Epona CDuro mountain bike, developed for enduro racing. Source (all images) | CompoTech Plus spol. s ro
CompoTech Plus spol. s ro (SuĊĦice, Czech Republic) develops automated carbon fiber lay-up (AFL) placement and winding technologies for the production of high-performance carbon fiber reinforced epoxy components and large structures. Using its R&D and engineering resources, CompoTech has also developed a proprietary integrated loop technology (ILT) for producing continuous fiber connections that do not require drilling or fastening.
CompoTech’s proprietary automated fiber winding, placement and joining technologies are demonstrated in its CDuro carbon fiber bicycle frame. The wound tube frame components include ILT end connections; each section of the bicycle frame can be connected together without the additional weight of fasteners or loss of mechanical performance from piercing continuous carbon fiber. The ILT connections can also reduce overall assembly time and labor costs.
The latest version of the CDuro bicycle project, the CDuro Epona mountain bike, is equipped with custom-built “Intend Carbonite” suspension forks, which are said to have much lighter and stiffer carbon fiber reinforced epoxy fork tubes than existing aluminum forks. These composite suspension forks are the result of a joint project between CompoTech and Intend Bicycle Components GmbH (Freiburg, Germany), a bicycle component manufacturer, to further improve the “extreme sport” performance of the bike.
For manufacturers who want to set up automated production of carbon fiber components in their own company, CompoTech also offers turnkey machines for automatic winding and placement of fibers. Each custom-built automated machine is equipped with the patented advanced winding technologies as part of the package, which also includes technical service and product development support.
Early prototype of the carbon fiber reinforced epoxy components that make up the CDuro’s lightweight bike frame.
CompoTech’s winding technology was developed 30 years ago as a home-built filament winder with “true zero degree” axial fiber placement and was originally used to manufacture high performance paddle shafts for whitewater sports. Today, the integration of six-axis FANUC robots enables automated, precise zero degree axial fiber placement, often using pitch fiber, to produce square, epoxy reinforced carbon fiber beams and tubes for industrial applications where high stiffness and natural frequency are required.
According to the company, parts manufactured by CompoTech feature improved mechanical properties, weight reduction (typically 25% less than steel), increased efficiency/productivity and lower costs, with the added benefit of reducing a company’s carbon footprint as less energy is used to run machines and production lines.
CompoTech has manufactured a variety of carbon fiber and carbon fiber-metal hybrid components that have been custom engineered and supplied to OEMs as alternative, lightweight, high-performance composite parts with comparable mechanical properties to steel or aluminum. Examples of parts manufactured by CompoTech that have been used in place of metal include composite beams, rotary shafts, spindles and tooling for production machines and automated lines.
