JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #79 - March 2013 - 50

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Multifonctionnal materials

A thermally conductive
fibre-reinforced composite material
The innovation combines pitch-based
carbon fibres and a thermoset resin to
increase the thermal conductivity of
fibre-reinforced plastics from 0.4 W/
mK to 26 W/mK, especially in the
out-of-plane direction. The pitch-based
carbon fibres are combined, protected
against bending and integrated into a
honeycomb structure. The innovation
can be integrated in selected areas of
the honeycomb, and not necessarily in
all cells. Thus, money can be saved and
local properties can be modified. The
fibres in the cells can also be connected
to the skins of the honeycomb sandwich
to help avoid delamination.
Moreover, the heat flow is guided
from the in-plane direction through
the honeycomb to the other face sheet
where heat is dissipated.

Composites are used more and more
in applications that generate heat. Both
electronic components and the composite structure itself have to be protected
and kept at lower temperatures. The
innovation can conduct heat away from
heat sources or components in the desired directions. So, metal components
can be replaced by lighter fibre-reinforced plastics components. The service
temperature of the matrix system can
be increased because the continuous
fibres guide the heat away from the heat
source and avoid overheating.
A prototype has been built and the
innovation was submitted to the German Patent Agency in Munich.
There is a need for a thermally conductive fibre-reinforced composite in the

A tooling solution to evacuate hot dust
particles produced during cutting operations
The Aerotech® System is a tooling solution
that thoroughly evacuates hot dust particles produced during cutting operations.
By effectively air cooling the material and
cutter, it significantly reduces machining
temperatures. This allows manufacturers
of composite parts to consider dry cutting
their components, providing a practical
alternative to machining with coolants.
Heat produced while routing creates
problems for the cutter and material. Coolants or ‘wet cutting’ methods help resolve
this problem, but these fluids can have
an impact on human health and water
resources. Cruing identified the need for
an air-cooled dry cutting solution as an
alternative to wet cutting, and thus began
developing the Aerotech System.
Anyone who wants to dry cut CFRP at
high feed speed, without delamination
and with a quality edge finish, can benefit

out-of-plane direction in the air and
space industry, as well as in automotive
and industrial applications. The invention can be helpful everywhere heat
dissipation is needed.

Machining & tooling

from the Aerotech System.
Many chemicals used in the composition
of cutting fluids, such as biocides, anticorrosive, antifoam and others substances,
can have a negative effect on the environment. Moreover, cutting fluids and
coolants have been associated with health
problems such as skin rashes, dermatitis,
esophagitis, lung disease and cancer that
result from either toxicity or bacterial or
fungal contamination.
The heat produced during cutting operations contributes to deteriorate tool
life, with negative effects on the quality
of the finished components. Some of
the materials used in today’s industries
are particularly sensitive to heat and can
delaminate due to overheating. If heat
is allowed to persist, its conduction up
through the CNC machine’s electros-

50 jec composites magazine / No79 March 2013

Winner: Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA)
of RWTH Aachen University (Germany)

Winner: Cruing Italy Srl (Italy)

pindle can alter the characteristics of the
grease used to lubricate the electrospindle
bearings. This can begin to occur at
temperatures of ~73°C, and is detrimental
to bearing efficiency. It can also damage
the electrospindle. The Aerotech System
air-cools the cutter and material effectively
by removing dust particles that become
super-heated while cutting. This ensures
that the electrospindle does not overheat.
http://www.cytec.com
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #79 - March 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #79 - March 2013
