JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #139 - March/April 2021 - 3

EDlTORlAL

Customization is often
the rule in industry

N°139 March / April 2021

---58th year

By

CEO/Publisher:
Eric Pierrejean
Editor-in-chief & Media director:
Frédéric Reux - reux@jeccomposites.com

Frédéric Reux

Editor-in-chief
reux@jeccomposites.com

Deputy-editor
Antoine Morel - morel@jeccomposites.com
Technical editor:
Aïcha Mikdam - mikdam@jeccomposites.com
Graphic designer:
Habib Boufetah - boufetah@jeccomposites.com
Contributing writers
Thierry Saint-Martin - saintmartin@jeccomposites.com
Franck Glowacz - glowacz@jeccomposites.com
Satchimi Boucharlat - boucharlat@jeccomposites.com
Marie Hélène Corbin
Simonetta Pegorari
Isa Hofmann
Kathleen Desmarteau
Archal Shah
Marketing/Communication director:
Nelly Baron - baron@jeccomposites.com
Advertising manager
Nathalie Pradier - pradier@jeccomposites.com
Tel: +33 (0)1 58 36 04 12
Mediakit: www.jeccomposites.com/mediakit

Subscriptions
www.jeccomposites.com/magazine-subscription/

Printing: Chirat, Saint-Just-la-Pendue (42), France
Legal registration: ISSN 2678-7024
Dépôt légal : 1er trimestre 2021
Photos & illustrations:
All right reserved, unless mentionned.

251, Bd Pereire
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JEC Composites Magazine is published by JEC.
The reproduction, even partial, of articles and illustrations
is forbidden, unless prior permission is obtained from JEC
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Total Average
Qualified Circulation:

50,508 copies
BPA June statement 2019.
Print circulation of 27,480 and
electronic circulation of 23,028

"

Composite use in industry, now that is
a topic that's hard to get a handle on
because of its low profile. An aircraft
fuselage is noticeable and creates
a buzz, just like a car body or even
infrastructure like bridges or museum
facades. But a clamping gripper for
a robotic arm in an industrialized
process? This is indeed more discreet
and trickier to spot.
Under the designation of composite
use in industry, many very diverse
applications are waiting to be
uncovered. They are difficult to single
out since by nature, series are smaller
than for bicycles or tennis rackets in the
leisure sector or cars in the automobile
industry. It is rare to see mass-produced
machinery, tooling, equipment and
various set-ups featuring composite
material assemblies or sub-assemblies.
Customization is often the rule in
industry, which largely explains the
limited publicity.
But this could change rather quickly.
The rapid development of additive
manufacturing
technology,
in
particular 3D printing, should boost
the application of composites in
industry. Low volume manufacturing
no longer poses a problem today, or
very little. It makes it much easier
to carry out experimentation and
new initiatives. Now, development
engineers can take hold of composites
and appropriate them to produce parts
N°139 March - April 2021

like clamping grippers for robotics
applications. This type of application
makes a great statement on the virtues
that composite materials offer the
field. By reducing the weight of a tool
like this, it is possible to either increase
the load carried or the speed of a cycle,
or decrease the original power of the
robot, and so forth. It's important to
note that lead times for parts produced
using an additive manufacturing
process are equivalent to standard
processes. The materials savings are
just as attractive, as is their design
potential, which is unlimited. So many
advantages unbar the way forward.
By going one step further in our
thought process, we soon realize that
the potential industrial applications
converge with a world of possibilities
and that volumes could quickly reach
their apex. Is there an industrial part
or piece of equipment that could not
be fitted with its share of composite
parts? I am convinced that the answer
is no.
This month's feature will provide an
opportunity to discover innovative
achievements that once again give us a
glimpse of the extraordinary potential
this field of application offers. At this
time, we still lack precise data that will
allow us to accurately determine the
volumes represented worldwide for a
field that is without a doubt up-andcoming. I hope you enjoy your reading.

/ jec composites magazine

3
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JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #139 - March/April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #139 - March/April 2021
