Additive manufacturing for more sustainability
Car or aeroplane components made of carbon fibre composites are much lighter than metal parts. If such components were digitally and cost-effectively mass-produced, the CO2 emissions of an aircraft could be reduced by several tons. To this end, ETH spin-off 9T Labs provides solutions.
9TLabs' mission is to enable sustainable and cost-effective mass production of high-performance composites so that they can be manufactured as easily as metals. To achieve this, 9T Labs digitises the production workflow for composites by providing intelligent software and additive manufacturing equipment. "The manufacturing equipment can be integrated into the production lines of innovative companies with the aim of producing components with the same or better structural properties than metal," explains Giovanni Cavolina, Chief Business Development Officer of 9T Labs.
Such CFRP parts (carbon fibre reinforced plastic) are much lighter than metal parts, which has numerous advantages. Calculations have shown that for every kilogram of weight saved in an aircraft, the CO2 emission can by reduced by 1.2 g per flight kilometre. If all components made of aluminium today were to be manufactured with 9T Labs' Additive Fusion Technology, hundreds of thousands of kg of CO2 could be saved in the life span of an aircraft.
The challenge of mass production
Then why not simply switch production? Mass production in itself is simple, but meeting industrial quality standards is difficult. In addition to productivity and profitability, quality and certification always come into play. Aspects such as optimal material/process combination while observing the necessary operational requirements, meeting target specifications, reproducibility and data traceability must be taken into account. Giovanni Cavolina states: "We are at a turning point in additive manufacturing. The market is looking for technologies which can be applied for small and medium sized series in order to strengthen competitiveness and differentiation”.
Prepared for the future
By co-operating with Setforge, 9T Labs has gained a French customer that produces innovative metal parts for the aerospace and automotive industries and hopes to create new market opportunities by replacing metals with structural CFRP components. "Lightweight and sustainability are becoming increasingly important," emphasises Damien Felix, head of Setforge's EPITHER programme. "As an innovative company, we must explore new technologies for the future of digital mass production. With 9T Labs' cost-conscious approach, we can reduce the weight of components as well as production costs". Setforge will use 9T Labs' all-in-one solution, which includes software, hardware and engineering services. According to Damien Felix, this offers several advantages:
- Technical support
- The software facilitates access to the design process of CFRP components and shortens the product development time
- Flexibility in process simulation and digital prototyping to extend the patented process to mass production of CFRP parts
"In addition to our traditional production of metal parts, we need a supplementary technology to achieve our goals," says Damien Felix. The additive manufactured parts with the Red Series? from 9T Labs meet Setforge's high quality requirements and expand their product range. Giovanni Cavolina adds: "The combination of 9T Labs' knowledge of composite materials and Setforge's experience in production will enable mass production using additive manufacturing".
New markets, new applications
Lightweight construction also signifies sustainability and is increasingly important for the future. Companies such as Setforge can replace metals, thereby increasing market share in existing markets and opening up new markets. The properties of carbon composites are diverse and therefore an advantage in every industry. The team of 9T Labs sees great potential in the aerospace and medical technology sectors. However, they are open to everything and look forward to receiving enquiries from all industrial sectors.
Contact/Links:
Do you want to get more "News for Industry" stories?
external pageSubscribe to our newslettercall_made
external pageFollow us on LinkedIncall_made
Are you looking for research partners at ETH Zurich?
Contact ETH Industry Relations
ETH spin-??offs: facts and figures
Since 1996, 437 spin-??offs have been founded at ETH Zurich. ETH transfer, the technology transfer office at ETH Zurich, supports recognized ETH spin-??offs in the founding process and in their first years of operation.