Developments in the educational sphere are necessary because composite technology is a relatively young industry. The working group is involved in education on composites in secondary and higher vocational, and university educational institutions.  Within the working group, participants from all kinds of educational institutions, including private institutes, are exploring where the corporate sector and students are properly aligned, and what is required to ensure that this remains that way for the future. A working group meeting will be held twice a year. Like all the other working groups, this one is open for members as well as non-members who can proactively contribute to the issues that the educational working group is tackling.

Developing teaching materials is essential. Several textbooks have already been published, including “Composieten Basiskennis” (Basic knowledge of composites) – author R.P.L. Nijssen.  A new textbook is currently being written, Composiet Mechanica (Composite mechanics) – author Assistant Professor Sotiris Koussios of the Delft University of Technology.

In this work, the focus is on visualisation; it contains many examples and diagrams, and data and common practice aspects are discussed. The book has been designed in such a way that engineers working in practice will benefit from it, while at the same time those nerds out there will find plenty to suit their interests. There are also plans to adjust courses to suit companies, with many practical examples. (Here we have in mind PAO Technique and Management.) Ultimately, everyone wants to know how that one specific plate or beam must be designed in composite materials, and how this fits into ‘traditional’ training in the mechanics of materials. The increase in geometric and numerical modelling also requires attention. The common thread in all design and production processes, particularly when it comes to composites, is modelling (structural, geometric, CNC (computer numerical control) and so on).

The plan is to gradually introduce the following components:

1. Differential geometry: parametrisation of surfaces/objects/curves/geodetics/location and orientation vectors, curvatures, integration techniques, structural thickness etc.
2. Computer aided geometric design: interpolation techniques, properties, customised solutions (at spreadsheet and text file level)
3. Machine control: kinematics, dynamics, CNC data generation (block time, accelerations), accuracy, data exchange
4. Robotics: basic robotics programming, IO, in-line control etc.

There is quite a lot to be done but the aim is to be print ready very early on in the new year. By then the Arnhem and Nijmegen University of Applied Sciences will have used the study material three times, and Windesheim University of Applied Sciences and PAO Technique and Management will have used it once. By doing so, I hope to enhance the usability of the material and to have weeded out the mistakes. Our students will have also studied the slides and chapters with a critical eye.

There are also long-term plans for a book about the analysis of stress concentrations around holes, inserts and connections, but first I have to create the study material on geometric modelling and control of CNC and robots based on fibre processes. This will take two years. In any event, a book that integrates differential geometry with CAGD and CNC/robotics is a veritable gap in the market and it presents all of us with the perfect opportunity to bring Composite Nederland to the fore internationally!