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Making Thermoplastic Composites
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Newsletter - July 2023
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Enjoy reading TPAC's news on thermoplastic composites research and development from your mailbox!
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In addition, you can always follow the latest of TPAC on:
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The sustainable promise of lightweight composites
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At Saxion’s Lightweight Structures research group (better known as TPAC- ThermoPlastic composites Application Center), flax fibres form the basis for sustainable sheet material, and composite tapes made of recycled plastic go through the weaving machine. These are innovations in the spirit of Twente’s manufacturing industry. Recently, professor Ferrie van Hattum and his colleagues Ilse ten Bruggencate and Rik Brouwer completed two innovation collaboration projects: Rightweight and 3DFlax.
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TPAC laboratory expansion
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Our new laboratory space (290 square meter) is almost finished. This will allow TPAC to move its labscale- and test-equipment to the new lab space, reserving the current lab space for industrial equipment, allowing for trials closer to industrial reality.
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The new laboratory space will be operational in September.
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Furthermore, a Kuka robot with a CEAD extruder for 3D printing of large continuous fiber reinforced composite structures (range of 4,8 meter in diameter), a hot-cold press for compression moulding and, in addition a new extruder will be installed in September.
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This offers a unique R&D environment for TPCs to TPACs partners and students!
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New team members at TPAC
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From left to right: Wallison da Silva Bezerra, Martijn Jannink, Peter Verschut, Ibrahim Can Kaymaz, Allard Braakhuis and Özgür Seydibeyoğlu
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The last period, a large group of new employees has joined our TPAC team. We would like to use this moment to introduce all of them.
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Finalization project: Post-use Plastic Foil solutions
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The plastics recycling industry still has a long way to go to become fully circular. Many companies share problems in different variations. Used foils and thin-walled plastics (Post-use Plastic Foil or PPF) are a substantial obstacle to the circular economy, as they represent a large share of the waste stream but are very difficult to recycle. This project carried out applied research into the sustainability potential of thin-walled plastics from decentralised point sources
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First year's Mechanical Engineering students at TPAC
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First year's Mechanical Engineering students from Hogeschool Saxion came to visit TPAC for a short introduction of the research group and a tour of the lab facilities. In the following period they will be involved in (injection moulding) practical training.
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