The event focused on variable-axial fiber composite structures and their potential for resource-efficient, sustainable lightweight design solutions. In a total of four sessions, national and international experts presented the latest developments in the design, manufacture, and application of customized composite structures.

Highlights included keynote speeches by representatives from TU Wien, the National Composites Centre Bristol, and Carbon ThreeSixty. The high-quality contributions came from Japan, the UK, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany, with participants representing many more countries. Topics such as digital manufacturing, sustainable materials, CAE tools, and applications in aerodynamics were discussed in an interdisciplinary manner. A laboratory tour at the internationally renowned IPF rounded off the program.

A particular highlight was the official launch of the new CU working group “Tailored Structures” as part of Composites United e. V. The aim of this working group is to strengthen the network of players interested in tailor-made, load path-optimized composite structures and to continuously advance the topic – from basic research to industrial application. The working group serves as an interdisciplinary platform for experts from research and industry who deal with textile-based technologies such as tailored fiber placement (TFP), software-supported lightweight design, and digital process chains.

The working group is led by Prof. Axel Spickenheuer (IPF Dresden), Dr. Patrick Schiebel (Fiber Institute Bremen – FIBRE), and Dr. Stefan Carosella (Institute of Aircraft Design at the University of Stuttgart – IFB), who already provided significant impetus as session chairs and speakers at the Innovation Day.

“The CU Innovation Day impressively demonstrated that professional exchange across regional and national borders is an essential driver of innovation in lightweight composite design, according to the unanimous conclusion of co-organizers Prof. Axel Spickenheuer (IPF) and Dr. Thomas Heber (CU).