“Light Weight Materials

for Transportation”

AL AN TAU B Tenneco
Professor, University of Michigan Grass Lake, MI
CTO, Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow November 13, 2017
 TYPICAL VEHICLE-LEVEL ENERGY BREAKDOWN
Compact Sedan with Four-cylinder Engine and Automatic Transmission
(U.S. Federal Test Procedure, Composite City-Highway Drive Cycle)

ENGINE VEHICLE

Standby Idle Accessories Aero

7% 2% 8%

Rolling
Fuel TO THE 5%
23% Transmission ROAD
Input Engine
and D/L
100% 17% Mass and
Inertia

Engine Losses Driveline Losses Braking

68% 6% 4%
Regulatory Impact on Materials

Weight savings is expected to provide 3 to 6 miles per gallon of fuel economy

improvement by 2025.

2025 Sources of Improvement in CO2

Reduction and Real Fuel Economy

Internal Combustion,
15% Transmission and
Min. other Improvements

HEV, PHEV and EV

50%
35%
Weight Reduction
*Other improvements
include drag & friction reduction,
Aerodynamics, HVAC optimization
20 more MPG

3
1250Maplelawn | Troy | Michigan | 48084 248.644.0086 www.ducker.com Confidential - © Ducker Worldwide
 OPTIONS FOR VEHICLE CHIEF ENGINEER
TO MEET FUEL ECONOMY TARGET

$ / mpg Powertrain
Weight
Aero
Rolling Resistance

Rule of thumb for rational design:

10% weight reduction ~ 6% fuel economy
For weight reduction to be competitive with powertrain,
aerodynamic and rolling resistance improvements:
➢ Cost ~ $2 / pound (~4.5 Euro/kg) saved
 OPTIONS FOR VEHICLE CHIEF ENGINEER
TO MEET FUEL ECONOMY TARGET

$ / pound saved (2003) Materials Research to Meet 21st

$ / mpg Powertrain Century Defense Needs
Light Vehicle $2 / pound saved
Weight
Aero NRC Committee on Materials
Commercial Aircraft $200 / pound
Rollingsaved
Resistance Research for Defense After Next
Spacecraft $20,000 / pound saved National Academy Press, 2003

Rule of thumb for rational design:

10% weight reduction ~ 6% fuel economy
For weight reduction to be competitive with powertrain,
aerodynamic and rolling resistance improvements:
➢ Cost ~ $2 / pound (~4.5 Euro/kg) saved
 Value of Weight Reduction
~$2 / pound saved (~$4.50/kg)

~$200 / pound saved (~$450/kg)

Achieve lower weight by:

• Better design: e.g.- topology optimization
INCREASING VALUE OF WEIGHT REDUCTION
& DECREASING UNITS/YEAR

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 Value of Weight Reduction
~$2 / pound saved (~$4.50/kg)

~$200 / pound saved (~$450/kg)

Achieve lower weight by:

• Better design
• Higher INCREASING
specific strength
VALUE & modulus materials
OF WEIGHT REDUCTION
& DECREASING UNITS/YEAR

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 ADVANCED MATERIALS
FOR LIGHTWEIGHT VEHICLES

Weight Reduction Relative Cost per

Material vs. Low-Carbon Part
Steel [DOE, Joost 2015]
High-strength steel 15-25% 100 – 150%
Glass-fiber composite 25-35% 100 – 150%
Aluminum 40-50% 130 – 200%
Magnesium 55-60% 150 – 250%
Carbon-fiber
55-60% 200 – 1000%
composite
Manufacturing Innovation Institutes: Putting America at the
Forefront of 21st Century Manufacturing
LIFT - Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow
• Part of the Manufacturing USA (NNMI network)
www.manufacturing.gov
• Managed by a new non-profit 501(c)(3) company created
as stand-alone entity incorporated in Michigan – ALMMII.
Founding partners are EWI, University of Michigan and The
Ohio State University

• LIFT brings together > 100-member organizations that pair

the world’s leading aluminum, titanium, magnesium and
high strength steel manufacturers with universities and
laboratories pioneering new applied technology
development and research.

White House award announcement 2/25/2014

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 Mission
LIFT will …
Accelerate the development
and application of innovative
lightweight metal production
and component manufacturing
technologies to benefit the US
transportation,
aerospace and
defense market sectors
Deliver high value advanced alloy processing
technologies that reduce the weight of machines
that move people and goods on land, sea and air

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 The Scale-up Gap
Growing Global Competition in Scaling-up

Gap in Manufacturing Innovation

Precompetitive Proprietary
Member-shared Technology Company Sponsored
Development Projects

Institute Development Activity MRL 4-7

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 LIFT Headquarters
• ~100,000 sq. ft. building in Detroit’s
Corktown area
• Ribbon cutting held January 2015

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 LIFT Technology Development Committee
Monthly CTO Update 04/05/2017
Layout

IACMI colocation

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 LIFT Center Capabilities
• Quality & Met Lab
• Machine Shop
• Extrusion Press
• Hydroforming Press
• Stamping Press
• Multi-Robot Joining Cell
• Hot Isostatic Press
• Metal Injection Molding
• Tilt-Pour Casting
• Linear Friction Welding

14
LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW
 126 Membership Agreements Signed
Industries & Professional Societies Academic & Research Partners

University of
Texas at Austin

Start-ups

Small/Medium Manufacturers

Workforce/Education
Optimal Process
Technologies, LLC

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 LIFT Research Partner Network

TARDEC
PNNL
LIFT

AFRL

NRL NIST

ORNL

LANL Univ N. Texas

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 LIFT Technology Portfolio
INCREASING VALUE OF WEIGHT REDUCTION
& DECREASING UNITS/YEAR
LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW
LIFT is building a technology
portfolio serving the military
and commercial
transportation sectors
All projects have applications
crossing at least two
transportation sectors
LIFT projects are prioritized
by large Industry partners
with input from government
agencies to ensure
commercialization plans are
in place
 Technology Scope
Priority metal classes and its alloys are: Advanced High-Strength Steels,
Titanium, Aluminum and Magnesium
Technology development needs have been grouped into 6 pillars:

● Melt processing ● Low Cost, Agile Tooling

● Powder Processing ● Coatings
● Thermo-mechanical processing ● Joining and Assembly

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 Melt Processing
Developing and Deploying Thin Wall Ductile Iron Castings
for High Volume Production

Project Objective
To obtain a 30% to 50% weight reduction in
components by decreasing wall thickness by 50%
through improvements in the methods of producing
thin wall ductile iron castings and the alloys involved.

Status: Achieved 40% weight reduction in first

castings tested
Industry Partners: Grede, Comau,
Eaton, PDA
Trade Association: American Foundry
Society
Research Partners: Michigan
Technological University, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology

Eaton Differential Carrier P/N: ED-39950

 Al Vacuum Die Casting:
Shock Tower for 2013 Cadillac ATS
 Eliminating gas porosity in casting: heat-treatable & weldable castings

Vacuum valve

Pouring hole

Vacuum on - Vacuum off –

Plunger passes pouring hole Complete fill is reached

20
 Super Vacuum Die Casting (SVDC)
and Industry Issues
SVDC Primary Objectives
▪ Die castings heat treatable without blisters
▪ Die castings weldable without base material
gas defects and blistering
▪ Low air entrapment during filling of difficult-
to-vent casting areas
High Quality Approach
▪ Achieve low gas content in castings (low N2)
via 50 mbar vacuum level or less
Higher demand on performance concurrent
with lack of high performance alloys and
process flexibility shows less use of castings

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS 21
FOR TOMORROW
 Melt Processing
Vacuum aided aluminum die casting production

Project Objective
To enhance the ability of ICME models to
predict the performance of aluminum die cast
parts by combining information about the
microstructure of the metal with a host of
design and production parameters.

Benefit: Reduce wall thickness (up to 40%)

and weight (up to 20%). These enhancements
Industry Partners: Boeing, Eaton, Alcoa, will be used primarily for aerospace, defense,
Comau, Nemark and automotive applications.
Trade Association: American Foundry Society,
North American Die Casting Association
Research Partners: The Ohio State University,
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, University of
Michigan, Southwest Research Institute,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Preliminary Results on EZ-CastTM
Effect of Cooling Rate

• SDAS (secondary dendrite arm spacing) vs CR

(cooling rate ) relationship
• SDAS ranging from 9.2 µm at P1 to 17.4 µm at P4

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 TM
EZ-Cast – Heat treated at T4, T5, T6
35 10
EZCast, HT-Run 1, Full-Size Specimen
9

30 8

7
As-cast

Elonga o (%)
Strength (Ksi)

25 T4 T6 T5 6

20 4

As-cast
15 2
T4 T6 T5
As-cast

T4 T6 T5 1

10 0
TS YS %
BOEING PROPRIETARY 48

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

Melt-R2-2: In-situ Manufacturing of Nanoparticle
Reinforced Aluminum Matrix Composites
Effect of reinforcement particle volume fraction on mechanical properties

AlN (70 nm)/A356 (Al-Si-Mg)

(a) Tensile strength
(b) Yield strength
(c) Elongation

C. Borgonova, WPI (2013)

Fig. 1. Yield strength of cast aluminum alloy, A356, vs.

• Particle volume fraction  volume percent of AlN particles, measured at room
temperature (blue closed symbol) and 300C (red open
• UTS , YS  and El%  symbol). In both cases, the yield strength increases with
increasing concentration of AlN [6].
 Microstructure and Mechanical
Properties of MMNCs
High temperature applications

Supercharger housing for automotive

AlN (70 nm)/A356 (Al-Si-Mg) engine
(a) Tensile strength
(b) Yield strength
(c) Elongation

C. Borgonova, WPI (2013)

• Particle volume fraction 

• UTS , YS  and El%  Aerospace pump housing
Ultrasonic dispersion
• Produce acoustic transient
cavitation effects, produce an
implosive impact and therefore
break the nanoparticle clusters
and remove impurities from the
particles surface
• Nanoparticle system: SiC/AZ91D
(Li et al. 2004); SiC/aluminum
alloy 356 (Li et al. 2004)
• The ultrasonic probe might
dissolve in the molten metal at
the process temperature
• Not easily scalable Ultrasonic assisted casting set-up
Yang, Y., Lan, J., Li, X.: Study on bulk aluminum matrix nano-
composite fabricated by ultrasonic dispersion of nano-sized
Li, X.; Yang, Y.; Cheng, X. Ultrasonic-assisted fabrication of metal SiC particles in molten aluminum alloy. Mater Sci Eng A
matrix composites. J. Mater. Sci. 2004, 39, 3211–3212. 380, 378–383 (2004).

Department of Material Science and Engineering

College of Engineering
27
The University of Michigan
In situ gas-liquid reaction process
• Gas bubbled into the melt with a rotating impeller
– N2 + melted Al AlN (Borgonovo, C., 2013)
– CH4 + melted Al (pre-alloyed with Ti) TiC (Anza, I., 2016)
• Advantages
– Uniform distribution, clean interface, no additional process for
fabricating nanoparticles

Borgonovo, C., 2013 (a) SEM image and (b) EDS spectra suggesting the formation of AlN particles

Department of Material Science and Engineering

College of Engineering
The University of Michigan
 Technology Scope
Priority metal classes and its alloys are: Advanced High-Strength Steels,
Titanium, Aluminum and Magnesium
Technology development needs have been grouped into 6 pillars:

● Melt processing ● Low Cost, Agile Tooling

● Powder Processing ● Coatings
● Thermo-mechanical processing ● Joining and Assembly

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 Technology Scope
Priority metal classes and its alloys are: Advanced High-Strength Steels,
Titanium, Aluminum and Magnesium
Technology development needs have been grouped into 6 pillars:
● Melt processing ● Low Cost, Agile Tooling
● Powder Processing ● Coatings
● Thermo-mechanical processing ● Joining and Assembly
In addition, there are crosscutting themes:
● Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME)
● Design
● Life-cycle analysis
● Validation / Certification
● Cost modeling
● Supply chain
● Corrosion
● Ballistic/ Blast

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 Key metallurgical processes occur at
many length scales – and all can be
influenced by manufacturing history

1m
Engine Block

1 – 10 mm
Macrostructure
• Grains
• Macroporosity
10 – 500um
Properties Microstructure
• High cycle fatigue • Eutectic Phases
• Ductility • Dendrites 1-100 nm
• Microporosity Nanostructure
• Intermetallics • Precipitates
Properties Properties
• Yield strength • Yield strength
• Tensile strength • Thermal Growth 0.1-1 nm
• High cycle fatigue • Tensile strength Atomic Structure
• Low cycle fatigue • Low cycle fatigue • Crystal Structure
• Thermal Growth • Ductility • Interface Structure
• Ductility
Properties
• Thermal Growth
• Yield Strength
 What is ICME?
Integrated Computational Materials Engineering
(ICME) is the integration of materials
information, captured in computational tools,
with engineering product performance analysis
and manufacturing-process simulation.*

Chemistry
Thermodynamics
Diffusion

Manufacturing
Quantitative Quantitative Engineering • Process &
Processing- Structure- Constitutive Product
Process
Structure Property Models Performance
product
Simulation
Relations Relations Analysis optimization
• Innovation

* NAE ICME Report, 2008 Courtesy John Allison (Univ Michigan)

 Virtual Aluminum Castings
The Ford Experiment in ICME

Manufacturing Product
Process Microstructure Property Performance
Simulation Distribution Distribution Analysis

• Process &
product
optimization
• Innovation

Courtesy John Allison (Univ Michigan)

 Cast Alloy Processing-Structure-Property Linkages
Heat Treatment
Processing Casting

nTreatment
Solution Aging
Chemistry

Thermodynamics/
Kiinetics

Microstructure Micro porosity Eutectic Phases Precipitation

Properties
High Cycle Fatigue Low Cycle Fatigue Yield Strength Thermal Growth

Courtesy John Allison (Univ Michigan)

 Cast Alloy Processing-Structure-Property Linkages
Heat Treatment
Processing Casting

nTreatment
Solution Aging
Chemistry

Thermodynamics/
Kiinetics

Microstructure Micro porosity Eutectic Phases Precipitation

Properties
High Cycle Fatigue Low Cycle Fatigue Yield Strength Thermal Growth

Courtesy John Allison (Univ Michigan)

 Thermo-mechanical Processing
Integration of ICME with Legacy and Novel TMP Processing for
Assured Properties in Titanium Structures
Project Objective
To develop computer models that will
reduce by 50% both the time and cost for
materials development, component
design, and manufacture.

These new computational tools will help

improve performance in manufactured
components.

Industry Partners: GE Aviation, Scientific

Forming Technologies Corporation, Boeing
Research Partners: The Ohio State University,
University of Michigan, University of North
Texas, Purdue University, Southwest Research
Institute

Figure 1 - A bladed disk formed by Linear Figure 2 - Surrogate component for machining
Friction Welding of two different Titanium preforms consisting of two bosses welded to base
alloys plates. (Boeing proprietary)
Cracking in As-TFW
Bimetallic material

Ti64
#2 12X
Airfoil
Weld Voids in as-TFW
bimetallic materials
Weld
Flash

Ti17
Hub
 Phase 1: Development of the computational models
Task 1: Computational models to predict evolution of microstructure during processing and
subsequent heat treatment – develop database information to support the models
e.g., direct measure of temperature gradients:
TC instrumented TFW panels
• Inside vs outside
• Process variations
• Bimetallic material combinations

3000
Ti64/Ti6246
Temp. (o F)

Curves refer to the

position of the TC

80
Time (secs)
 Thermo-mechanical Processing
Predicting the performance of aluminum-lithium alloys
Project Objective
To better predict the performance of
aluminum-lithium alloys in formed parts by
developing advanced computer simulations.

The project partnership will also include

material process modeling and simulation of
the properties evolution during industrial
operations.
Industry Partners: United Technologies
Research Center, Lockheed Martin
Research Partners: University of
Michigan, Case Western Reserve
University, The Ohio State University,
Southwest Research Institute

Fi gure 1. Mi crostructure-based material properties and life prediction of a component

Microstructure based material properties
Develop Physics Based Predictive Models For Improved Lifing

Microstructure-based material properties and lifing prediction of a component

The conceptual flow chart for the Crystal plasticity modeling to predict final
microstructure, which in turn defines anisotropic mechanical properties

40 LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 Forged versus predicted textures
Al-Li forged specimen texture varies from copper-type texture typically
observed for constrained compression of high SFE FCC materials
Forged specimen texture (4” section)

Unusually high
intensity Goss Plane strain compression predicted texture
texture

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

Micro-compression Experiments
• Nano-indenter outfitted with a conical flat punch tip is employed to perform the micro-
pillar compression experiments.
• Trial compression experiments were performed and one data set is shown below

Pillar After Compression

▪ Data is logical & the deformed pillar appears to contain faint slip traces (arrows)
▪ Modulus can be extracted from the unloading portion of the load-displacement curve
after additional corrections (compliance of pillar base) are made
▪ Follow up experiments at higher levels of displacement are in progress to confirm
adequate alignment & single crystal deformation achieved

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW ECCN: EAR99

UTC Proprietary 42
 Technology Scope
Priority metal classes and its alloys are: Advanced High-Strength Steels,
Titanium, Aluminum and Magnesium
Technology development needs have been grouped into 6 pillars:

● Melt processing ● Low Cost, Agile Tooling

● Powder Processing ● Coatings
● Thermo-mechanical processing ● Joining and Assembly

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 Joining and Assembly
Reduce warping in joining lightweight metal sheets in shipbuilding
Project Objective
To expand the ability of computer simulations to
predict the results of large sheets of metal being
welded together in a production environment.

The project will result in reduced rework,

improved first time quality and increased
productivity.

Industry Partners: Ingalls Shipbuilding,

Comau and ESI NA
Research Partners: University of Michigan,
EWI, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
The Ohio State University
 13
Residual Stresses and Distortion in Ship Production

Thin plates with thick inserts coupled with current facility limitations and
legacy processes result in residual stress built-up and distortion

Deck Plate Distortion

6.5” out-of-plane distortion

USCG National Security Cutter (NSC)
 Centerpiece of the U.S.Coast
Guard fleet replacement
program

 Flag Ship of U.S. Coast Guard

 Most technically advanced high

endurance cutter in existence

USCG NSC“Legend”Class Spec

CREW SIZE 113 sailors
LENGTH 418 feet
WIDTH 54 feet
SPEED 28 knots
DISPLACEMENT 4,500 tons
MULTI-MATERIAL BODY – THE FUTURE
Mg-Intensive Castings (15): 31 kg
Front-end Extrusions (3): 9 kg
Sheet Parts (17): 6 kg

AHSS Passenger Compartment

Steel: 79 Parts; 84 kg
Mg: 35 Parts; 46 kg
(Eliminate 44 Parts and Save 38 kg - 45%)

Composite Floor Pan

CHALLENGE FOR FUTURE BODY CONSTRUCTION
Design engineers can utilize topology optimization to maximize vehicle
level weight savings opportunities

Component engineers can design increasingly complex geometries utilizing

a wide range of materials
(AHSS, Al, Mg, Composites)

Manufacturing engineers can produce components using a variety of

processes
(Stampings, Extrusions, Castings,…)

Need to be able to join any combination of materials in any form with –

Low Cost, High Stiffness, Durability, Corrosion Resistance
 Joining –R2-1: Development of Technologies for Titanium to Steel
Goals / Benefits
Goal:
• Develop processes to connect titanium alloy to steels can be
classified in to two groups :solid-state joining process and high
energy beam welding processes
Benefit:
• The study in this project will focus on the welding process for
joining of Ti/steel to meet the requirement of each application. The
develop technologies can also be used to the military applications
such as transition joints of decking structure for Navy ships and
aero engine applications for aircraft.

• Total Project Value: $2.64M

Figure 1 – Selected target appliications: (a)automotive titanium • Transportation Sectors: Navy Ships, Aerospace ,Automotive
e xhaust system components, (b) bevel gear on shaft.

Problem / Approach
Problem Team Members: Tenneco, Boeing, GE,SFTC, EWI, UM, CSM,OSU
• It is difficult to produce robust and reliable Ti/steel joints by Period of Performance: September 2016 thru September 2018
conventional fusion welding due to notable mismatch in physical
properties and poor metallurgical compatibility.
• The developed processes to connect titanium alloys to steels can
be classified into two groups: solid state joining process and high
energy beam welding processes.
Approach
• Developing ICME based modelling methods to optimize joint
design and welding process, conducting small scale specimen
laboratory trials, testing joint quality and performance, and
recommending welding and joining process for target applications.
• Validating ICME-based models, designing and welding
components, testing and analysis of joint quality and performance,
recommending welding process for industrial practices, and
demonstrating the developed technologies in production
environment. LIFT Road Mapping Meeting
Program Management Review:
LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW Project No.: Joining R2-1
Date: 10-20-2017
 Technology Scope
Priority metal classes and its alloys are: Advanced High-Strength Steels,
Titanium, Aluminum and Magnesium
Technology development needs have been grouped into 6 pillars:

● Melt processing ● Low Cost, Agile Tooling

● Powder Processing ● Coatings
● Thermo-mechanical processing ● Joining and Assembly

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 Traditional Blacksmithing Evolved into
Large, Dedicated Machines with Expensive Tooling

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

“Back to the Future” though CNC Blacksmithing

Heating
and
Cooling
Machine Sensors

High Value
Simulation Component
with local Position
and ICME Microstructure
and Shape

German anonymous, circa 1606

LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW

 Conventional Incremental Sheet
Stamping Forming
Forming tool

Sheet metal part

(CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering. 2014)

(E. Salem, NAMRC Conference 2016)

Preliminary LIGHTWEIGHT
Exam INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW
Maya Nath 54
 ADVANTAGES OF ISF

Additive

Complexity
Manufacturing

Incremental
Forming
Conventional
Forming

(J. Allwood, 2005)

Volume (parts/year)

Advantages of Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF)

✓ Lower forming forces
✓ Die-less or low-cost die
✓ Shorter lead time
✓ Component customizability
Preliminary Exam - Maya Nath University of Michigan 55
 INCREMENTAL SHEET FORMING
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

CNC Lathe CNC Mill CNC Robot

Prof. Alan Taub Prof. Jun Ni Prof. Wes McGee

(MSE) (ME) (School of Architecture)

Finite Element Model: Prof. Mihaela Banu (ME)

Preliminary Exam - Maya Nath University of Michigan 56

 What is beyond lightweight metals?
Weight Reduction
Material vs. Low-Carbon
Will the automobile follow
Steel
the aircraft industry with
bodies made from
High-strength steel 15-25% carbon-fiber composites?

Glass-fiber composite 25-35%

Aluminum 40-50%
Magnesium 55-60%
Carbon-fiber
55-60%
composite
CARBON FIBER-REINFORCED
COMPOSITE PARTS IN
CHEVROLET CORVETTE ZR1
Roof Bow
Roof Cover

Fender

Hood
BMW I-Car

Rocker

Splitter

Image Source: Plasan Carbon Composites

$ / pound saved (2003)

Light Vehicle $2 / pound saved
Commercial Aircraft $200 / pound saved
Spacecraft $20,000 / pound saved
 Making Carbon-Fiber Composites
Competitive for Automotive Applications
• Reduced carbon fiber cost
• Low cost precursor
• Reduced conversion energy
• Faster molding time
• Improved thermoset resin transfer processing
• Improved mechanical performance of thermoplastic matrix
 Proud Member of the
Manufacturing USA
National Network for Manufacturing Innovation

Learn More At: Follow Us at:

http://lift.technology @NewsFromLIFT

Partnership for Manufacturing Innovation

60
LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW