European Market Leader Develops New FRP Materials

Leaders In Lightweight - Fiber-reinforced plastics are conquering increasingly more markets in future industrial sectors. Very few international construction material markets are flourishing to the same extent as composites. As the trend toward lightweight design continues worldwide, composites are increasingly opening up new fields of application. However, their great potential is not achieved of its own accord since innovations are anything but self-selling items. The wide range of high-performance composite plastics is growing at Lamilux, Europe's leading producer of fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP), thanks to intensive research and development work.

Lamilux is causing excitement in the sector with the world's first carbon-reinforced plastic (CRP) production system using a continuous flat-sheet process designed for mass production. International business-consulting firm Frost and Sullivan presented the family-run company with its Product Innovation Award for this system in 2012.
The carbon-reinforced plastic Lamilux Carbon X-treme can be manufactured in sheets and panels between 1 and 5 mm thick. With this high-strength yet very light material, Lamilux supplies a component for lightweight construction that can be used in vehicle bodies, trailers and electric vehicles - in sandwich underbody structures, for instance.

Light Materials for Optimum Stability and Resistance
Focusing on the strong mechanical stresses in the commercial vehicle industry, Lamilux has developed its fiber-reinforced Lamilux High Strength X-treme. Used in sidewalls, roofing and floors, this laminate contains a high proportion of reinforcement glass fibers, arranged in a unidirectional, bidirectional, tridirectional or multidirectional alignment in the material. The result is an extremely strong, rigid composite, which also exhibits a low specific weight.

In Lamilux High Impact, the emphasis is on a long service life and robust resistance to occasional impacts in outdoor applications combined with a high-quality appearance. Developed as a versatile top face-sheet material for sandwich panels in commercial- and recreational-vehicle construction, it unites the positive characteristics of thermoplastic and thermosetting materials and metal sheeting.

Lamilux High Impact thus features high impact resistance and an attractive surface finish on coated metal face sheets, such as aluminum, while offering the low thermal conductivity and elastic deformability found in thermoplastic materials. This plastic also offers all the advantages of thermosetting plastics: high resistance to UV light, weathering and corrosion; great hardness and stability; and, especially, low specific mass per unit area.

New Material for Skis and Boards
Lamilux has now also turned its attention to applications in the sports industry with two newly developed materials: LAMIsport X-Treme and LAMIsport X-Treme4inOne. Made of carbon and glass fibers, these high-tech materials are revolutionizing the properties of sports boards and skis. They form the upper and lower face layers - upper and lower skins - in the sandwich structure of sports equipment. This results in a 15% reduction in weight in sports equipment while offering high UV resistance on the surface and extreme stiffness and strength. Direct printing on the surface and fewer sandwich layers also ensure more efficient production.

Sustainability Focus: Lightweight Construction
With such a varied and versatile range of high-performance composite materials, Lamilux widens the scope for lightweight design, an essential element in sustainable development.