Florian Jansen ( Business Development Engineer ) & Christian Naber (Sales Manager) from BÜFA Thermoplastic Composites, Lisa Ketelsen from Covestro (Head of Thermoplastic Composites), Dirk Punke (BÜFA Thermoplastic Composites / Managing Director), Arne Boettcher (Covestro)
The demand for materials for lightweight construction, which are nevertheless as robust as metal, continues to grow. As a result, the young company BÜFA Thermoplastic Composites, a supplier of raw materials and semi-finished products for thermoplastic components, has chosen Covestro, another leading manufacturer of unidirectional tapes, as its partner. More precisely, the UD tapes from the product range Maezio™. The Maezio™ material is a continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite, also known as CFRTP.
In the manufacture of UD tapes, a thermoplastic matrix, such as polycarbonate, is strengthened with strands of continuous, oriented carbon or glass fibers. In combination with the thermoplastic material, it results in a versatile material. “Although the Maezio™ UD tape can be made particularly thinly, it has a high stability and is especially light at the same time,” explains Dirk Punke, Managing Director of BÜFA Thermoplastic Composites GmbH & Co. KG. “This enables the production of complex and three-dimensional components,” continues Punke.
The CFRTP material can be tuned to customer-specific requirements in terms of stiffness and strength. In general, Covestro’s UD tapes have the advantages that they can be processed particularly efficiently and have a high impact strength. High stiffness and excellent surface quality are also important properties. These enable a wide range of application ranging from interior and exterior components for cars to sport equipment and consumer products. Covestro’s Maezio™ CF FR 1000 Tape specializes in low flammability, which makes it especially interesting for applications in transportation interior components as well as for consumer electronics.
The UD tapes can be laminated together at different angles to form sheets, also known as multiaxial organosheets, wherein the properties can be tuned to the specific performance target. The mechanical properties of the laminates can exceed those of a metal sheet. These semi-finished products are important for structural applications in various segments. The UD tapes can be processed by thermoforming, tape laying or tape winding and combinations with injection molding.
Covestro is one of the world’s largest polymer companies. Its business focuses on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of everyday life. This distinguishes Covestro as a suitable partner of BÜFA Thermoplastic Composites.
