Manufacture of ROHACELL® PMI rigid foam cores and fully machined shaped cores for composite lightweight construction
Evonik Industries AG – Performance Foams (ROHACELL®)
DarmstadtNew on Amplifa
About Evonik Performance Foams
Evonik produces ROHACELL® at its main Darmstadt site, a closed-cell, CFC-free rigid foam based on polymethacrylimide (PMI) for structural lightweight design. The foam serves as core material in sandwich composites with face sheets made of fiber-reinforced composites such as CFRP, as well as a mandrel or production tool in fiber placement and filament winding processes. The product portfolio includes numerous grades (among others IG-F, A, HE, HERO, WF, RIMA, RIST, XT, S, HF, EC) with densities from 31 to 200 kg/m³ and cure temperatures up to 190 °C. Through the SHAPES department, Evonik supplies fully machined, ready-to-use shaped cores produced on 4- and 5-axis CNC milling machines; cut-to-size sheets are available on request. ROHACELL® can be milled, drilled, turned and ground, and can also be thermoformed into geometrically complex shapes using thermocomplex forming; it is compatible with all common composite processes (prepreg, resin infusion, RTM). Application industries include aerospace, automotive, medical technology, wind energy, rail and shipping, sports, communications and electronics. Production in Darmstadt runs entirely on renewable energy.
- Site
- Darmstadt
- Processes
- CNC milling of ROHACELL® shaped cores (SHAPES department), 4-axis CNC milling of finished-part cores, 5-axis CNC milling of finished-part cores, Thermoforming of ROHACELL® into complex geometries, Cutting of ROHACELL® sheets (on request), Use as a production tool in fiber placement, Use in filament winding and flyaway mandrel technology, Sandwich composite manufacturing (prepreg, resin infusion, RTM) with ROHACELL® core
- Materials
- ROHACELL® 31 IG/IG-F, ROHACELL® 51 IG/IG-F, ROHACELL® 71 IG/IG-F, ROHACELL® 110 IG/IG-F, ROHACELL® IG-F, ROHACELL® A, ROHACELL® HE, ROHACELL® HERO
- Industries
- Aerospace, Automotive/Mobility, Medical technology, Wind energy, Sports and lifestyle, Communications/RF applications
- 01
Chemical production of the PMI rigid foam (Darmstadt)
- 02
Heat treatment of selected grades (e.g. HERO, HT variants)
- 03
Sheet cutting on request
- 04
4- and 5-axis CNC milling of shaped cores (SHAPES)
- 05
Thermoforming into complex geometries
- 06
Technical consulting and process support
Materials & Processes
ROHACELL® IG/IG-F
Closed-cell standard rigid foam for industrial, medical technology, sports, automotive and electronics applications, processable up to 130 °C.
ROHACELL® A
Base grade, qualified for aircraft construction.
ROHACELL® HERO
Heat-treated grade with increased temperature and pressure resistance up to 180 °C for aerospace.
ROHACELL® WF / WF-HT
Increased temperature and pressure resistance, among other uses for radomes and aerospace.
ROHACELL® S
Improved fire behavior (FAR 25.853, 60s Vertical Burn) for aircraft, rail and shipbuilding.
ROHACELL® HF
Fine-celled grade with the highest RF transparency and dielectric properties for antennas and radomes.
ROHACELL® EC / EC-HT
Highest electromagnetic absorption for stealth applications.
ROHACELL® XT / XT-HT
Highest temperature and pressure resistance up to 190 °C.
ROHACELL® HE
Finer cell structure than IG-F with the highest elongation at break for automotive, sports, marine.
ROHACELL® RIMA / RIST
Fine to medium-fine celled grades with high temperature and pressure resistance.
ROHACRYL™ Foam Core
Foam core tailored to the requirements of wind energy with high stiffness and fatigue strength.
CFRP composite
ROHACELL® is used as a core between CFRP face sheets in sandwich composites.
Sites
Darmstadt
DEMain site / ROHACELL® production (100% renewable energy)
- Materials
- ROHACELL® PMI rigid foam, ROHACRYL™
- 4-axis CNC milling machine
- 5-axis CNC milling machine
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNC milling of ROHACELL® shaped cores (SHAPES department)Machining | – | – | – | – | ROHACELL® PMI rigid foam |
| 4-axis CNC milling of finished-part coresMachining | – | – | – | – | ROHACELL® PMI rigid foam |
| 5-axis CNC milling of finished-part coresMachining | – | – | – | – | ROHACELL® PMI rigid foam |
| Thermoforming of ROHACELL® into complex geometriesPlastics | – | – | – | – | ROHACELL® PMI rigid foam |
| Cutting of ROHACELL® sheets (on request)Machining | – | – | – | – | ROHACELL® IG/IG-F |
| Use as a production tool in fiber placementEngineering | – | – | – | – | ROHACELL® |
| Use in filament winding and flyaway mandrel technologyEngineering | – | – | – | – | ROHACELL® |
| Sandwich composite manufacturing (prepreg, resin infusion, RTM) with ROHACELL® coreJoining | – | – | – | – | ROHACELL® IG-F, CFRP |
| Bonding of ROHACELL® (all reactive adhesive systems suitable)Joining | – | – | – | – | ROHACELL® IG/IG-F |
2 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4-axis CNC milling machine | – | – | – | – | – |
| 5-axis CNC milling machine | – | – | – | – | – |
Additional services
Reference customers
History
- 1970er
Introduction of ROHACELL®; in use for over 40 and 50 years respectively in fiber-reinforced composites engineering
Conversion of ROHACELL® production at the main Darmstadt site to 100% renewable energy with an expected annual CO2 reduction of 3,400 tonnes