Heraeus Noblelight Ltd., based in Cambridge (UK), the center of excellence for flash systems technology and Addcomposites (Finland) the leading provider of automated fiber placement solutions have been selected as a CAMX 2021 award finalist. Heraeus Noblelight and Addcomposites are one of 15 finalists in the „Unsurpassed Innovation Award“ category.
The CAMX Awards recognizes two innovations that will significantly impact composites and advanced materials. The awards are divided into two categories that embody the spirit of CAMX – „Combined Strength“ and „Unsurpassed Innovation“. The „Unsurpassed Innovation“ Award celebrates a product with a design that incorporates low-cost materials for high-volume applications that can change the outlook of a particular market.
The partnership between Heraeus Noblelight and Addcomposites began with a vision to expand the implementation of advanced composites manufacturing into industries beyond aerospace, such as mobility, marine, sports, etc. Most of these non-aerospace industries do not have the resources required to access the same cutting-edge technology that is used to advance the manufacturing and research being performed in aerospace level.
Making aerospace technology accessible to the wider composites industry
Heraeus Noblelight“s humm3 heating technology has been combined with Addcomposites AFP-XS Automated Fiber Placement System to provide a revolutionary technology that extends access to the high-tech composites production capability beyond the aerospace industry. The AFP-XS enables almost any robot cell to be used for automated fiber placement and fiber winding with the humm3 heating system enabling processing of high-temperature dry fiber and thermoplastic materials without the need for a laser enclosure or the associated safety burden. Non-aerospace industries can now benefit from greater access to automated capability of the highest calibre.
The modularity of the technology enables users to increase their capability whilst reducing cost and improving the organization“s ability to operate sustainably. Sustainability has been at the heart of this project, as the technology enables companies that may have been prevented from playing a leading part in decarbonization to contribute to the development of lightweight mobility and alternative fuel storage. Therefore, creating the opportunity to incorporate automated production of high-performance, recyclable, thermoplastic composites locally. This powerful, yet affordable technology extends the opportunity to contribute to many more with the talent to do so, and hopefully will increase the speed of decarbonization through the lightweighting process globally.
Bruce Fricks Composites Sales Manager for Heraeus Noblelight said: „it“s thrilling to have been shortlisted and recognized by an industry-leading event such as CAMX. This truly is a testament to the great working relationship between Heraeus and Addcomposites and the advantages of the technologies.“
Pravin Luthada Co-Founder and CEO of Addcomposites added: „We are excited to be recognized by CAMX for the solution provided in collaboration with Heraeus. It offers both high speed thermoplastic and dry fiber production, while being modular enough to quickly switch to run thermoset prepregs. This is all offered on either a monthly basis or for purchase, based on the manufacturers“ / R&D centers“ needs.“
Judging will be conducted by a panel of industry experts and will be announced on Tuesday 19th October 2021 from 08:30 am to 10 am CDT.
-Addcomposites will be exhibiting at CAMX 2021 and can be located at Booth K106
-Heraeus Noblelight will be exhibiting at CAMX 2021 and can be located at Booth AA47
-Don“t miss Dr. Michael Edwards (Simulation Engineer at Heraeus Noblelight) presentation titled „Optimization of Xenon Flashlamp heating in Thermoplastic Automated Fiber Placement“ on Tuesday 19th October at 08:00 am CDT
Keywords:CAMX2021, innovation, CAMX awards, accessible technology, humm3?, AFP-XS, automated fiber placement, AFP, filament winding, sustainability, decarbonization