The Plastics Technology Center in Valencia, Spain, coordinates the European Recotrans program, their The goal is to develop an efficient and sustainable processing method that enables the manufacture of a range of advanced composite materials for automobiles, trains and trucks.
This new composite material blends thermoplastic polymer composites and metallic materials and thus results in lightweight, high-quality parts, but until now, due to the time-consuming and costly manufacturing process, this material is only suitable for short production times Series of parts.
Composites have many advantages in transportation and other industries because of their high performance and low weight, etc. However, the problem is also obvious that due to the complicated manufacturing method, it is unrealistic to achieve large-scale production.
The goal of this project in Europe Is to develop and implement a new efficient and sustainable manufacturing method that will eventually enable the mass production of new composite materials for the transportation industry The project is made of a lighter, high-quality hybrid structure made of thermoplastic polymer composites and metals whose production will contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions due to time and energy savings resulting in low costs .
In particular, the project will develop two innovative technologies:One is the RTM process for obtaining long-fiber thermoplastic composites and microwave pulsing, and the other is laser welding technology that can incorporate metal inserts into the composite Combining these new technologies, three samples were made: Mainly consists of a Mercedes-Benz support pillar, a roof of a train made by Stadler, and a car door made by Gestamp.
In the first phase of the project, project leaders will focus on material requirements, the fit of materials and three sample manufacturing systems, and the selection and adaptability of materials for a 42-month project from seven countries Of the 13 partners to participate and received the European Union 2020 research and innovation projects funded grants agreement number 768,737.