#157 Innovating with 6-Axis Filament Winding: A Conversation with Dr. Humphrey Carter of Compo Tech Plus
04.04.2025 13 min Staffel 5 Episode 115
Zusammenfassung & Show Notes
Are you ready to dive into the world of cutting-edge composite technology? Join us as we explore the innovative advancements of Compo Tech PLUS, a leader in the field since 1995.
In my exclusive interview with Dr. Humphrey Carter, discover how their proprietary 6-axis filament winding process is transforming industries from aerospace to industrial automation. Learn how Compo Tech's commitment to sustainability and performance is setting new standards in composite manufacturing.
At JEC World 2025, Dr. Humphrey Carter from Compo Tech Plus, a Czech manufacturer shared insights into the company's groundbreaking advancements in composite technology during our Composites Lounge's #Composites360OnTour.
Established in 1995, Compo Tech has developed proprietary filament winding technology, including a unique six-axis filament winding process. This innovation allows for true zero-degree axial placement, optimizing structural performance and reducing material usage.
Key Highlights:
Innovation:
Compo Tech's six-axis filament winding technology is a game-changer, enabling the creation of robust composite structures with enhanced performance and reduced weight. This technology is applied across various sectors, including aerospace, automotive, marine, and industrial automation.
Technology:
The company's proprietary winding and placement technology is used to manufacture high-performance composite parts, replacing traditional steel and aluminum components. This results in lighter, more efficient structures that improve overall machine performance and reduce energy consumption.
Sustainability:
Compo Tech's processes contribute to sustainability by extending the lifetime of parts, reducing material usage, and lowering energy consumption in industrial applications. Their innovative solutions offer cost-effective and efficient ways to enhance the durability and performance of composite structures.
Dr. Carter emphasized the importance of balancing performance and cost-effectiveness in composite manufacturing. Compo Tech's approach involves close collaboration with engineers to develop alternative products that outperform traditional materials, offering significant improvements in efficiency and lifetime costs.
Compo Tech Plus continues to lead the way in composite technology, providing complete solutions to customers, from development to production, with their proprietary six-axis winding platform and software.
Don't miss out on this fascinating conversation in this LinkedIn video that promises to reshape your understanding of what's possible with composites.
Why watch the video to the end? See many illustrations of parts and the machine itself!
In my exclusive interview with Dr. Humphrey Carter, discover how their proprietary 6-axis filament winding process is transforming industries from aerospace to industrial automation. Learn how Compo Tech's commitment to sustainability and performance is setting new standards in composite manufacturing.
At JEC World 2025, Dr. Humphrey Carter from Compo Tech Plus, a Czech manufacturer shared insights into the company's groundbreaking advancements in composite technology during our Composites Lounge's #Composites360OnTour.
Established in 1995, Compo Tech has developed proprietary filament winding technology, including a unique six-axis filament winding process. This innovation allows for true zero-degree axial placement, optimizing structural performance and reducing material usage.
Key Highlights:
Innovation:
Compo Tech's six-axis filament winding technology is a game-changer, enabling the creation of robust composite structures with enhanced performance and reduced weight. This technology is applied across various sectors, including aerospace, automotive, marine, and industrial automation.
Technology:
The company's proprietary winding and placement technology is used to manufacture high-performance composite parts, replacing traditional steel and aluminum components. This results in lighter, more efficient structures that improve overall machine performance and reduce energy consumption.
Sustainability:
Compo Tech's processes contribute to sustainability by extending the lifetime of parts, reducing material usage, and lowering energy consumption in industrial applications. Their innovative solutions offer cost-effective and efficient ways to enhance the durability and performance of composite structures.
Dr. Carter emphasized the importance of balancing performance and cost-effectiveness in composite manufacturing. Compo Tech's approach involves close collaboration with engineers to develop alternative products that outperform traditional materials, offering significant improvements in efficiency and lifetime costs.
Compo Tech Plus continues to lead the way in composite technology, providing complete solutions to customers, from development to production, with their proprietary six-axis winding platform and software.
Don't miss out on this fascinating conversation in this LinkedIn video that promises to reshape your understanding of what's possible with composites.
Why watch the video to the end? See many illustrations of parts and the machine itself!
Transkript
So welcome to JEC World
2025 day one, dear LinkedIn Community
Composites Lounge members
and composites experts out there.
I'm together now with Humphrey Carter
of Compo Tech and Compo Tech
is out of the Czech Republic,
and we will be continuing to explore
and find the facts on sustainability
on the ground.
And with Humphrey, I have found
a very competent partner
to speak about, for example,
a very classic process
that is filament winding.
But we have a six-axis filament winding,
a very special one today.
-Thank you very much, Ilkay
and welcome to Compo Tech.
So thank you so much. It's really an honor
to be at your booth, Humphrey.
So can you explain us what is Compo Tech?
Who is Compo Tech?
What's your mission and particularly
also what is your role at Compo Tech?
Compo Tech is a composite technology
and engineering company.
We were established in 1995
with the original filament
winding technology that was developed
by the founders, Ondrej and Vitek,
and since then,
we've been developing our own in-house
process and manufacturing and designing
and doing analysis
for composite structures
across multiple sectors.
My role within the company
is in the business development,
technical sales,
and I also do a lot of engineering
and do work
on the social media side as well.
So I have plenty of hats to keep me busy.
-So that's sounds really
like a massive technology
that you have established, Humphrey.
So my next question is,
let's dive directly
into the market sectors.
So which market sectors
do you serve as Compo Tech?
-Compo Tech is focusing on the winding
and filament placement technology.
And within that
we are active in many different sectors.
And I would say
one of the focuses we have within that
has arrived over the years
into the machine tool sector
and industrial automation sector,
which is, let's say,
a little bit niche in terms
of what you
get in composites manufacturing.
Of course, we are active in other areas
more traditional in composites
such as marine,
also in automotive and aerospace.
But over the years
we have developed our filament winding
and placement technology
to really optimize
and get the best performance
out of the composites that we design.
So these are really exciting
market sectors, Humphrey.
Now, do you have a specific example for me
where you have solved the problem
with the customer
with one of your innovative ideas?
We've got plenty of examples,
but I would say that in this case
I would like to share
one of the applications
where we create beam sections
for one sector,
so this is a industrial gantry beam,
and we take the same technology
and applied it to another sector.
So in this case it's for aerospace
where we took similar kind of technology
where we're creating structures
that are beam like
and applying them into an aero structure.
This is an aileron. And in fact,
this customer
is Czech company AERO Vodochody.
And we developed
for their new L 39NG Skyfox
the aileron using
our filament winding process,
which is using axial placement fibers
and creating sections
that are then put together
in one final cured step.
So there's no secondary bonding.
It's a much more robust structure
and there's less quality issues
with manual labour doing the bonding.
-Now, looking
at this interesting part, Humphrey,
what comes to my mind is what processes
do you have established at Compo Tech
and how do they relate to sustainability?
Our process uses a six-axis robot.
With our six axis winding process
we are able to do true zero degree
axial placement
and this is a process
that we really encompass
within our company and our strategy,
not so common
with many winding technologies.
This allows us to really optimize
the structural performance of a part,
whether it's for a marine mast
or whether it's for a telescope.
It allows you to either reduce the weight
of the part,
reducing the amount of material
used in the part,
or increase the performance of the part.
And in doing that, we can also increase
the lifetime of a part.
For example, we do work a lot with,
as I said before,
the machine tool industrial applications,
where we are replacing actual steel
and aluminium parts
with composites technology.
These are lightweight,
comparatively beam structures
and they offer
the whole machine or process.
If it's a like a press line or something
within that industrial process,
you can reduce the energy consumption
within that process,
reduce the amount of wear
and tear on bearings
and other moving parts
within that machine.
So in terms of sustainability,
we offer a really cost effective
and efficient way
to improve lifetime costs of parts.
So the good thing, Humphry,
is you are an expert in composites.
What is the trade off between performance
and cost effectiveness?
Give us a clue, because this is something
where we are always struggling
within the composites industry.
-There's always a trade off, really,
especially when
you're selecting your materials.
And in many cases,
we're looking at comparing our structures
with metallic structures,
steel structures.
And we always have to compare the costs
with the weight of the part
and how much you can increase
the performance
of that specific machine or part.
We do a lot of work with the engineers
that don't have a composites background.
So we have to weigh up these trade offs.
We have specific examples
where we can offer
a complete alternative product
to a steel products, such as in this.
This is a milling disc
used for a disc mill.
With this product,
we were able to replace a disc mill
that had 3 milling discs
onboard to a milling disc
that had four discs on board
within the same weight envelope,
and that decreased
the overall process-time
of the cutting
process or increased the efficiency
by 70%. Due to the fact
we had more cutting disks
and also the damping
and weight of the part
when it's spinning
meant you could cut faster.
So overall, the lifetime cost was much,
much better.
This particular milling component
paid itself off within,
let's say,
a few months compared to the steel part.
Obviously, you have a vast experience
in composites, Humphrey,
and I'm really impressed by that.
Is there anything else
that you are offering to the market?
Do you have specific areas
where you have
some specific innovative solutions?
Would be keen to hear that from you.
-We are obviously manufacturing
composites parts for now 30 years.
All of our winding
and placement technology
is our own proprietary technology.
So we now offer that to customers
for them to have themselves.
We can do a development of a part
and bring that to
prototype or small scale production,
and then offer that technology
to the company to do in-house.
This is based on our six-axis
winding platform. We have our own software
that we can develop as well
alongside what part we're developing.
So this is really what Compo Tech
is now offering as a whole,
complete solution to customers.
So that's fantastic story.
And one of the key things you mentioned
is you are 30 years on the market already.
-Yes.
How do we celebrate 30 years today?
-We have a party.
We have some beer and champagne,
of course. We bring the beer
from Czech Republic
and the champagne from Epernay (France).
Okay.
-We hope you join us
and we think
it's a big milestone to celebrate.
Thank you so much, Humphrey,
for the invitation
to give us
some behind the scenes insights.
This six-axis multi winding
is a class in itself, I would say.
And very specific and I haven't come
across this myself so far,
so I'm sure the community
will be also interested in seeing that.
Thank you very much.
Yes, the technology is very interesting
and we have only just touched
on what we do here at Compo Tech.
Have a look at our website
and check us out.
So dear community, of course
you will see this video after JEC World.
So you will miss the party.
But I'm sure Humphrey is sometimes
in the Czech Republic,
because he's from the Isle of Whight-UK.
And he would invite you.
Would you show interested parties
your production and walk them around?
-This is exactly what we do,
because we want our customers
to see the production,
see the the winding technology
and how it's a little bit more involved
than just the standard winding technology.
-Come and see.
They're winding and maybe there is a beer,
a pivo, also attached to that.