Advanced New Lightweight Materials: Hollow‐Sphere Composites (HSCs) for Mechanical Engineering Applications

Abstract

Abstract “Lightweight” is a major trend in machine tool design to ensure higher speed and higher acceleration of elements, which results from state‐of‐the‐art technology, such as the new linear drive and the control system. [1] Research is being carried out in institutes worldwide into lightweight construction by either design and/or choice of material. One type of advanced lightweight engineering material to reduce the mass of the moving parts of machine tools is hollow‐sphere composites. Investigations of their thermal and mechanical properties show the superior quality of HSCs compared with alternative materials. Example applications of hollow‐sphere composites include the table of a milling machine and robot arms.