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“Forging is composites’ new
frontier,” says Head of Advanced
Composites, Luciano De Oto.
“Forged parts are much lighter,
they’re integrated, and you
can make any shape you want.
You can’t do that with pre-
preg (woven carbonfibre).” The
process – first used by Boeing
for window frames in the 787- forces shredded carbonfibre
into moulds with enormous
force, and costs twice as much
to manufacture as traditional
woven carbonfibre, however
production time can be slashed
from eight hours to five minutes.
In theory the only limitation is
the size of the press. “We could
already do a complete body
in white but we’d need an
8000-tonne press and there are
only four or five in Italy,” says
De Oto. Lamborghini’s Advanced
Composite Structures Laboratory
in Seattle continues to develop
forged composite engine parts,
starting with conrods.
“We’re probably four or five
years off production,” De Oto
says. “Gearbox casings are
another area.”
“ You have to love building these cars.
They are not easy to assemble”
RANIERI NICCOLI, INDUSTRIAL DIRECTOR
Future
forged