High-Performance Composites is read by qualified composites industry professionals in the fields of continuous carbon fiber and other high-performance composites as well as the associated end-markets of aerospace, military, and automotive.
Issue link: https://hpc.epubxp.com/i/101340
INSIDE MANUFACTURING Advanced Materials (Basel, Switzerland). Each contact point is again analyzed to ensure that quality requirements have been met. Next, a worker places shellhalves into bonding jigs. When corresponding tubes and machined metal parts are placed in the shells, the interior ridges of the shells ensure that the frame comes together accurately. Pressure is applied with built-in clamping devices (Step 7). The bonded and clamped frame is cured for 12 hours at room temperature. It is then replaced onto the carrier, which moves the assembly into an oven for a two-hour postcure at 80��C/176��F. Quality control, first to last BMC underscores the importance of continuous quality control. During tube manufacturing alone, 60 test parameters are recorded and analyzed. Each completed frame and its corresponding fork is also checked (Step 8). ���We apply loads that match those a bike frame is exposed to while being ridden by a typical male rider. We then measure the deformation and check this and the stiffness value vs. our requirements,��� Kaenzig explains, adding that random physical samples are periodically taken from throughout the process and destructively tested to ensure the product meets BMC���s zero-error mandate. Notably, BMC originally painted the shells and tubes before assembly, using 6-axis robots. But today, shells and tubes are assembled ���rst, then hand sprayed. ���Our geometries were really too complex for the robot,��� says Kaenzig. Until robots demonstrate suf���cient agility and suitable quality-assurance measures can be developed, he says, ���it is faster for us to paint by hand and have 100 percent assurance of the quality we need.��� at the 2011 EuroBike show. But has the time and cost spent developing the impec paid off? According to Kaenzig, it has in several ways, including differentiation. ���The weaving technology is one of our unique selling points and shows our competence to produce a highend carbon bike using a completely different process.��� He adds, ���It also helps to show our competitors as well as our customers that we are capable of developing a product from scratch and not just purchasing products from Asia, as so many of the other top companies are doing.��� In the context of tooling, equipment and other production costs, the impec is already pro���table. But Kaenzig admits that it will take several years of solid sales to recoup four years of development cost. However, Kaenzig points out, ���The technology is not limited to high-end bikes, and we are already applying the lessons learned to other products and looking into the next generation of innovation.��� YOU ASKED FOR IT. WE DElIvERED. Composite cutting tools from SGS Tool Company. Pursuing perfection pays The impec has earned BMC many kudos, including the ���iF gold product design award��� in 2011 and 12 Gold Bike Awards Learn More @ www.compositesworld.com Read this article online at http://short. compositesworld.com/sGDdTZLg. Read more about radial braiding online in ���Next-generation braiding for next-gen bike,��� at http://short.compositesworld.com/pB3ztx9n. SGS is proud to introduce a line of Composite solutions speci���c to the unique qualities of machining this complex material. We know composites can be challenging and that���s why we designed new cutting tool technologies that provide the optimal combination of substrate, geometry, edge preparation, and our proprietary Di-NAMITE Solid Carbide Tools coating for maximum performance. Delivering performance by design. Contact your local SGS distributor for details. www.sgstool.com | 330-686-5700 | Manufactured in the USA january 2013 | 37