Pultrusion - Creating profiles in lightweight design

Simulation opens up new pathways for the efficient and robust design of pultrusion processes. From fibre feeding and impregnation through to curing and distortion, it creates transparency, reduces trial and error, and shortens development cycles. As Fraunhofer IWU, we support you with in-depth simulation expertise and long-standing process experience.

The project aims to qualify the technologies “hemp bast fiber tape development” and “pultrusion with bio-based materials” for an innovative, sustainable manufacturing route. The goal is to enable the future production of profile structures made from 100% renewable, regionally available raw materials.

In the Hybrid-Switch project, Fraunhofer IWU and partners have developed automated manufacturing processes for hybrid lightweight structures made of metal and fiber-reinforced plastic composites. Innovative hybrid pultrusion enables material-locking connections without additional joining steps – economical, robust, and ideal for use in automotive, commercial vehicle, and shipbuilding applications.

Using the moving mold process, Fraunhofer IWU enables the continuous production of solid and hollow profiles with a constant radius – with high cost-effectiveness, minimal waste, and fiber content of up to 70%.

The PulPro-SMC project is developing a novel pultrusion technology for rail vehicle construction. By combining pultrusion, TowPreg, and SMC with targeted grading, high-strength node structures are created entirely without adhesives. This results in greater payloads, lower energy consumption, and cost-effective series production.

In the IGF project RALPH “Reactive-coated aluminum sheets in thermoplastic pultruded hybrid laminates for crash structures,” we are working with two research partners to develop an innovative, highly efficient pultrusion manufacturing route for the production of near-net-shape hybrid components on a scale suitable for large-scale series production. The hybrid laminate is made of glass fiber, polyamide 6, and aluminum.

The European research project OPTIPUL is developing the first pultrusion technology capable of continuously producing profile structures with variable cross-sections. The project thus addresses a key challenge facing modern lightweight structures: until now, pultrusion has only allowed for constant geometries – a major limiting factor for efficient components and customized material utilization.

The FunPul research project demonstrated how the pultrusion process can be extended and applied to economically manufacture integrated sensory and mechanical functions as well as multiaxial fiber reinforcements for highly complex lightweight structures.

The KOPRA project aims to increase the attractiveness and cost-effectiveness of C/C composites, which are highly interesting for furnace construction. Using the pultrusion process, carbon fiber-reinforced phenolic resin profiles are produced, which are then converted into C/C and C/C-SiC composites. A charging rack demonstrator will be used to showcase the advantages of the new production route.