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German fabricator sedak recently used its large autoclave for something other than glass—a racing car.
Left to right: Paul Braun, head of lamination at sedak; Bernhard Spornraft and Alexander Schmidt from the Starkstrom team; and sedak CEO Bernhard Veh. (Photo: sedak GmbH & Co. KG)
The company hardened a chassis in its 17-meter-long autoclave at its Gersthofen, Germany, facility for the racing team “Starkstrom Augsburg,” which sedak sponsors.
“This year’s racing car has a 2.4-meter-long, single-seated cockpit with a sandwich structure consisting of carbon/aluminum honeycombs/carbon,” a release from sedak reads. “[The] hardening process shortened the complex and time-consuming fabrication and reduced the drying time considerably.” The release adds that the amount of needed adhesive was also decreased, helping to reduce weight and time on the racing track.
According to the company, sedak not only provided the technology but also supported the team from an educational standpoint.
“It is our aim to constantly optimize the technology of the racing car,” says team manager Alexander Schmidt. “We could learn a lot from the employees’ lamination capabilities at sedak.”
