Tecman Speciality Materials (TSM) , Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic Dual Action Adhesive Tape (CFRPb-DAAT) proof of concept

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Cars were responsible for 12% of total EU emissions of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in 2014. EUlegislation aims to improve fuel economy of cars sold on the European market. Fleet averagesfor new cars is 130g CO2 per km (g/km) by 2015 –and 95g/km by 2021. Carbon FibreReinforced Plastic (CFRP) on motor vehicles offers a method to achieve these targets. Lightervehicles enable fuel efficient engines to obtain similar performance. CFRP can be 30% lighterthan aluminium - 20-25% of the weight of steel of similar volume. Due to tooling andmanufacturing costs CFRP is expensive, suitable only for niche, low volume sports and highspecification vehicles.Current CFRP panel manufacture involves liquid adhesives applied using 6 axis roboticsystems followed by clamping in jig fixtures and curing process using heat up to 7 hours.CFRP panel gaps are closely controlled to maximise adhesive performance. Costs areprohibitive and scalable only with very high infrastructure costs and large carbon footprint.Tecman Speciality Materials (TSM) is an established UK converter of adhesive tapes for Tier1 and 2 automotive suppliers. Adhesive tapes can potentially overcome issues with liquidadhesives used in CFRP manufacture. High initial adhesion and rapid cure time provideprocessing speed to scale up CFRP manufacture to mainstream vehicles. However pressuresensitive adhesives (PSA’s) used in current adhesive tapes do not have sufficient adhesion orintegral strength to form a structural bond between CFRP panels.Working with Adhesive Applications International (AAI) CMC Cevenini (CN) & ExpertTooling (ExT), Tecman will pioneer the concept of CFRP Dual Action Adhesive Tape(CFRPb - DAAT®) for high volume production over a successful 12 month project.Combining benefits of initial pressure activated adhesive tape with performance of asecondary heat activated liquid adhesive this will pave the way for mainstream use of CF inmedium - large volume vehicle manufacture to lower emissions