Last week, I was travelling and within my many international flights, I was thinking if the Engine of the aircraft now had carbon reinforced blades and the seats were now changed from Aluminum to Carbon reinforced composites and so was the body. The whole thing made the plane more lighter and increased the fuel efficiency by 25%. How is that the Spindle in the Ring Frame was not a potential target of carbon reinforcement.
Studies show that 40% of the total power in a Ring Frame comes from the weight of the spindle. If spindle weight can be reduced from 1 kg to 600 gms ,the power consumption will drop to half.
All it takes is a carbon composite of Spindle with the Aluminum and you have a power saver spindle. Same applies for Drums in a winding machine. Both are power guzzlers.
The composite industry is also not mature enough to target large volume products. It is working on high value applications like wind mill blades, air craft application, formula 1 car body applications etc. However, all those areas, where there is large volume, the composite industry is missing out. All of them take pride in putting up pictures of Airbus, Formula Cars , Wind Mill Blades and get infantile pleasure. All these applications have very low volumes and make little business sense. The real meat in composites is in rotary applications, whether spindles of Textile or Drilling Equipments or Drums etc etc.
The generic product manufacturers have very little capability of making composites. Textile Machine makers have always been oblivious to factoring new technologies, till the whole world already was into it.
I recently wrote to a carbon fibre maker in US to help me develop a carbon fibre composite for textile application and after the first email, he never got back to me. The suppliers also have very limited knowledge on the application areas.
Nevertheless, it is the future of rotary equipment's and fuel saving.
Studies show that 40% of the total power in a Ring Frame comes from the weight of the spindle. If spindle weight can be reduced from 1 kg to 600 gms ,the power consumption will drop to half.
All it takes is a carbon composite of Spindle with the Aluminum and you have a power saver spindle. Same applies for Drums in a winding machine. Both are power guzzlers.
The composite industry is also not mature enough to target large volume products. It is working on high value applications like wind mill blades, air craft application, formula 1 car body applications etc. However, all those areas, where there is large volume, the composite industry is missing out. All of them take pride in putting up pictures of Airbus, Formula Cars , Wind Mill Blades and get infantile pleasure. All these applications have very low volumes and make little business sense. The real meat in composites is in rotary applications, whether spindles of Textile or Drilling Equipments or Drums etc etc.
The generic product manufacturers have very little capability of making composites. Textile Machine makers have always been oblivious to factoring new technologies, till the whole world already was into it.
I recently wrote to a carbon fibre maker in US to help me develop a carbon fibre composite for textile application and after the first email, he never got back to me. The suppliers also have very limited knowledge on the application areas.
Nevertheless, it is the future of rotary equipment's and fuel saving.
