Patient tables for imaging procedures - super light - minimal weakening - highly resilient!

For imaging examination procedures in medical technology, such as PET, SPECT, CRT and MRI, the necessary image quality is a key factor in determining the examination time and the resulting costs.

MD Composites Technology can supply OEMs with high-performance couches that are functionally designed for the best possible integration in the system with convenient handling and minimal attenuation. All materials used are consistently orientated towards maximum radiolucency and minimum attenuation. The construction and design in accordance with DIN EN 60601 allows personal loads of over 250kg. Particularly noteworthy because the design is freely suspended and does not require additional supporting mechanisms to avoid deflection. Thin CFRP laminates also help to significantly reduce the overall weight of the tables and the resulting possible production processes without glued seams create a high-quality product for medical technology in lightweight construction. At the same time, we are helping the imaging procedures to significantly improve the cost-effectiveness and quality of the examination results. All in all, a trend-setting product. Flexible in its shape, dimensions and load-bearing capacity, the patient stretcher presented by the MDC differs significantly from the products known on the market.

MD Composites Technology - We make the heavy light and give shape to the complex!

AGRILIGHT joint project receives government funding
New ideas for the frame structure of agricultural machinery

Friedeburg /Clausthal/Hannover/Spelle, 24 June 2021 - How can the often very heavy frame of large agricultural machinery be sustainably further developed while significantly reducing the weight of the frame structure? The joint project ‘AGRILIGHT’, in which Maschinenfabrik Krone, M+D Composites Technology GmbH, Leibniz Universität Hannover and Clausthal University of Technology are involved, is looking into this question. The project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy with almost 1.8 million euros. The four project partners involved have now been notified accordingly.
In the course of the ‘AGRILIGHT’ project, the very heavy frame structure including the adjacent functional units of a Krone forage harvester will first be analysed and rebuilt and comprehensively tested in a function-integrating lightweight construction kit made of glass fibre and carbon fibre composites (GRP/CFRP). The particular challenge here lies in the combination of the various new materials, some of which differ fundamentally in their mechanical, electrical and chemical material properties. At the same time, fibre composites require different manufacturing processes, but also offer new shaping possibilities, such as those known from the aviation industry.
As soon as an initial functional model of the new frame has been constructed, it is subjected to extensive tests in special test benches that simulate real-life use. The test results obtained here can then be used to make well-founded statements about the potential suitability of the lightweight frame for series production.
If the project partners succeed in making the frame significantly lighter using new composite materials and new moulding, this would be a groundbreaking step for the entire agricultural machinery industry: a lower overall weight of the machine would also have the effect of significantly reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The AGRILIGHT team could thus make an enormously important contribution to sustainability in agriculture.

The material and production expertise of MD Composites Technology GmbH is needed to drive forward the development of tidal turbine foils (blades) The development project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) via the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM).

The specialist for lightweight components MD Composites Technology GmbH from Ostfriesland and Sustainable Marine Energy from Canada, the expert for maritime renewable energies and the Leibniz Universität Hannover Institute of Production Engineering and Machine Tools are the 3 development partners in this international and transatlantic development project.

The EvoFoil project aims to deliver a range of design innovations to optimise the performance of tidal turbine foils while reducing production and operating costs.

Sustainable Marine will receive research and development funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Programme (NRC IRAP) for the two-year project. In addition, the German partners in this project will receive funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) through the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM).

‘The project will address key areas of film design, including tip geometry and overall composition with a new “multi-material” concept. It will allow us to conduct an extensive field and laboratory test campaign, combining decades of knowledge and experience from all industries to take our tidal foil technology to the next level,’ said Ralf Starzmann, Head of Power Systems at Sustainable Marine.

‘Our German partners bring strong expertise in their respective fields, including world-class knowledge from the aerospace and wind energy industries. We believe that there are several important interventions that can be made to further optimise our foil performance and further promote development in the tidal energy market. These design factors will play an important role in areas such as energy harvesting, power curve degradation and operation and maintenance costs, EvoFoil represents another important step in lowering the cost of energy while reinforcing the importance of tidal energy as a competitive future energy source.’

In early 2021, Sustainable Marine launched its new 420kW PLAT-I 6.40 floating tidal energy platform in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada, which will be part of the world's first floating tidal energy array. The device is currently undergoing operation and testing in Grand Passage before being deployed at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE).

The site experiences some of the most extreme tidal ranges in the world - with 115 billion tonnes of water flowing in and out twice a day - creating a resource that could generate around 7GW of electricity.

‘While the Bay of Fundy provides tremendous natural energy, it also places a range of environmental conditions on the tidal turbine foils, including thermal changes, corrosion and abrasion, and contributes to hydrodynamic loads during operation,’ said Tim Markwald, Managing Director of M&D Composites Technology. ‘Our mission with the EvoFoil project is to drive innovation to work in harmony with these immense natural forces. This includes innovative manufacturing methods to reduce production costs. In addition, we are researching different surface treatments to protect the rotor blades from erosion.’

‘We are currently researching a new material concept to improve the mechanical behaviour of the film and counteract the various stresses,’ said Carsten Schmidt Leibniz Leibniz Universität Hannover Head of the High-Performance Production of CFRP Structures research group.

‘This multilayer concept is influenced by studies on the current carbon fibre reinforced plastic foil structure and the scientific findings of the German Research Foundation's “Multilayer-Insert” project. The innovation will allow the load-bearing areas of the foil to be partially reinforced with thin metal sheets, which will improve the fit to the turbine drive shaft, increasing durability and strength. Intensive work is now underway to manage the increase in scaling and geometric complexity of the metallic inserts and to achieve proper load transfer from the foil root to the turbine hub.’

The project comes at a time when the German and Canadian governments have recently intensified their efforts to explore the joint development of green hydrogen from Canadian renewables for export to Germany. Tidal turbine technology will be able to make a major contribution to this.

Sustainable Marine Adopts German Aerospace and Wind Energy Technology to Advance Tidal Turbine Foils

Both mobile and stationary medium-voltage equipment can be designed to be light, compact and environmentally friendly. The very good insulation strength of the materials used also allows the system components to be installed in very confined spaces. A construction made of fibre composite materials offers excellent electrical insulation properties in addition to very good mechanical strength. The design freedom of such fibre composite structures, combined with a clever arrangement of all components, allows a significant reduction in the otherwise necessary distances between electrical potentials. At the same time, equipment weighing several tonnes can be supported. Dynamic loads that mobile equipment is exposed to when being moved or transported by road, rail or water can also be safely controlled. The picture shows a support structure developed jointly with EESYST GmbH to hold oil and iron-free coils for a wind turbine test facility. MD Composite Technology GmbH's expertise in design, calculation and layout, combined with its expertise in the selection of suitable materials and production options, contributed to this project. The result is a high-performance, utility model-protected product that can be customised to meet individual requirements.