The Uses of Composites in Manufacturing

The number of markets where composites are being used is growing rapidly, and that can only be good news for OEM’s such as Cyan Tec Systems. Most interestingly, industry sectors where Cyan Tec are already prominent – such as aerospace and automotive – have seen a significant rise in the inclusion of composite materials in their products.

Big-name companies such as Airbus and Boeing have recently shown the potential for large-scale composite applications in aviation, whilst NASA is continually looking to composites manufacturers for innovative ideas for suitable space solutions. However, without a doubt, the biggest beneficiary of the introduction of composite materials is the automotive industry. In addition to composites allowing designs that were previously difficult to manufacture possible, such materials also help to make vehicles lighter and therefore more fuel efficient, something that is an ever growing concern of the consumer.

Cyan Tec’s portfolio of modular laser cells has included the integration of a galvonic scanning head, in this instance used to laser cut composite material for a pharmaceutical application. A standalone machine in design, the integration of a fibre laser, a dedicated delta robot and a top-class PLC-driven control system meant that Cyan Tec’s modular design met the customer’s needs perfectly. The solution offered allowed a part to be manually loaded at the front end of the machine, before being automatically laser cut and stacked into a finished position, ready to be manually unloaded.