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| Greetings! | |
30 September 2011
Welcome to Composites Australia's e-newsletter!
We welcome contributions to our e-newsletters and encourage you to email through anything that may be of interest to members. |
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Tour of Geelong Composites Facilities | |
On 15 September, Composites Australia staged a tour of three top composites facilities in Geelong, VIC. Industry personnel came along to view the state-of-the-art facilities and see their processes and products.
First stop was the RPC Technologies plant in Corio. RPC's Darren Will told us about the company's products and processes before we toured the factory floor (photos below).
 
Next stop was Deakin University/VCAMM (Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing ), which provides research services for the advanced manufacturing and materials sectors. We received an overview on VCAMM and heard how it can assist SMEs, as well as what the current and upcoming market opportunities are. We toured the facility (photo below) then returned for lunch and networking - and a look at a new carbon fibre wheel (see more about the wheel in the next article).
Next stop on the tour was Sykes Racing/Concept 2 Australia, a company producing Olympic-class rowing shells and employing lean manufacturing and the 5-S system to do this efficiently. General Manager Stuart Wilson (photo below) told us about the company's history and projects, and led a tour on the factory floor. 
Our day-long tour ended with time for refreshments and networking. Participants rated the day highly, praising that "open-ness of the industrial visits" and the opportunity to see leading edge technologies and acknowledge the local capabilities. |
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A Carbon Fibre Wheel |
During the tour of Deakin University on 15 September, we met Aaron Brighton, technical specialist at Geelong company Carbon Revolution (CFusion), which (working with Deakin) has produced the world's first one piece carbon fibre wheel. Aaron brought one along for us to see (and touch - it can be held up with one finger!).
The wheels in this picture are the CR9-1 variant; there is a 20" X 12.5" and a 19" X 8.5". The wheel we saw is the 19" X 8.5" wheel.
See more on the Deakin research website here. |
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King's Fibreglass Boss Named Exec of the Year | |
King's Fibreglass, a member of Composites Australia, are very proud to announce that Glen King has been honoured by "Stanford Who's Who" by being named as an Executive of the Year.
Glen was presented with this beautiful award to honour the occasion.
You can read the full article by Stanford Who's Who about Glen and his
award on this link.
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Association Support Helps High School Gain Tooling Resins Approval from State Government |
Some time ago, Composites Australia received a request from a principle at Murray Bridge High School in SA, asking for support in their ongoing bid to have the OH&S "Chemical Use in Schools" department of DECS reverse a decision which had refused permission for three resins the school had applied to use. The department had already given permission to use two resins which were very similar in composition. (The approved resins were : Escon LSE 35 and 5% wax in styrene. The resins refused were: Gelcoat,VE Tooling gelcoat (non heavy metal) and Ultratec LP Tooling resin.)
Composites Australia, through its Education Committee headed up by Phill Bovis, was able to provide an industry perspective on the value of being able to use these resins in training as they are used in industry.
We recently received the good news that "...having gained support from yourselves (Composites Aust.), Industry (F.G.I.) and our own Industrial Chemist, Last week I was notified that we were successful and that the three products would be listed on the approved list for S.A Schools generally. Thanks again for your help!"
See a story on the Murray Bridge students working with composites here (written by CA Member Norm Clements of The Innovation Training And Skill Centre). |
| Queensland Government's Next Phase Fibre Composites Action Plan to be Launched | |
The Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation is launching its Fibre Composites Action Plan (2011-2014) on Tuesday 4 October 2011 at the Centre of Excellence in Engineered Fibre Composites, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba.
The Queensland Government launched its first fibre composites action plan in 2006. This is a fast-evolving industry sector and the new action plan builds on the achievements over the past five years.
The Fibre Composites Action Plan (2011-2014) seeks to develop further critical mass in the local industry, demonstrate the environmental, social and economic strengths of fibre composites and promote their take up in national and international supply chains. |
| Owens Corning Plans Opening of China Composites Centre | |
Owens Corning will open its China Composites Centre in Shanghai in early 2012. The centre will focus on customer activities including composite prototyping, materials testing, designing with composites, technical support and developing new solutions, particularly in applications for renewable energy, residential & commercial building and vehicle components. It will partner with local universities and institutes specialising in materials science, chemistry and processing. Full media release here. |
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Airbus in Illescas Delivers First A350 XWB Wing Lower Cover to Airbus in UK | |
As reported in Media Newswire, the first A350 XWB wing lower cover (WLC) has been transported from Airbus' Centre of Excellence for composite materials manufacturing site in Spain to Airbus' wing assembly site in the United Kingdom, where it will be installed on to the wing of the first A350 XWB to fly, MSN001. The part measures approximately 32 metres long by six metres wide, making it the biggest carbon fibre part ever produced in civil aviation.
"This is a major milestone for the A350 XWB programme and for Airbus in Spain", said Rafael González-Ripoll, Head of Airbus' Centre of Excellence Empennage & Aft -fuselage. Read more here. |
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Boeing Dreamliner "a joy to fly" | |
It may have been difficult - and late - but Boeing's Dreamliner needed relatively few changes as a result of its extensive flight test program, and a senior executive says the carbon composite plane's troubled production system has improved dramatically.
Boeing 787 project vice-president and chief engineer Mike Sinnet conceded the change in aircraft technology took longer and more difficult than expected, but the result is "a fantastic airplane".
"It's a joy to fly, it's a joy to fly on and it's joy to ride on, so we're really happy with how that has gone," he said.
The US aerospace giant has sold 821 Dreamliners to 56 customers around the world and expects to sell more than 3400 over the next two decades. See more here. |
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Carbon-fibre Reinforced Robots for Composites | |
Aircraft are traditionally put together in vast assembly cells, the building of which is expensive and time consuming. Researchers at Fraunhofer (Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM, in Germany) have come up with a flexible assembly-line concept featuring robots working similarly to those used in automotive production. The developers presented their new manufacturing approach at Composites Europe, which took place over the past three days.
Aircraft parts are enormous - individual fuselage segments can measure ten meters or more - and they need to be fitted together with utmost precision. Read this report from R&D Magazine on how these robots in the assembly line will address this challenge! |
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CANZ Seminar to Showcase Composites for Rebuilding Christchurch | |
 At seminar to be held on 4 November 2011 in Christchurch, NZ, the Composites Association of New Zealand (CANZ) will showcase the capabilities of New Zealand composite fabricators for the rebuilding and restoration of Christchurch.
Attend to see how composites can replace or work in conjunction with traditional construction materials. Case studies and examples of local design and manufacturing capability will be shown.
CANZ say "The rebuilding of a stronger, more sustainable Christchurch will benefit from the use of lighter and stronger fibre composite materials, especially in retrofitting and strengthening existing buildings and in the heritage replication of facades and other historic items." More at this link. |
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Growth Ahead for Composites? One Industry Blogger Thinks So. | |
S. Sundaram of Essjay Composites writes a monthly blog about composites. In September's post, he noted that despite the ups and downs of the economy, there are bright points for the composites industry - ranging from the Dreamliner's progress (reported above) to the development of an all-composite walk-in freezer that meets offshore blast standards.
His conclusion is: "Clearly the aerospace, infrastructure (includes wind energy) and automotive sectors would be the main growth drivers for composites in the near future." Read the blog here. |
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And here's the automotive part: Audi Urban Concept Car Emphasizes Composites Use | |
From Composites World: On 11 Sept. 2011, Audi introduced its new urban concept, a 1+1-seat, ultralight car for congested urban spaces. The car is being presented at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt.
The cockpit consists of carbon fibre composites, which integrate the undercarriage of both seats. The Audi urban concept is not based on any previous model - its development is solely oriented on the strict principles of lightweight construction, efficiency and reduction. Read more here.
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...and: The Lexus "supercar" |
When Lexus set their sights on developing a world-class, lightweight supercar, their first idea was an aluminium body over an aluminium chassis. After five years of testing, they concluded this was not ideal. In a "dramatic" shift, they decided to instead use CFRP - carbon fibre reinforced plastic. Although this material has been used in top-end car racing for years, the Lexus engineers also needed to make carbon fibre with better accuracy & consistency, and still have it be cost-effective.
Read more here - but don't count on buying one: Australia's quota of 10 have already been snapped up! |
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...but wait, there's more: BASF Creates Lightweight Composites Team | |
Plastic News reports that BASF SE, the largest chemical company in the world, has set up a team for lightweight composites, to show its commitment to the growth of lightweight design in the automotive industry. The group will focus on development of marketable materials and technologies suitable for manufacturing high-performance fibre-reinforced parts for automotive uses.
BASF said more metal can be replaced "only through use of lightweight yet strong composite materials and parts, and in this way - regardless of the propulsion system in the vehicle - reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions even further." Read the whole article here. |
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ACMA and US Firms Ask for Review of Styrene Safety Decision | |
Plastics News also reported on ACMA's representative appeal of the decision by the US government to list styrene as a chemical that is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen": Arguing that their companies and the thousands of workers they employ are in serious jeopardy, a coalition of small- and medium-sized composites and boat building manufacturers is asking for an independent review by the National Academy of Sciences.
"Recent actions taken by the Department of Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program ... have placed us and thousands of other owners and managers in the untenable position of having to explain to employees and plant neighbors both that we use styrene safely, and that HHS' action is ill-founded and irresponsible," said the letter from the American Composites Manufacturers Association that was signed by 21 companies. "Left unchallenged, we expect the ... listing ... to have the long-term effect of moving manufacturing jobs to Mexico, China, France or one of the many other countries that have not taken such an obviously misleading position regarding styrene," said the letter. See more here
ACMA is asking composites manufacturers to invite Members of Congress to their plants, to show them the jobs and the valuable products composites manufacturers provide to their districts. ACMA provides sample invitation letters and advice on conducting such tours. See more on ACMA's Styrene Advocacy page. |
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Composites in Sports? | |
Sports Illustrated online reporter Will Carroll recently checked out the composites which are protecting US grid iron players, and became a convert. After testing a sample himself, he wrote that thin kevlar composite sheets can be sewn into sports uniforms to take the place of large foam pads or hard plastic, or to add additional protection. See more here. |
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Employment Opportunities |
Casual hand laminator required:
Fibreglass Contractors Pty Ltd is seeking a part-time casual worker (approx 15-20 hours per week for 4-6 weeks, possibly more). The work invoplves hand laminating and grinding. Some heavy (30kg) lifting involved. The applicant must be prepared to "see the job through".
Wages negotiable. Mordialloc area. Call Lindsay on Ph: 03 9587 4142
Experienced engineer seeking employment as a manufacturing/process engineer,
with a preference for the composites and thermoplastics industries. Applicant has a bachelor's in Materials Engineering (Monash Univ.) and 25 years' industry experience in the manufacturing of both fibre-reinforced composites and thermoplastic materials. Has worked in the aerospace and the automotive sectors, with significant expertise in the flame retardancy of polymers and composites. Currently in Melbourne, but willing to relocate if required. CV is available on request. Please phone 0421 997 842 for further details. |
Composites Australia & CRC-ACS 2012 Conference set for 15-16 March at Fairmont Resort,
Blue Mountains (NSW) : "Diversity in Composites" |
This year's Conference will be held over two days in the beautiful Blue Mountains, 90 minutes from Sydney. In addition to the popular features of "Engineers Thursday" and "Fabricators Friday", the event will include an academic-style open call for papers. Those authors wishing to have their contributions formally peer-reviewed may request this at the time of submission. In this way we expect to attract papers on the latest application-development and research in the industry, in addition to our usual great presentations on technology, engineering, processes and business.
This event is a conference only, with the trade show component to take place again in 2013. However, workshops, tutorials, and practical demonstrations will still be part of the 2012 programme.
Save the date! For more information, contact Composites Australia. |
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ICAS 2012 to be held in Brisbane | |
Next year, the 28th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS 2012) will be held in Brisbane, Australia, from 23-28 September 2012.
Prof Murray Scott, CRC-ACS CEO and Programme Chair for the event, notes, "ICAS has only been held once before in the southern hemisphere, in Melbourne in 1998. Like its predecessor 14 years earlier, ICAS 2012 will be a great success with several hundred high quality papers being presented to well over 500 delegates from all over the world."
He added, "There will be many papers on composite materials, design, manufacturing and related technologies, and therefore you should plan to attend!". For information on ICAS, please see the official website (www.icas.org), and in particular the overview document. |
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Upcoming Composites Australia Events | |
Tuesday 18 October: Trade Night: (5.00pm - 7.30pm), Challenger Institute of Technology, Henderson, WA
in conjunction with Challenger Institute of Technology and Nuplex Composites
- Demonstration: Sprayomer Technology (the sustainable alternative to silicone & disposable film bags) - Owen Hall, Nuplex Composites
- Demonstration: Graco's New RS Gun - David Pocock, Pumpline
- Presentation: Not Just Yachts Anymore - Glenn Swarbrick, Swarbrick & Swarbrick Yachts
- Presentation: R&D Incentives and Government Grants- Stephen Carroll, KPMG R&D Incentives
- Presentations: Programmes for Advancing the Composites Industry - Challenger Institute of Technology, ApprentiCentre, MEGT and CIAB
Thursday 3 November: Annual General Meeting & Trade Night (5.00pm - 7.30pm), Hunter Institute of Technology, Newcastle, NSW
Thursday 1 December: Xmas Party & Trade Night (5.00pm - 8.30pm) QLD
Thursday 16 February: Factory Tour - Jayco Corporation. (9.30am - 11.00am). Jayco, Melbourne, VIC |
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Upcoming Workshops | | Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Methods for Fibreglass Reinforced Plastics
ATTAR, Australia's largest non-destructive testing training organisation, is offering a 2 day course introducing non-destructive testing (NDT) methods for fibreglass reinforced plastics (FRP). The course will provide participants with the knowledge to identify the most applicable techniques for detection of a range of discontinuities (such as voids, cracks, kinks or inclusions), make a preliminary assessment and qualify the need to invest in the services of an NDT technician. It will also assist in understanding NDT reports.
Course fee: $1,250.00 + GST
Dates: 6-7 October 2011 (Thursday and Friday)
Venue: ATTAR 1/64 Bridge Road Keysborough Vic 3173
Enrolments and more information - Telephone (03) 9574 6144 or e-mail training@attar.com.au |
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Upcoming composites conferences and seminars | |
JEC Asia: 18-19-20 Oct 2011, Singapore. Conference, Technical Sales Presentations, Business Meetings, Forums, Innovation Awards, & Trade Exhibition. Registration & further information here.
GPEC® 2011 (Global Plastics Environmental Conference) 17-19 Oct 2011, Atlanta, Georgia (USA). See this link
SAMPE Tech 2011: 17-20 Oct 2011, Fort Worth, Texas (USA). See this link
SAMPE Asia: 21-22 Feb 2012, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. See this link.
ACMA's COMPOSITES 2012: 21-23 Feb 2012, Las Vegas, Nevada (USA). See this link.
Composites Australia & CRC-ACS Conference: 15-16 March 2012. Fairmont Resort, Blue Mountains, Leura, New South Wales, Australia. Information on our conference webpage. |
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Join Composites Australia |  The next issue of Composites Australia's 'hard copy" magazine, Connection, will be mailed out to all members in October. If you are not yet a member, simply complete the form on the CA webpage (click the link here) . The form also lists some of the benefits of membership - and there are so many more -- such as bringing you NASA! |
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Please feel free to send me any corrections, suggestions, comments and questions, or email me items that may be of interest to publish in Composites Australia e-news.
Cheers,
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Ann Byrne
Events & Association Coordinator |
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