The state of the art
The current processes for manufacturing wheel structures from fibre-reinforced plastics (FRP) are often not very flexible or require a high degree of manual work steps. Due to their complex geometry, wheels and wheel-like structures usually consist of a large number of blanks made of flat semi-finished products. As a consequence, the high manufacturing effort and high costs make the use of FRP wheel structures uneconomically in many fields of application.
The CompoSpoke technology is a cost-efficient wet winding process. Fibers are automatically wound onto molded parts and simultaneously formed into wheel structures. The process, for which a patent application has been filed, is currently the only fully variable process for manufacturing monolithic FRP wheel structures from a single continuous fibre. The use of simple fibres leads to a significant reduction of production costs. In addition, the process operates waste-free and thus has a very good environmental balance.
Technology for enthusiasts
Our technology offers several technical advantages compared to other FRP manufacturing methods. In addition, it can take advantage of the technical superiority of composite materials over conventional materials.
Fibre to spoke
In the first step a ring of fibre material is wound. For this purpose, moulded parts are positioned on a tool carrier. These are mounted on linear slides, which allow an automated movement. They are aligned in a way that a ring with a defined length is formed during winding. The tool rotates around its center until the desired thickness is reached.
In the next step, the outer moulded parts are moved inwards. The process is performed with exact pathways and speeds. This ensures that the belt length is always the same ensuring a constant fibre tension. By varying the moulded parts, both radial spokes and also variable spoke angles can be produced.