Dieffenbacher, Zoltek, Chomarat, Alpex, Mühlmeier and Roding Automotive were part of the joint trade-show project and involved in its implementation.
The Materialica Design + Technology Award is annually presented to outstanding design and technology products. The prize is awarded in gold and silver in four categories as part of the Materialica trade show in Munich, which took place with the slogan “Lightweight Design for New Mobility” on October 21 – 23 of this year.
Picture: Gold award -the CFRP roof module of the Roding Roadster R1 (source: KraussMaffei)
