Karl Mayer Technische Textilien GmbH successfully showcased high-tech machines for the composites sector at the JEC composites show, which was held from March 12-14 in Paris. The company presented the Cop Max 4, an efficient multiaxial warp knitting machine for processing glass, as well as the Cop Max 5, especially designed for processing carbon fibres.

“The mood was upbeat, the number of visitors was high, and I had many in-depth, technical conversations with existing customers and also with people expressing a new interest,” said Jochen Schmidt, the managing director of Karl Mayer, in a company press release. “The many technical discussions held with partners from Europe and US, as well as India and China, helped to contribute to the successful outcome. The discussions related to specific projects, plans and trends.”

According to Schmidt, a general trend away from simple lightweight construction technology towards components having integrated functions could be detected. The costs of increasing performance by using fibre-reinforced composite materials, especially when using carbon, are only justified for the most demanding applications. Schmidt and his team had many conversations with suppliers to niche markets on the possibilities offered by the Cop Max 5 which scores points because of its unbeatable productivity and excellent product quality.

On the other hand, the glass composites sector, with its competitive raw materials prices, continues to gain momentum. The driver of this demand continued to be the wind turbine sector, and increasingly industrial applications as well. A great deal of interest is also being shown in the Cop Max 4, added Schmidt.

The composites sector is increasingly focusing on the topic of thermoplastic materials, reported Dr. Jürgen Trötzsch, the section head of new technologies at Karl Mayer. He and his team have developed a line for producing thermoplastic UD tapes. They will launch this new innovation at ITMA 2019, while they have already aroused people’s curiosity about it at the JEC.

“This line was the topic of many conversations. Some visitors came to gather information, while others had specific queries about the machinery, but they were all impressed by the quality of our tapes,” said Dr. Trötzsch. “This new line is the result of many years of expertise gained by the company in spreading technology. It guarantees a unique, homogeneous distribution of uniform, straight fibres, and thus delivers maximum potential for the lightweight engineering sector.” (PC)