Within the cooperative research project 3D-LightTrans (Large scale manufacturing technology for high-performance lightweight 3D multifunctional composites), 18 partners have established an innovative approach for industrial manufacturing of textile-reinforced thermoplastic composites. The key to the 3D-LightTrans innovation consists in designing a multi-material semi-finished fabrics made of hybrid yarn and shaped to deep draped pre-fixed multi-layered and multifunctional 3D-textile pre-forms. These are then efficiently processed into the final composite part by thermoforming.
The project was coordinated by Marianne Hörlesberger from AIT Innovation Systems Department and co-funded by European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme. The Leichtmetall Kompetenzzentrum Ranshofen was also part of the project team.
At the largest conference and show for composites “JEC” in Paris, the 3D-LightTrans project won the Innovation Award in the category reinforcement. “The trophy will now get scanned and 3D printed, so all 18 European partners from university, research, and industry will have an exemplar of it” says project manager Marianne Hörlesberger.
More about the project: http://www.3d-lighttrans.com/