Highly tunable, woven lattice reinforcements target automotive structures

Advanced manufacturing and materials startup Weav3D Inc. (Norcross, Ga., U.S.) is exhibiting applications of its Rebar for Plastics reinforcement material, including two recently unveiled automotive demonstrator parts, encompassing sustainable interior and structural body applications.

Weav3D is demonstrating the ability to replace steel, aluminum and carbon fiber composites in automotive body structures via a lattice-reinforced thermoplastic beltline stiffener door component, manufactured at the Clemson Composites Center (CCC) at Clemson University (S.C., U.S.) in partnership with Braskem (Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.), an Americas polyolefins producer and developer of biopolymers on an industrial scale. This novel design achieved 20% weight savings, 50% cost savings and a 63% reduction in trim scrap by weight, compared to a conventional carbon fiber organosheet, the company reports.

“When Weav3D and Braskem approached us to develop a prototype that showcases Weav3D’s tunable woven composite technology and the cost-effective versatility of Braskem’s polypropylene [PP] resin, we leveraged extensive stamp forming experience with thermoplastic composites from our Department of Energy Ultra-Lightweight Door program to deliver a high-rate structural automotive prototype,” says Sai Aditya Pradeep, research and development engineer at the CCC. “Our goal isn’t merely material innovation; it’s about weaving the future of sustainable automotive excellence, fusing lightweighting and sustainability with lower costs one prototype at a time.”

Further highlighting the benefits of lattice reinforcement for natural fiber materials used in automotive interiors, Weav3D will showcase an instrument panel topper pad manufactured in partnership with Antolin (Burgos, Spain), an international supplier for automotive interiors that also incorporates composite lattice-reinforced natural fiber nonwoven mats into its work. The resulting part is reported to be lighter and more sustainable than current injection molded designs made from glass-filled PP.

In addition, Weav3D FEA engineer Meghana Kamble will be presenting her paper, “A Revised Finite Element Analysis Approach to Designs and Optimize Composite Lattice Reinforcements and Simulate the Mechanical Properties of Composite Lattice Reinforced Plastics,” at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 1.

Christopher Oberste, Weav3D president and chief engineer, will also be presenting his paper “Rebar for Plastics — a Novel Approach to Part Optimization with Composite Lattices” at 4:30 p.m. the same day.