Roadmap

We believe that innovation is a team effort. The research roadmap, which comprises a growing number of research projects, is therefore defined in close cooperation with the Technical Advisory Board.

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Collaboration

Together with our partners we are already shaping the future of the thermoplastic composites industry. The TPRC consortium consists of Tier 1 and Tier 2 members, which are industrial and academic members active in the thermoplastic composites industry. In collaboration with our partners we aim to further strengthen their position in key thermoplastic composite processing technologies.

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Technical Advisory Board

The TPRC research roadmap, which comprises a growing number of research projects, is defined in close cooperation with the Technical Advisory Board (TAB). The TPRC members are actively involved in the ongoing research roadmap and the status of the projects is frequently reported to our industry partners. Industrial reference groups guide the research and ensure the relevance of the projects, while its scientific quality is secured through its academic members.
The Technical Advisory Board, meeting face to face twice a year and regularly via telcon, consists of the technical community (researchers, engineers) of the TPRC and the Tier 1 and Tier 2 members. The roadmap activities resulted in a leading position in thermoplastic composite manufacturing.

Consortium Board

The general direction of the research center is steered by the Consortium Board (CB), which consists of all Tier 1 members and a Tier 2 representative. The Consortium Board members are: Boeing, GKN Aerospace, Toray Advanced Composites, University of Twente, Collins Aerospace, Daher, Howmet, Latécoère, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, Solvay, Spirit AeroSystems and Victrex.

Research results

The consortium as a whole defines and executes a research roadmap aimed at generating the fundamental knowledge required to optimize existing and new manufacturing processes in terms of quality and productivity. The knowledge developed is put to use through process design tools, which allow design for manufacturing for thermoplastic composites, taking into account the material and processing capabilities and limitations.

The roadmap follows a typical bottom-up approach: starting with materials, manufacturing processes and joining techniques at an elementary level, using the experience gained to continue with components of increasing complexity and then to proceed from secondary substructures to primary load-bearing assemblies. As a common denominator, all projects aim to gain a fundamental understanding of the processes and materials at hand, thereby guaranteeing that the knowledge developed can be transferred to alternative materials and processing conditions. Moreover, the research results are translated into material and processing guidelines as well as into design rules, to be used by our industrial members.

Research overview