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The vision for this activity is to create a cluster of excellence in the West Midlands to develop and sell world-class thermoplastic composite parts. This demonstrator project forms the first step, with primary target sectors of aerospace and transport but also significant relevance to construction, rail and medical products. The project will develop new and optimised processes for the affordable and rapid forming of high performance thermoplastic composites. It will enable manufacturers to select appropriate materials, define optimised processing conditions, and provide CAD packages, which together will allow the development of competitive sub-assemblies.
The objectives of the project are:
· To raise awareness of the potential for business growth in the thermoplastic composites market, particularly for companies currently engaged in the manufacture of low-added value plastic or composite mouldings.
· To develop the supply chain for thermoplastic composites in the West Midlands region.
These objectives will be achieved through the following outcomes, which form the major work packages of the project:
· A range of workshops and events in the West Midlands region to promote state-of-the-art technology to a wide audience in the region.
· Production of demonstrator components based on applications in two contrasting industry sectors.
· Life-cycle cost analysis for the thermoplastic composite demonstrator components and assemblies, for comparison with conventional materials and processes.
The project deliverables are:
· Project web-site
· Two technology awareness workshops
· Two project dissemination events
· Provision of two best-practice guides: one will review the current state-of-the-art in thermoplastic composites, the second will highlight the novel technologies used to prepare the demonstrator components.
· Mechanical and thermal test results on two demonstrator components.
· Life-cycle cost comparison for two demonstrator components.
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In addition to the funded project, the National Composites Network (NCN) will supply £75k of Technology Transfer in the West Midlands region, to assist 25 companies and provide 25 safeguarded jobs.
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