The Huge K-Fair

November 7, 2016

The Huge K-Fair

It is clear that K-Fair is huge, unfathomably huge, but what really interested me was the potential for industry revolutionizing technology and educating production and material solutions. I’m going to specify about two cases that maybe explain what I mean.

High Pressure Reaction Injection Molding

 Industry revolutionizing technology – the first company at the fair that I properly sat down and talked to makes machines/machine lines for composite parts. They were very eager to talk and explain why their product is amazing. The process involves using high pressure in injecting resin into the mold with the fabric to make sure the wetting is perfect. That high pressure usually distortions the fibers which will decrease the integrity of the product but they have a trick to prevent this. The system leaves the mold slightly open which means less resistance for the resin flow, meaning practically no distortion. This kind of high tech innovation is what exited me at the fair and this was only one example, k-fair was full of this level of out-side-the-box-thinking.

Vacuum Hose

Sometimes you haven’t even thought about how something is made yet and at k-fair you are already seeing how, right in front of you. One example of this for me was vacuum hoses. I have seen how reinforced hoses are made but never thought about that vacuum hose is made differently since the application is different.

Non-Pneumatic Tires

For approximately two years I’ve been researching, prototyping and testing wheels that don’t use air pressure but are still flexible/adaptive. At the fair I just happened to meet the people that make those wheels possible, yes that happens at K. It was a dream come true seeing the actual product in real life and in use. Again I, a student, was warmly welcomed to sit down have some wine and discuss about this awesome product.

 _{by Jan-Peter Holm}