Sign up for our weekly email to stay on top of the latest news and insights!
Source: LF GmbH & Co. KG announcement
LEVERKUSEN, Germany – After building an automated casting system for prototypes to fulfill small series manufacturing needs and service increasing customer orders, LF GmbH & Co. KG is facing the task of further expanding its manufacturing volume and has entered into a partnership with IAG to pursue this goal.
“We are very excited to announce our collaboration with IAG (IAG Industrie Automatisierungsgesellschaft m.b.H), a well-known special machine manufacturer for the friction lining industry, with whom we can realize the next steps in the industrialization of our LIQFRIC® concept,“ said LF Research and Development Director Dr. Roman Milczarek.
LF has signed a cooperation agreement with the Austrian IAG, with the intention of developing and building a large series plant based on the LIQFRIC® casting process.
Related post:
LIQFRIC® Starts Prototype Line
The aim is to achieve a CO2 savings of up to 85 percent, compared to the standard production conditions, which among other things would lead to a significantly more sustainable production of brake linings.
“For IAG, the goal is to develop a machine concept suitable for the mass market, and thus to lay the foundation for the industrialization of the LIQFRIC® technology,” said Stefan Gruber, managing director.
The cooperation was further expanded to adapt the LIQFRIC® material concept for the press systems currently in use in the friction lining industry worldwide. LF hopes this will result in faster acceptance of this technology in the brake world, while simultaneously reducing production-relevant CO2 output.
The CO2 savings in this case is significantly lower than with the original LIQFRIC® process, but still means a reduction of approximately 10-15 percent compared to the classic pressing process. The benefit lies mainly in the use of the already installed press- and plant capacities.
“With our project partners in the automotive- and automotive supplier industry and our learning curve from our Smart Friction Factory, we want to consistently go into series applications. Hereby we are realizing the next scaling step on the way to industrial use,” said Milczarek. “With our technological lead, we also want to advance the production of high-tech brake pads for electromobility and at the same time reduce fine particle emissions.
Sign up for our weekly email to stay on top of the latest news and insights!
“As a strategic goal, we intend large-scale production in 2023. That is why we must take the right action now.“
LF GmbH & Co. KG was founded in Germany in March 2016 and follows the strategic idea of producing friction materials based on a liquid friction compound that can be hardened at room temperature (or faster at higher temperatures) to make high-temperature stable friction lining materials for automotive, rail, and clutch- as well as industrial applications. The company has development projects and collaborations with some key players in the brake- and clutch industry in Europe, especially in Germany.
IAG Industrie Automatisierungsgesellschaft m.b.H. was founded in Austria in 1986 and has achieved technological leadership in the development and production of fully automatic and individual special-purpose machines for the friction lining industry.
