Erik Linden, Swiss Aeropspace Cluster (left); Steve Mérillat, Carbon Composites Schweiz (right)

Carbon composites – a vital material for the future success of aerospace

Tuesday, May 21, an interesting networking event “Forum: Composites in Aerospace” took place at the innovation parc in Dübendorf, near Zurich in Switzerland. Carbon Composites Switzerland and the Swiss Aerospace Cluster (SAC) had invited to this forum that was geared to the aerospace industry, one of the leading industries when it comes to innovation and new technologies. The aerospace industry was pioneering the use of carbon fibers in high volumes and recognized the huge performance potential of this material that has become indispensable in the meantime.

Lightweight and cost pressure are still the major challenges

4 keynotes and 20 individual company presentations during the day gave a coherent picture on different drive technologies in aviation and production technologies around the sector. Not only large internationally operating enterprises but also promising start-ups had the chance to introduce their visions and ideas. A recurring argument from industry leaders is “we need automation to reduce costs finally”.

9T Labs – a spin-off of ETH Zurich offers new 3D printing technology for industrial series production

Giovanni Cavolina, Co-Founder 9T Labs

I talked with the co-founder of an extremely interesting start-up called 9T Labs that has developed a 3D printing technology in collaboration with Digital Building Technologies ETH Zurich. Giovanni Cavolina, co-founder and responsible for business development states: “Through a special fusion process we make 3D printing of carbon fiber composites accessible to industrial series production. We expanded the geometrical complexity to enhance functional integration. Our technology is geared to various industries ranging from aerospace, automotive, biomedical to leisure, robotics and maritime and allows them to print industry grade carbon composites parts.”