CompoTech is a global supplier of innovative carbon epoxy component designs and automated carbon fibre placement solutions. The company has a proven track record for using its in-house expertise and automated manufacturing technologies to develop structural components with significant performance, productivity and cost saving benefits.
At JEC World 2024 (March 5-7), Compo Tech PLUS, spol. s r.o (Hall 6, G85) will be showcasing its proprietary carbon fibre (CF) placement, integrated loop and automated fibre winding and laying technologies. Key to this is the ‘true zero degree’ axial fibre placement capabilities, which provides significant benefits over traditional ‘near zero’ winding. CompoTech’s unique winding and placement technologies use a combination of both PAN (polyacrylonitrile) and continuous UHM (ultra-high modulus) pitch fibres. Using its in-house developed automated fibre laying (AFL) technology, fibres are precisely positioned to provide the lightweight, high strength and stiffness needed to successfully use a carbon composite instead of a metal component in applications such as automated robot lines, materials handling and telescopic lifting systems, as well industrial machine gantry beams.
CompoTech’s technical advantage in axial fibre placement and CF component design is enabling the company to continue forging a strong niche market leadership position in growing new composite applications. A recent example of an epoxy CF beam application developed by CompoTech, which showcases the use of its proprietary axial AFL and advanced winding technologies, is a carbon composite gantry axis beam specified in a new precision cutting machine.
Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems recently launched the Kongsberg Ultimate, its latest precision cutting machine for accurate, high productivity cutting of corrugated board packaging and flat display sheet materials. The new machine includes a new wide-format epoxy CF composite traverse beam, developed, and manufactured by CompoTech. The innovative CF beam provides precision cutting accuracy of up to 2.5g acceleration due to its high strength and stiffness. The new design CF gantry beam has very low deflection, even under high acceleration and the 50 kg down-force needed for optimal cutting of corrugated board. Significant productivity gains have been achieved due to the CF beam being so much lighter than steel, and with a smaller profile than an equivalent aluminium gantry.
CompoTech is growing its automated advanced winding machine business, which supplies custom made ‘turnkey’ automated fibre winding machines, which come with the company’s proprietary continuous fibre AFL and integrated loop joint technologies. A recent new automated machine customer is Czech Republic based Meopta – optika, s.r.o. (a Carlyle Group company) which ordered a new advanced winding machine from CompoTech to manufacture optical components developed by CompoTech, as well as axis beams for silicon chip optical measurement machines.
JEC World 2024 visitors to the CompoTech stand will be able to find out more about the company’s automated manufacturing offering and the ongoing R & D projects with universities OEMs and Tier 1 specialist producers looking for CF components for next generation energy storage, aviation, HGV and mass transportation applications.
The knowledge and expertise gained by CompoTech from successful process development projects and the production of dynamic automation manufacturing systems is transferable across a wide cross-section of industries including: aerospace, defence, agriculture, automotive, transport, bicycles, and leisure marine.