A waterjet cutting system for precise carbon processing

Founded in the early 1980s, Carbon-Werke Weißgerber GmbH & Co KG now has more than 20 employees. Over the course of more than four decades, the company has grown from a supplier into a highly specialised high-tech manufacturer of carbon fibre products. The innovative company offers carbon panel and tube production as well as solutions and manufacturing technology for various industries including mechanical engineering, aerospace, automotive and medical. Carbon-Werke also fosters close relations with colleges, universities and research institutions to ensure know-how transfer to future generations and to stay on top of the latest scientific advances.

Franz Weißgerber, Head of Development at Carbon-Werke, has a wealth of experience in the production of carbon fibre components and their applications. His belief is to try to make the impossible possible for his company's customers. "In addition to our standard products, we manufacture parts for high-precision systems that require higher accuracy and low thermal expansion. Therefore, we rely on optimal equipment for our production." The state-of-the-art machinery was a great asset when a customer presented the carbon fibre specialists with a specific request: to manufacture a high-quality component with a curved surface and some additional features. This sounds deceptively simple but required a very fast and effective production process. Weißgerber contacted Biesse and together, they solved the task in a short time to the satisfaction of all involved.

Partners in carbon

That was 13 years ago; since then, an intensive collaboration has developed. "Biesse has a high level of expertise in modern materials and much experience in the processing of a wide range of materials. The required production steps were mapped with one of their 5-axis Primus waterjet cutting machines, and ever since then, we have been in close contact," says Weißgerber. That both partners appreciate the cooperation is confirmed by Andreas Lohse, Director Technology Applications and Product Manager for the wood, stone, glass and advanced materials divisions at Biesse. He has been working with Carbon-Werke from the very first enquiry. "The most valuable part of this intensive partnership is that both parties grow with it. We have enhanced our machines based on feedback from Carbon-Werke. Our joint experience has directly influenced the design and revision of the following Primus generations."