The Coolest Thing We Saw at the K, Day Three: The eVTOL Plane
It was a close call at the Solvay booth — C61 in hall 6 — at the K show this morning but in a majority decision, the VX4 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft beat the Sarolea MANX7 superbike.
Both transport modes make extensive use of carbon-fiber composites for structural components as well as specialty materials for batteries and e-motor parts. For example, the motorcycle’s rear suspension rocker arm is 3D printed by 9T Labs from carbon-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics to realize a part weight that is 50% lighter than cast aluminum.
Today’s winner, though, the eVTOL aircraft makes extensive use of Solvay performance polymers, including thermoplastic structural prepregs for the rotor blades, battery enclosures, interiors, and bracket applications, while its film-based adhesives are being qualified for structural bonding solutions.
K 2022 runs through Oct. 26 at Messe Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, Germany.
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