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Ten kilogrammes - #ULTRA-LIGHTWEIGHT SEAT sets lightweight construction record

The ULTRA-LIGHTWEIGHT SEAT is the result of an innovative partner project in which the vehicle seating design has been complete reimagined. The instigators, vehicle developers csi development technology, Alba tooling & engineering, specialists for the development and manufacture of innovative manufacturing systems in the area or high-quality plastic components and management consultancy AMC, developed the virtual and hardware prototypes of the ultra-lightweight seat together with Robert Hofmann GmbH, 3D|CORE, LBK and covestro, in seven months.

The finished prototype, which was revealed for the first time on 21st March at the lightweight construction symposium in Kasel, Trier by LTF director Olaf Freier, is about 20 per cent lighter than those of its competitor products, with a weight of around ten kilogrammes.

In addition to the project management, csi also took on the virtual development of the prototypes (design, A-class, calculation/simulation and design). An innovative winding process for composite fiber components conceived by AMC is responsible for most of the weight reduction; csi optimally utilised the filament‘s strengths in the design of the seat structure. This xFK in 3D process uses a resin impregnated continuous filament from which the components are wound in accordance with loads. Alba tooling & engineering manufactured the tools for this carbon-fibre composite lightweight construction from individual strands and developed manufacturing and tool technology for ultra-light PU moulded foam parts and non-woven fibres. In addition to the lightweight construction record, the prototype also shows what is feasible beyond the established modular system in the seating sector. The seating design could be considered for hypercars or future air taxis.

You can find more information at:

www.ultraleichtbausitz.de

and in the Automobil Industrie https://www.automobil-industrie.vogel.de/ultraleichtbausitz-ergebnis-neuer-partnerschaften-a-803882/?cmp=sm-fb-swyn&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=sm&utm_campaign=facebook-swyn&fbclid=IwAR2RO0NJTNulRN44kyec89LnTfDUOJP5Eeirl7NmiA_aixHbU0HKHhJuyC4