Automotive Engineering - September 2021 - 27

ADVANCED MATERIALS FEATURE
(such as glass fiber), or a highly conductive
material (perhaps carbon fiber), as
well as allowing thermal interface materials
- pads, adhesives and gels - to be
used to optimize heat transfer between
the battery and cooling device without
adding significant weight or volume.
High-volume production
Composites are not new and are commonly
used by low-volume industries,
including aviation, as a weight-saving
solution for structural applications and
interior components. Until recently, they
have been largely overlooked by the
auto industry for their historically costly
and labor-intensive manufacturing process.
TRB Lightweight Structures has
transformed the manufacture of composites
from a largely manual process
taking several hours to a fully automated
press that takes a matter of minutes.
Traditional slow-setting resins have
been replaced with snap-cure resins
and pre-preg materials. Parts are produced
robotically, with a cycle time of
less than 10 minutes.
Current vehicle manufacturing pipelines
and vehicle designs have, for economic
reasons, been based around metal
pressing and stamping, so an immediate
switch to composite production is
unlikely. However, adopting a multimaterial,
combined approach using
metals and composites, where appropriate,
can serve near-term to help balance
the limitations of existing solutions.
This approach brings benefits to
efficiency, volumetric weight and cost,
and has been recognized by the EU as
an affordable solution to high-volume
lightweighting for future EVs.
Selecting the right materials for EVs
is not an easy feat, with each material
presenting different potential benefits
in terms of cost, ease of manufacturing
or weight. Crucially, composites can
also offer solutions for improved thermal
management, saving space and
increasing impact resistance. With the
introduction of fast-paced manufacturing,
the stigma that composites are only
suited to low-volume, high-price applications
is ending. Both mid- and highAUTOMOTIVE
ENGINEERING
Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/79444-710
September 2021 27
volume production of composites now
is entirely achievable with automated
and efficient production lines, making
composites an extremely valuable option
for future EV design that can
change the mobility industry.
Composites engineer Andrew Dugmore
is VP New Business Development, TRB
Lightweight Structures. The company's new,
highly automated 40,000-sq.ft. composites
manufacturing center in Richmond,
Kentucky is a joint venture with
Toyota Tsusho America.

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Automotive Engineering - September 2021

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