| When it comes to the development of new technologies using hybrid and composite materials for automotive structures, the UK is ahead of the rest of Europe. However, in terms of implementing these new technologies into automotive applications, the UK lags behind other European countries such as Germany and Switzerland. This was one of the key findings revealed at a seminar held at Cranfield University on 6 February to present the findings of a DTI-backed technology mission to Europe. The objective of the mission, which took place from 4-8 November 2002, was to identify and understand the industry trends and drivers for the use of hybrid metallic, polymer and composite structures. During the week long mission, the mission team of nine automotive suppliers and industries specialists visited a cross-section of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Tier 1 and research organisations in Germany and Switzerland, including Alcan, BMW, Ford, IKA in Aachen and Horlacher. In terms of materials and manufacturing, the team was only occasionally impressed by what they saw with very few new technologies in comparison to those being developed in the UK. ‘Before we went our understanding was that Germany was leading Europe in the awareness of industrial impact on the environment and the adoption of new technologies,’ said Gordon Bishop, Managing Director of NetComposites. ‘But the use of composites and hybrids is at an early stage with a variety of potential process types still being looked at.’ Overall, there was a lack of new technology in thermoset and thermoplastics materials. However, there was a lot of work going on in simulation, joining and disassembly. In response to the End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) directive, which requires vehicle manufacturers to meet recycling and recovery targets of 85% by 2006 and 95% by 2015, attitudes have changed very little and it does not dominate the current work taking place in Germany and Switzerland. ‘The EU ELV directive is a central issue and for this reason it had to be central to our discussions,’ said John Monk, Practice Leader for Lean Methodologies at Knibb Gormezano & Partners. ‘BMW and Ford expressed no doubts on their ability, and the necessity, to comply with the requirements. The remainder of the organisation we visited, with the exception of Alcan, were not actively working on recycling issues.’ The UK has well-established processes for low-volume applications of composite and hybrid materials in automotive structures. However, in Germany and Switzerland interest lies in developing processes for high-volume production, up to and over 50,000 units per year. This requirement was being actively pursued, in particular by Alcan, whose R&D efforts were being directed at resin transfer moulding (RTM) processes for high volume. Mike Birrell, Business Development Director at BI Composites was surprised by the lack of new technology applicable to thermoplastic composites in volume car production. ‘Much of the work carried out verged on aerospace technology without addressing the need for fast/cheap processing of automotive competitive materials,’ he said. At the moment, large-scale use of composites and hybrid materials is too much of a risk for large manufacturers. ‘The drivers for the automotive industry will come from composite materials, structures and environmental issues,’ said Simon Carter from the DTI’s Automotive Unit. ‘Some of these are going to cause some angst, but some will drive tomorrow’s technologies.’ |