SGL Group is opening a research and development department in Meitingen, Germany, which employs Zwick testing machines for mechanical testing of materials and components.
Carbon and graphite products are employed when other materials such as steel, aluminium, copper, plastics, wood and so on fail due to their limited material properties.
Carbon-based products combine several unique properties, such as heat and electrical conductivity, heat and corrosion resistance, and lightness combined with strength.
The Wiesbaden-based SGL Group is a manufacturer of carbon products.
The firm's portfolio ranges from carbon and graphite products to carbon fibres and composite materials.
SGL Group's core competencies lie in its experience of high-temperature technology and its many years of application and engineering expertise.
SGL products are principally used in the steel, aluminium, automotive and chemical industries.
Customers also include the semiconductor, solar, wind energy, battery (dry/rechargeable), environmental and aviation industries.
With the opening of a central research and development centre the company plans to expand its range of services further with the aim of developing new markets and applications, especially in the field of fibre and fibre-composite materials.
The research centre coordinates all of the SGL Group's research and development activities worldwide.
The central materials-testing laboratory located st the centre carries out a wide range of physical and mechanical materials testing.
In addition to the experienced staff, flexible, state-of-the-art testing instruments are essential.
These are supplied by Zwick and are used for: evaluation of all established characteristic strength values in a wide force range with high-resolution strain measurement under varied climatic conditions (humidity, temperature); determining material characteristic values at high temperatures; hardness measurement; and component testing under realistic conditions.
Zwick's large product range was a deciding factor, as was the Testxpert universal software, which is adaptable to SGL's wide ranging and varied testing requirements.
The SGL staff said they were also convinced by Zwick's MGCplus plug-in software module, expertise in fracture mechanics, and its after-sales service, offering support and technical advice.
