SAMPE Journal - November/December 2012 - (Page 5)

A Note from the Technical Director Dr. Scott W. Beckwith SAMPE Journal Technical Editor swbeckwith@aol.com Thermoplastic Composites, Automation – Both Showing Serious Interest Two subjects that have been only moderately addressed in the past but are generating new interest are thermoplastic composites and automation. Thermoplastic matrix composites were viewed in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s as having a lot of potential in aerospace applications particularly in the aircraft market. Although there was a lot of hype in North America with the intent to develop and use thermoplastics in a number of military aircraft during that period, thermoset composites dominated the actual incorporation into those systems. As a result, thermoplastics did not make the predicted headway nor did they enter the applications market at their expected levels. However, Europe and Japan continued to pursue thermoplastic composites. These regions developed technology regarding processing, the development of a materials data base, and real applications in both aerospace and commercial products. Consequently, there has been a renewed interest in North America bringing thermoplastic composites further into the fold and looking at significantly bigger growth markets – namely, automotive and energy applications. Automotive applications impose a much different viewpoint. Automotive production quantities are of a larger magnitude than typical aerospace products. While aircraft structures often use much larger (area-wise) parts than the automotive industry, the production run ratio might be more like 500 (aircraft) to 50,000 or 200,000 (automotive). Hence, processing cycle time must be short and automation of the process becomes much more important. In the past thermoplastics have made strong in-roads in areas of low fiber content (typically 10-30 weight percent) for producing small parts using a wide variety of conventional thermoplastic resins and processes inherently developed for commercial markets. However, the advanced composites industry is quite interested in moving toward higher performance materials and structures. That means carbon fiber, higher strength and higher temperature thermoplastic resins, and, automation which would increase production quantities and quality overall. SAMPE has noted an increased interest in both subjects within our conference events internationally in that both thermoplastic composites and automation have become more noticeable in the overall technical program content. Both technical papers and panel discussions on these subjects have increased as our technical community appears to be more seriously addressing the advanced material needs in these areas. Automation thus becomes equally important, with both classes of resin matrix systems, thermosets and thermoplastics. There are several factors which make automation an equal player in the development of thermoplastic composites use. They are consistent quality of composite parts, reduction and optimization of actual cycle times involved and, the potential to produce much larger structures that are beyond the physical “reach” of manual labor applications. Consequently, the two go hand-in-hand if high production, large market entry is going to happen. SAMPE will continue to support growth markets through our conference events and technology programs internationally. Look for “thermoplastics” and “automation” to continue to grow and expand rapidly in the near term. SAMPE Journal, Volume 48, No. 6, November/December 2012 5

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SAMPE Journal - November/December 2012

SAMPE Journal - November/December 2012
Contents
President’s Message
Technical Director’s Corner
SAMPE Journal Editorial Calender
Durability and Reliability of Large Composite Wind Turbine Blades
Corporate Partners
Welcome SAMPE’s Newest Members
SAMPE 2013|Long Beach Call for Papers
Materials & Products
SAMPE LinkedIn Communities
SAMPE Upcoming Events
SAMPE Proceedings
Perspectives
Europe News & Views
SAMPE Europe’s SEICO 2013, Paris, France
Polyurethane Composites for Wind Turbine Blades
Industry News
The SAMPE Foundation
Tech Tidbits
Performance Drivers with Glass Fiber Composites for Wind Turbine Blades
SAMPE Tech 2013|Wichita, KS Call for Papers
Advertiser’s Index
Resource Center
SAMPE Membership Application
SAMPE Books & CD’s Order Form
Industry Events Calendar
Statement to Record Ownership

SAMPE Journal - November/December 2012