From February the company will handle the concept, designing, prototyping, evaluations, marketing and technical research for next-generation automotive components, using the group’s capabilities to provide a range of solutions for next-generation vehicles.

The new centre is expected to speed up concept, designing, prototyping and the evaluation of technical proposals. In future the centre will develop marketing and research functions to explore opportunities for new technologies and M&A, aiming to accelerate developments with European automakers. The company also has plans to establish similar centres in both the United States and China to satisfy demands.

Teijin is targeting automotive composite business sales of approximately EUR 1.7 billion by 2030. Amid the ongoing shift toward Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric (CASE) vehicles, the automotive industry is urgently transforming its business models to create more lightweight and multifunctional next-generation vehicles.

The company has previously acquired Continental Structural Plastics Holdings Corporation back to become a Tier 1 supplier focused on multi-material automotive composite. In Europe, CSP’s French operation will open a new sheet moulding compound plant and Teijin has acquired leading automotive-composite suppliers Inapal Plásticos SA of Portugal and Benet Automotive s.r.o of Czech Republic.

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Now MIT engineers have developed a method to produce aerospace-grade composites without the enormous ovens and pressure vessels. The technique may help to speed up the manufacturing of aeroplanes and other large, high-performance composite structures, such as blades for wind turbines.

The researchers detail their new method in a paper published in the journal Advanced Materials Interfaces.

If you’re making a primary structure like a fuselage or wing, you need to build a pressure vessel, or autoclave, the size of a two- or three-story building, which itself requires time and money to pressurize. These things are massive pieces of infrastructure. Now we can make primary structure materials without autoclave pressure, so we can get rid of all that infrastructure. Brian Wardle, professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT

Wardle’s co-authors on the paper are lead author and MIT postdoc Jeonyoon Lee, and Seth Kessler of Metis Design Corporation, an aerospace structural health monitoring company based in Boston.

Out of the oven, into a blanket

In 2015, Lee led the team, along with another member of Wardle’s lab, in creating a method to make aerospace-grade composites without requiring an oven to fuse the materials together. Instead of placing layers of material inside an oven to cure, the researchers essentially wrapped them in an ultrathin film of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). When they applied an electric current to the film, the CNTs, like a nanoscale electric blanket, quickly generated heat, causing the materials within to cure and fuse together.

With this out-of-oven, or OoO, technique, the team was able to produce composites as strong as the materials made in conventional aeroplane manufacturing ovens, using only 1 per cent of the energy.

The researchers next looked for ways to make high-performance composites without the use of large, high-pressure autoclaves — building-sized vessels that generate high enough pressures to press materials together, squeezing out any voids, or air pockets, at their interface.

Researchers including Wardle’s group have explored “out-of-autoclave,” or OoA, techniques to manufacture composites without using the huge machines. But most of these techniques have produced composites where nearly 1 per cent of the material contains voids, which can compromise a material’s strength and lifetime. In comparison, aerospace-grade composites made in autoclaves are of such high quality that any voids they contain are negligible and not easily measured.

Straw pressure

Part of Wardle’s work focuses on developing nanoporous networks — ultrathin films made from aligned, microscopic material such as carbon nanotubes, that can be engineered with exceptional properties, including colour, strength, and electrical capacity. The researchers wondered whether these nanoporous films could be used in place of giant autoclaves to squeeze out voids between two material layers, as unlikely as that may seem.

A thin film of carbon nanotubes is somewhat like a dense forest of trees, and the spaces between the trees can function like thin nanoscale tubes or capillaries. A capillary such as a straw can generate pressure based on its geometry and its surface energy, or the material’s ability to attract liquids or other materials.

The researchers tested their idea in the lab by growing films of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes using a technique they previously developed, then laying the films between layers of materials that are typically used in the autoclave-based manufacturing of primary aircraft structures. They wrapped the layers in a second film of carbon nanotubes, which they applied an electric current to heat it up. They observed that as the materials heated and softened in response, they were pulled into the capillaries of the intermediate CNT film.

The resulting composite lacked voids, similar to aerospace-grade composites that are produced in an autoclave. The researchers subjected the composites to strength tests, attempting to push the layers apart, the idea being that voids, if present, would allow the layers to separate more easily.

The team will next look for ways to scale up the pressure-generating CNT film. In their experiments, they worked with samples measuring several centimetres wide — large enough to demonstrate that nanoporous networks can pressurize materials and prevent voids from forming. To make this process viable for manufacturing entire wings and fuselages, researchers will have to find ways to manufacture CNT and other nanoporous films at a much larger scale.

He plans also to explore different formulations of nanoporous films, engineering capillaries of varying surface energies and geometries, to be able to pressurize and bond other high-performance materials.

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After the first step of capacity increase through debottlenecking, Teijin Aramid now moves to the major part of the investment. As a key enabler for innovation in a variety of markets, ranging from air cargo containers to heat-resistant clothing, Teijin Aramid aims to reinforce its position as a market leader and finalize the capacity increase by 2022.

Our end goal is to have a sustainable and circular aramid supply chain. On the one hand, this takes shape by us being more energy-efficient, being part of the energy transition movement and using increasingly green raw materials. On the other hand, we continue to provide our customers with sustainable solutions by offering Twaron. Gert Frederiks, CEO and President of Teijin Aramid

The capacity increase will take place in the two factories in the Netherlands, Delfzijl and Emmen. Delfzijl is the production site for monomer and polymer and the plant in Emmen is used for spinning. The increase is expected to result in a couple of dozen new jobs in the region.

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The acquisition means Teijin will access the companies automotive composite technologies and further strengthen the companies solution development capabilities as a component supply partner of automotive OEM customers in Europe.

We are growing our automotive composites business with our proprietary lightweight, high-performance materials, and superior multi-material design capabilities served by our hubs in Europe, North America and Asia. Benet Automotive’s well-established technologies and sales channels will further enhance our capabilities as a tier-one automotive supplier and help spur further innovation. Akio Nakaishi, General Manager of Teijin’s Composites Business Unit

Teijin is targeting automotive composite business sales of approximately EUR 1.7 billion (USD 2 billion) by 2030.

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Oribako is a polyhedron structure made of FRP panels and hinges that can be easily transported, deployed, folded away and stored. FRP with soft resin is used for the hinges to provide elasticity, flexibility and durability as well as a strong seal. The product can be produced in a variety of shapes and sizes, such as small boxes or simple architectural structures.

The FRPs used for the panels and the hinged sections are integrated seamlessly, ensuring airtightness and a smooth surface with no ridges. Depending on its intended use, the composition of materials used for the panels and hinges of the Oribako can be adjusted to incorporate properties such as sound absorption, heat insulation or shock absorption.

A prototype of the product will be showcased at SAMPE Japan this year and will comprise a simple booth in which carbon fibre composite panels are bonded to glass fibre composite hinges. It will have a floor area of about 11 square meters and weigh about 40 kilograms. The booth can easily be erected by two adults without the need for tools or machinery.

The company will continue to develop Oribako and hope to make it commercially available by 2022. The product is expected to be used in a variety of scenarios, such as a temporary indoor space with external solar panels and as a delivery container allowing easy and rapid change of cargos including those require a tight seal.

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CSP will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Teijin. Through this acquisition, Teijin intends to establish the foundations of an automotive composite products business in North America, and to accelerate its expansion as a tier 1 supplier of high-performance composites to the global automotive market.

The shares of CSP will be purchased by Teijin Holdings USA Inc., the Teijin Group’s holding company in the US. The acquisition is scheduled to be completed in December 2016 after satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

CSP is a manufacturer of thermoset composites in the automotive industry and is the world’s largest sheet moulding compound (SMC) manufacturer for automakers. Since its establishment in 1969, CSP has provided technologies in lightweight materials and composite solutions such as glass fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP) for the automotive industry.

Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, US, CSP holds more than 50 patents covering materials development and manufacturing processes in composite materials formulation and design. Its SMC technology have been adopted by various automakers in the US, Europe and Japan. The company has 14 facilities in the US, Mexico, France and China and approximately 3,200 employees. It posted consolidated sales of over USD 634 million in the fiscal year ending December 31, 2015.

Teijin will benefit from CSP’s established sales channels in the North American automotive market, which will enable the combined business to provide a broader range of solutions that meet automakers’ demands for weight reduction and durability, utilising the company’s thermoplastic composite technologies.

Through this transaction, Teijin aims to become an automotive solution provider by expanding its offerings beyond carbon fibre and glass fibre materials, in collaboration with other materials manufacturers. Teijin intends to expand its product portfolio from materials to component design, implement a global supply chain and help achieve vehicle weight reductions in order to comply with tighter environmental regulations being introduced after 2020.

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Integrating advanced fibres development functions previously handled by the Osaka Research Centre, as well related company-wide solutions development and engineering, the Technology Development Centre will serve as a core R&D base and nexus of cross-business solutions development to fortify Teijin’s capabilities in the high-performance fibres business and support its development of composite materials and solutions combining products and services.

The company is developing new solutions by integrating key capabilities among its diverse businesses and technologies. The Technology Development Centre will enable the group to rapidly address cross-business solutions development and oversee entire processes, from materials to end products and services.

The 7,700 m2 centre has facilities for test production and evaluation of super-tough lightweight structural materials, design and evaluation of smart wearables and a burn evaluation system for protective clothing (to be transferred from Osaka Research Centre in December). The centre is also equipped with facilities for design, test production, measurement, analysis and evaluation of materials, parts, products and services.

The Technology Development Centre will focus on developing solutions for high-performance composite materials and expanding its scope of monitoring services. Projects are already underway for smart wearables and super-tough lightweight structural materials to be developed by integrating high-performance materials and IT.

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The company developed its new grade carbon fibre with a uniform structure by optimising the structural design of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based precursor and by optimising the manufacturing process. Compared to the company’s previous product, the existing grade carbon fibre that has been mainly used for aircraft applications, Tenax XMS32 offers 10% more tenacity and 10% greater tensile modulus. In addition, resin adherence has been significantly improved through new surface-modification technology to refine the chemical characteristics of the carbon fibre’s surface and control its smoothness on the nano level.

Carbon fibre used in aircraft, automotive, high-end sports and leisure applications must offer very high levels of stiffness, as well as improved tenacity and tensile modulus. The trend toward the thin-walling of products causes problems with stiffness and tensile modulus properties. It had generally been difficult to realise both tenacity and tensile modulus in PAN carbon fibre due to decreased tenacity resulting from increased tensile modulus.

Toho Tenax is developing prepreg using the new material for airplanes and expects to develop prepregs for automotive and high-end sports and leisure applications in the foreseeable future. Going forward, Toho Tenax will continue extending its lineup of carbon fibre ranging from yarn to structural parts, to meet wide-ranging requirements.

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The Automotive Business Development Group launched on the 1st of April as a new entity directly under the Carbon Fibres & Composites Business Unit. It’s responsible for marketing thermoplastic CFRP formerly handled by Toho Tenax and the Teijin Composites Innovation Centre, which will now focus on developing technologies for individual projects.

Integrating and reorganising these functions will enable the Teijin to accelerate its CFRP business, especially in the highly promising automotive field. Teijin wants to become Japan’s leading provider of CFRP composites for automotive applications.

Current efforts are focused on developing automotive CFRP products for global automakers in Japan and other countries. Toho Tenax, which spearheads Teijin’s carbon fibres and composites business, is developing automotive-use products such as high-efficiency thermoset CFRP and rapid-curing carbon fibre sheet pre-impregnated with matrix resin.

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The company has designed the fibre reinforced wood using its expertise in fibre-reinforced composites, including its own aramid fibres and carbon fibres by its subsidiary Toho Tenax.

Carbon fibre reinforced wood, laminated timber that includes layers of highly rigid, thin-walled carbon fibre, achieves twice the flexural rigidity of conventional laminated timber. CFRW offers enhanced durability and design qualities for use as structural beams. The targeted development of the advanced-fibre wood is expected to extend applications to medium-rise buildings. Teijin will continue developing the advanced-fibre wood technology by incorporating high-toughness aramid fibres, highly rigid carbon fibre and other hybrid materials.

Recent seismic disasters in Japan have increased the demand for the construction of safer architectural structures. Lightweight, highly earthquake-proof wooden structures are one possible solution. Wood is also valued as a structural material offering heat resistance, design possibilities and soothing natural appearances. In addition, Japan is working actively to revive its forestry industry. The new Legislation on Promotion of Use of Wood in Public Buildings, which was enacted in 2007, calls for the increased use of wood in low-rise public buildings, such as gymnasiums and public-service and local government buildings.

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