SPE Thermoforming Quarterly®
Second Quarter 2024
Investigation of thermoforming processes of aerostructures: Simulation and microstructural analysis
Abstract
A series of experimental and numerical studies were carried out on the mechanical and geometric performance of an aerostructural part produced by a material out-of-autoclave stamp forming process using unidirectional (UD) carbon fiber (CF) reinforced polyetherketoneketone (PEKK), which provides advantages like reshaping, recycling, welding, and low serial manufacturing costs. As a novelty, initial part geometry, different types of springs, and their attachment type were examined experimentally and compared with simulations. Compression tests were performed to determine mechanical strengths which reach levels up to 550 MPa…
Read moreSecond Quarter 2024
Global Dispatches – 13th European Thermoforming Conference – Amsterdam
The organizers made good use of the traditional split in thermoforming categories, heavy & thin, to arrange a wide range of topics while still ensuring a cohesive gathering in several keynotes and a general session. Attendees were treated to an insightful and witty keynote by Guido Thys, a well-known professional speaker from Belgium. With images including medieval impalements, his grandmother drinking beer into her late 80s, and ironic looks in our collective rear-view mirror, Thys was able to knit together an impressive narrative that, overly simplified here, suggested our ability to manage, accept, and adapt to change is more important now than ever. Plastic converters facing threats from material substitution were put on notice….
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