"Century New Materials" to understand? 3 industrial textile companies talk about thermoplastics

Thermoplastic composites are a general term for reinforcing various thermoplastic resins prepared from glass fiber, carbon fiber , aramid fiber and other materials. The combination of thermoplastic polymer and special fiber has excellent performances such as simple process, short cycle time, low cost and low relative density. It makes thermoplastic composites widely used in aerospace, automotive, electronics, electrical appliances, medicine, building materials and other industries. The application of reinforced thermoplastic sheet is currently an internationally active variety of composite material development and is regarded as one of the new materials of the century.

With the rapid development of domestic infrastructure construction, thermoplastic composite materials have shown a relatively fast development speed in the past six months, and many enterprises are increasing the development of thermoplastic composite materials. However, for the domestic market, thermoplastic polymer matrix composites are still at a disadvantage in terms of mechanical properties, service temperature, and aging properties. Wang Ran, a professor at Nanjing University of Technology, said that to produce high-quality fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite parts, it is necessary not only to study the shrinkage of materials during molding, but also to study how to prevent deflection.

Recently, the reporter interviewed three thermoplastic composite materials manufacturers that produce products in different fields and found that many companies are optimistic about the prospect of the thermoplastic composites market and put into production, and hope that the thermoplastic composite materials industry can be strongly promoted by the government, relying on the state to implement major technologies. Special promotion of technology development and product promotion to promote the development of thermoplastic composite materials.

Bamboo fiber composite material meets the needs of electronic products

Company Name Changzhou Jiming Composite Materials Co., Ltd.

Product category electronic accessories

Changzhou Jiming Composite Materials Co., Ltd. recently invested in a thermoplastic composite material production line that mainly produces electronically reinforced accessories, such as computer covers, instrument covers, tape shafts, etc., which are prepared according to different customer requirements according to different injection molding processes. As of March this year, the revenue of thermoplastic composites accounted for about 45% of the company's total sales.

According to Xu Fengyi, the company's technical director, at present, the thermoplastic composite materials in the domestic market mainly include two types: long fiber reinforced and short fiber reinforced. The company produces long-fiber composite materials, which have better mechanical properties and temperature resistance than short-fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites, and can better enhance the reinforcing agent. At present, there are few studies on long fiber reinforcement in China, but from the perspective of engineering application, long fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite materials have broader development prospects.

The reason why the thermoplastic composite material is valued is mainly because of its low density and high strength. The thermoplastic composite has a density of 1.1 to 1.6 g/cm3, which is only 1/5 to 1/7 of the steel, 1/2 to 1/4 lighter than the thermosetting composite, and can obtain higher mechanics with a smaller unit mass. Strength, most suitable for the production of electronic accessories. Since thermoplastic composite materials have more types of matrix materials than thermosetting composite materials, the degree of freedom in designing high-density and fine-grained electronic component products using such materials is relatively high.

After nearly five years of market integration, the company's current thermoplastic composite products production has been very stable. Next, the company will team up with researchers at Jiangnan University to develop thermoplastic bamboo fiber composites that can meet the various needs of electronic components. The company will start from the mechanical properties and electrical insulation of bamboo fiber composite materials, and strive to develop non-toxic and odor-free during the one-year production, study and research cooperation period, and it will not release harmful gases such as formic acid in the long-term use. Type of bamboo fiber composite material.

The impact resistance of thermoplastic composites is greatly improved

Company Name Shandong Rainbow Composite New Material Co., Ltd.

Product Category Wind Power Blade

Shandong Rainbow Composite New Materials Co., Ltd. began to produce thermoplastic composite materials for wind turbine blades in 2013, and has long-term cooperative relations with many domestic wind power enterprises.

According to Huang Sheng, general manager of the company, compared with thermosetting composites, thermoplastic composites have a series of excellent properties such as recyclability, light weight, good impact resistance and short production cycle. If thermoplastic composite blades are used, the blade weight of each large wind turbine can be reduced by 10%, the impact resistance is greatly improved, the manufacturing cycle is reduced by at least 1/3, and it can be completely recycled and reused.

Huang said that the water resistance of carbon fiber thermoplastic composites is not comparable to thermoset composites. When a conductive material is added to the thermoplastic composite material, the conductive property can be improved, static electricity generation can be prevented, and the working efficiency of the blade can be improved. However, the high cost of manufacturing blades using carbon fiber thermoplastic composites is the most critical issue limiting the use of thermoplastic composites for wind power blades. Even though the company has been conducting market research for two years, it still feels somewhat in market expansion. Hard work. The company plans to visit Japan to learn the low-cost carbon fiber thermoplastic composite blade manufacturing technology jointly developed by Ireland's Gaoth Wind Energy, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Cyclics, and hopes to expand its market share by introducing new technologies.

"We very much hope that the government can help enterprises to improve the automation and mechanization level of composite materials production. For example, invest in the introduction of foreign advanced composite molding technology and equipment, improve the overall automation control level of composite material design and production, and improve the production of composite materials. Automation, mechanization level, improve the stability and service life of the industry products, and expand the application of the product." Huang said.

Copolymer plastic panel improves the vibration resistance of the car body

Company Name Zhejiang Heying Vehicle Composite Materials Co., Ltd.

Product category car exterior

Zhejiang Heying Automotive Composite Materials Co., Ltd. currently provides panels for the Santana models of the Volkswagen Group. The panels are made of copolymerized PP plus thermoplastic elastomer, and then added with other additives, which are injection molded to make the body anti-vibration capability and Audi A6. quite.

In 2014, the company began to produce thermoplastic composite materials for vehicles. The products are mainly used for exterior parts such as automobile bumpers, door panels, body panels, seat backs, anti-collision parts, spare tire frames, and automobile hoods. In the second half of this year, the company will also introduce boron-free fluorine-free and alkali-free thermoplastic glass fiber reinforced materials for automobile silencers. After the products are launched, the company's overall sales are expected to increase by 20%.

Liu Yuning, general manager of the company, said that increasing the productivity of thermoplastic composites is mainly due to the fact that the main direction of the development of automotive materials technology in the world is light weight and environmental protection . Reducing the weight of automobiles is one of the most effective measures to reduce vehicle emissions and improve combustion efficiency. For every 10% reduction in the weight of the car, fuel consumption can be reduced by 6% to 8%. Although carbon fiber composites are generally optimistic on the market, the cost is too high for mid- and low-end models, and this state will not change much in the next five years. Increasing the amount of thermoplastic composites used in automobiles is the key to reducing overall vehicle costs and reducing self-weight and increasing vehicle payload.

However, Liu Yuning also admitted that although the company's thermoplastic composite materials are developing at a relatively stable level, the company still hopes that the government can vigorously develop the deep processing industry of glass fiber products, and continue to enhance the use of glass fiber products with the transformation of downstream composite materials and product upgrading. The scale and professional production level enhance product quality and added value. At the same time, it guides product companies to actively participate in downstream product and application research and development, meet the individualized needs of downstream users, implement differentiated production and operation, and avoid low-price vicious competition.