Current approaches to manufacturing with thermoplastics at the International Congress

ITHEC goes digital: From Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 October 2020, the International Conference and Exhibition on Thermoplastic Composites (ITHEC) in Bremen will be held online, and over three days instead of two, for the first time. „Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we decided to hold the Congress and the accompanying exhibition virtually this time, adjusting the structure at the same time,“ says Daniel Schäfer, the new Project Manager for ITHEC at CONGRESS BREMEN. The Congress, which takes place every two years, was originally supposed to be held in Hall 4 at MESSE BREMEN. Now „ITHEC 2020 – Virtual Edition“ will take place at www.ithec.de.
Experts show great interest in the digital ITHEC
The organisers are expecting over 500 specialists from industry and research (2018: 400) to attend the fifth ITHEC to discuss the latest research about lightweight construction materials, which experts claim have huge potential. This year the programme includes 50 talks and 40 poster presentations on applications in air and space travel, as well as automotive and new technologies. Companies and research institutions will again showcase their current developments in the accompanying professional exhibition. More than 50 exhibitors have already registered for the event (2018: 50). „We can’t currently give a final figure for the digital ITHEC, since registration is still open,“ says Schäfer. „However, we can say that exhibitors will be able to present their exhibits and machines live and interactively direct from the lab – thanks to our virtual platform.“
Key themes: from 3D printing to rear car seats
„The key themes this year include aircraft structures and 3D printing,“ says Schäfer. Production processes and their optimisation are the focus. A team from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt) has been working on the extremely difficult task of impregnating fibre bundles with highly liquid molten materials in additive production. The group has developed a process that can achieve high impregnation quality for small installation spaces by using high-frequency sound waves. Potential applications range from the manufacture of continuously fibre-reinforced composites to integration into a 3D print head. „Companies and research institutes are continuing to investigate and develop 3D printing with ultrasound: it will continue to play an important role in the future,“ says Schäfer.
Structure of a rear car seat: in one piece in just one minute
Another topic is fibre-reinforced construction for vehicles. A expert team from the automobile supplier Faurecia and the IRT Jules Verne research institute from France are working on the use of fibre-reinforced composite materials. This means that the structure of a rear car seat can be produced in one piece. This is done by manufacturing the structure of the rear seat with an injection moulding machine in a single shot. Compared to conventional metal designs, manufacturing this structural component using carbon fibres achieves weight savings of almost a third and reduces material costs. The manufacturing time is also less than a minute.
The full Congress programme for ITHEC 2020 can be found on the website. Up-to-date information on the digital edition of the exhibition will also soon be available online.
More information: www.ithec.de
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About ITHEC:
CONGRESS BREMEN, M3B GmbH has been organising ITHEC with the Fibre Institute at the University of Bremen (FIBRE) since 2012. The event is the world’s first and only conference with an accompanying professional exhibition in the sector.

Further information for editorial offices:
MESSE BREMEN & CONGRESS BREMEN/M3B GmbH
Project Manager: Daniel Schäfer, Tel. 042 / 35 05 – 3 47, Fax: 35 05 – 347
E-Mail: daniel.schaefer@messe-bremen.de; Internet: www.ithec.de

PR: Canan Sevil, Tel. 0421 / 35 05 – 323
E-Mail: sevil@messe-bremen.de; Internet: www.messe-bremen.de