Published 9/30/2014

CAMX offers unprecedented new product access

CAMX 2014, Oct. 13-16 in Orlando, Fla., promises to be North America's largest ever composites trade show and conference. As a result, exhibitors are coming to the event with a wide array of new and existing materials, machinery, software and technology designed to help make composites fabrication faster, easier and more adaptable. CompositesWorld has been gathering information from CAMX exhibitors about what they will be featuring and introducing in their booths. This week's CAMX newsletter offers a preview of some of what you will find on the show floor.

Altair

C. A. Litzler

CGTech

The Composites Group

DMG Mori

L&L Products

MarkForged

Oxeon

Wisconsin Oven

CAMX 2014, Oct. 13-16 in Orlando, Fla., promises to be North America's largest ever composites trade show and conference. As a result, exhibitors are coming to the event with a wide array of new and existing materials, machinery, software and technology designed to help make composites fabrication faster, easier and more adaptable. CompositesWorld has been steadily gathering information from CAMX exhibitors about what they will be featuring and introducing in their booths, and the list below offers a preview of some of what you will find on the show floor.

The breadth and depth of composites products on display will be broad, but a closer look at some of the materials and technologies mirrors the trends at work throughout the composites industry. You will find, for instance, a variety of design optimization software suppliers at CAMX, including Altair (booth 3661), CGTech (booth 3656), Dassault Systemes (booth 2080), Granta Design (booth 2966) and Componeering (booth 3661). OEMs are putting increasing pressure on composites fabricators to provide more comprehensive, meaningful and efficient design and engineering services. On top of that, there is greater need for material and process data to help fabricators manage product quality and provide robust quality assurance services. Finally, process and product simulation are in greater demand as a way to verify design parameters before prototyping or production begin.

On the materials side, you will find at CAMX several exhibitors and products that emphasize the potential of thermoplastic composites. Thermoplastics are proving attractive thanks to their ease of processing, toughness and recyclability and can be used in applications ranging from aero to automotive structures. Impact Composites (booth 3979), JDBComposites, Wm. T. Burnett & Co. (booth 3282), Polystrand (booth 3075), Barrday (booth 1950), PlastiComp (booth 3682), TenCate (booth 2370) and several other exhibitors are emphasizing thermoplastics in some way.

Coupled with thermoplastics (and thermosets) is compression molding, which is enjoying serious consideration throughout the industry, thanks to its consistency and quick cycle times. It's showing up in aerospace fabrication, as well as automotive. LMG (booth 3868), TMP (booth 1975), Dieffenbacher (booth 3753), Wabash (booth 3286) and Wickert (booth 2169) all will be at CAMX with compression technology.

You will also find on the show floor some new products and materials that run counter to composites tradition. L&L Products (booth 3953), for instance, is launching L-F610, a reformable epoxy adhesive film. It bonds like traditional epoxy, but acts like a thermoplastic and thus can be debonded and reformed. Arkema (booth 3761) is exhibiting Elium, its recently developed liquid thermoplastic resin that can be processed like a thermoset. MarkForged (booth 1533) will almost certainly receive attention at the show for the Mark One, its continuous carbon fiber/thermoplastic 3-D printer.

The database of CAMX 2014 exhibitors is fully searchable. Below is a preview of some of the exhibits that you'll find at the show. Look for additional previews in next week's newsletter.