碳纤维增强型复合材料轮毂成功问世

在2014美国JEC复合材料及新材料展上，奥地利Mubea Carbo Tech公司(以下简称Mubea)带来了其最新研究成果——碳纤维复合材料轮毂。Mubea方面表示，公司拟将于今年7月在其总部Salzburg工厂对这一新材料轮毂进行大规模批量化生产。



该新型轮毂采用碳纤维复合材料及铝制金属生产而成。车轮外边缘统一采用碳纤维增强型塑料，其中心部位则采用铝制材料。据悉，待正式投产运营后，Mubea该种轮毂产能为20,000个/年。



“早在四年前，我们的研发团队就已开始着手新材料轮毂生产项目。经反复测试和修改，我们的轮胎最终符合所有欧洲及国际标准和规定。” Mubea CEO Karl Wagner在JEC复合材料科技研讨会上发表演讲时说道。
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Karl Wagner, Mubea Carbo Tech GmbH CEO, speaks at JEC Americas in Atlanta about his company's composite wheel.Image By: Bill Bregar

Wagner透露，德国某知名品牌汽车将成为这一新型材料轮毂的首个应用者。两年前，Mubea原计划打造全碳纤维增强型塑料轮胎，不添加任何金属成分。然而，因遭遇技术瓶颈，研发人员不得不放弃这种极具挑战的生产方法。

Mubea碳纤维轮毂在JEC复合材料展上一经亮相便受到了业内人士的一致好评。他们认为，采用该种材料生产的汽车轮毂不但能减轻车重，还能减小惯性(即汽车刹车时能在最短的距离内进行停车)。此外，与传统汽车轮胎相比，这一新型材料轮胎质量较其轻30%。


ATLANTA — A factory in Austria soon will begin producing automotive wheels from a hybrid of carbon fiber composites and aluminum, European composites entrepreneur Karl Wagner said at the JEC Americas trade show. copyright 123456

When the Salzburg wheel factory begins operating in July, Mubea Carbo Tech GmbH will be able to build 20,000 of the wheels a year. The wheels have a carbon-fiber reinforced outer rim, the tire fits onto. The more-visible portion, known as the center star, is aluminum.

“We started with the development of this wheel about four years ago,” Wagner said in a technical session on automotive composites held May 14 at JEC Americas in Atlanta. Mubea Carbo Tech and European car makers have tested the wheels, and they meet automotive standards, he said.

Wagner said German automakers will begin using the wheels on some 2016 models. The hybrid wheels are made by a fully automated resin transfer molding process.

About two years ago, the company also began developing all-carbon-fiber-reinforced wheels, with no aluminum, Wagner said. One key technical challenge is the connection holes where the wheel bolts onto the vehicle’s hub.

Using composites for car wheels cuts weight. It also reduces the rotation mass of the wheel, so it has quicker acceleration and, when braking, a shorter stopping distance, Wagner said. A fully composite wheel is 30 percent lighter than an all-aluminum one, he added. 123,123

Wagner founded Carbo Tech Composites GmbH in 1993. In 2011, he sold a majority of the business to automotive supplier Mubea Group. On May 5 — a week before the JEC conference — Mubea announced it was buying Wagner’s remaining shares and would take 100 percent ownership of Carbo Tech.

Wagner said he is no longer the CEO, but he will remain at Mubea Carbo Tech.

Carbo Tech Composites gained a reputation in motor sports, such as Formula One cars. Since it started, the company has made about 5,000, one-piece monocoque chassis of carbon fiber composite, he said. The firm also makes other car body parts, as well as industrial components.

Now, wheels account about 65 percent of total sales, Wagner said.