JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #83 - August/September 2013 - 21

resin must reach every area of the
material with minimum delay,
impregnating every fibre right
down to microscopic level. On
the other hand, as soon as it has
impregnated all the material, the
resin needs to harden as quickly
as possible. In addition, a release
agent is required that will allow
the resinated components to be
parted from the moulding tools
without being damaged – yet
without affecting the bonding
between fibre and resin. Resolving all these conflicting requirements simultaneously is a highly
complex task. The BMW Group
has developed its own process,
moulding tools and production
equipment to manage these conflicts and to ensure high productivity combined with very high
quality. After resin injection and
hardening, all that remains is the
finishing work such as precise
contour cutting and insertion of
any further openings that may
still be required.
At BMW Group plants, this
finishing work is performed by a
waterjet cutting machine
since the finished CFRP component, following resination, is
already very stiff and robust. By
contrast with ordinary milling
heads, waterjet cutting and drilling are wearfree. To ensure optimum results, the experts have
specifically honed the technique
for processing CFRP.

Value created
by composites
The first-ever use of series-produced CFRP passenger cells in
automotive production
is one of BMW i’s most innovative and pioneering contributions to electro-mobility.
Since the added weight of the
batteries means more power is
required to drive an electric ve-

hicle from point A to B, this has
traditionally reduced the range
of electric vehicles.
Through the first-ever use of
carbon fibre components in
automotive engineering, BMW i
has succeeded in entirely offsetting the additional weight. Thus
it is no exaggeration to talk of
a revolution in manufacturing
technology. Up to now, the use
of carbon fibre components in
automobiles has been prohibitively expensive since processing
these high-tech parts required a
great deal of manual work. But
BMW i has changed this
scenario with the launch of the
first series production vehicle
featuring a carbon fibre
passenger cell. BMW carbon
fibre components have not
only revolutionized lightweight
automotive engineering but have
also had a significant impact on
the design of BMW i vehicles.
The fact that carbon fibre is
light, extremely robust and easy
to shape has paved the way for
more complex design features
that have improved the aerodynamics of these electric vehicles
and enhanced the sense of space
inside.

Reinventing the
automotive industry
Spring 2008. A top-secret location somewhere in Munich,
Germany. BMW’s most
innovative thinkers. And one
ambitious goal: the radical
reinvention of individual mobility in megacities. At the end of
2008, for the first time in human
history, more people were living
in urban communities than in
rural areas.
In Bangkok, a city of seven million people, rush-hour traffic on
the roads of the Thai capital now

BMW i3 Concept

moves at an average speed of less
than 16 km/h. In Los Angeles,
the American dream city of individual mobility has turned into a
two-hour crawl to and
from work every day. In central
London, all vehicles traveling
between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. are
charged a congestion fee. Clearly
the solution to the challenge of
urban mobility in tomorrow’s
world must be more than yet another new vehicle. The response
of BMW i to these challenges
was to set up an innovative project with all the power of a startup and the resources of a global
corporation. A think tank called
“Project i” was commissioned
to think out of the box and
develop innovative, unconventional ideas. The team travelled
around the world twice, visiting
megacities, interviewing dozens
of urban planners and architects,
and talking to residents. In just
nine months, BMW’s most
innovative
thinkers came up with an
approach that has radically reinvented the automotive industry.
A strategy that thinks in new vehicle concepts, alternative drive
train technologies, new materials
and intelligent mobility services.
A programme that covers every
stage in the automotive lifecycle,

No83 August - September 2013

from design and production to
a vehicle’s many years on the
road and its ultimate recycling.
The name of this programme:
BMW i. In 2011, the launch of
the BMW i Concept marked the
dawn of a new era in terms of
urban mobility. Because it is going to change the way we move
through urban areas all over the
world. The BMW i3 electric car
will be launched onto the market
in late 2013.

A growing market
A worldwide market share of 4
to 8% is anticipated for electric
vehicles (BEV and plug-in
hybrid) by 2020. Furthermore,
together with the German
government, BMW adheres to
the target of one million electric
vehicles on German roads by
2020.
Although the LifeDrive concept
with its CFRP passenger cell is a
standalone vehicle
architecture, purpose- built for
the BMW i3 and BMW i8, in the
long term, other model series
may also stand to benefit from
the CFRP expertise that the
group has developed. n
More information:
www.bmwgroup.com
Jochen.Kopp@bmw.de

/ jec composites magazine 21

http://www.bmwgroup.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #83 - August/September 2013

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