Applications
Three product families. Each engineered for a specific set of physical constraints.
4a manufacturing develops and produces MILLIFOAM® thin-core foam, CIMERA® microsandwich composites, and CIMERA® Radome structures. These are not interchangeable materials sold across the same market — each addresses a distinct engineering problem. The sections below show where they are used, and why the material properties matter in each context.
Acoustics
In compact consumer electronics — particularly mobile devices and portable speakers — acoustic performance is constrained by geometry. The membrane must be thin, stiff, and light. Conventional materials force a tradeoff: stiffer constructions add mass; lighter ones reduce structural rigidity and introduce resonance peaks that degrade audio quality.
CIMERA® microsandwich structures address this tradeoff directly. By separating two thin skin layers with a MILLIFOAM® core, bending stiffness increases significantly relative to weight — the same mechanical principle as an I-beam, applied at sub-millimeter scale. The result is a membrane with a higher break-up frequency, lower mass for a given stiffness target, and predictable damping characteristics.
- Higher break-up frequency compared to monolithic membranes of equivalent weight
- Up to 100 times higher damping compared to monolithic materials
- Tight thickness tolerances across production batches
- Compatible with standard speaker membrane geometries and bonding processes
- Operating temperature range suitable for consumer electronics environments
CIMERA® acoustic membranes are supplied to manufacturers in the consumer electronics industry. Further technical data is available on the CIMERA® product page.
Lightweight Structures
Where structural performance and weight are in direct conflict — aerospace components, temperature-controlled transport containers, lightweight enclosures — CIMERA® and MILLIFOAM® provide a material solution with a well-documented performance profile.
CIMERA® fiber sandwich replaces monolithic CFRP or GFRP in thin-walled components, delivering up to 60% weight reduction at equivalent or higher bending stiffness. MILLIFOAM® core layers enable fiber composite parts to achieve structural targets with fewer fiber plies, reducing both weight and material cost.
- Up to 60% weight reduction vs. monolithic CFRP/GFRP at equivalent bending stiffness
- Core thicknesses from 0.12 mm — suitable for thin-walled structural components
- Fiber reinforced skin materials: carbon, glass
- Proven in demanding service environments including temperature cycling
Envirotainer, the global leader in active temperature-controlled air freight containers, uses CIMERA® composite panels in container construction. The application required a material that could meet structural load requirements at minimum weight, within tight dimensional tolerances, across a service life involving repeated thermal cycling.
Customized Minimum Loss Radome
Radomes protect radar and antenna systems from environmental exposure while allowing electromagnetic signals to pass through with minimal distortion. At millimeter-wave frequencies — including 76–81 GHz automotive long-range radar and 5G infrastructure bands — material selection and layer composition directly determine transmission loss and beam deviation.
CIMERA® Radome uses low-loss core materials in a sandwich architecture calculated for specific frequency ranges. Layer thickness and composition are defined per application to hit defined electromagnetic performance targets across a specified incidence angle range.
- Transmission loss and beam deviation optimized per application
- Designed for mmWave frequency bands including 76–81 GHz automotive radar and 5G
- Sandwich architecture with low-loss core materials
- Full in-house capability: electromagnetic simulation, mechanical design, prototype, test, serial production
Radome development, simulation, and manufacturing are handled under the dedicated CIMERA® Radome brand.
Further Application Areas
CIMERA® and MILLIFOAM® have been evaluated and used across a range of further industries where thin, stiff, lightweight material constructions are relevant: aviation interiors, marine structures, motorsport components, rail vehicles, and sporting goods. If you are working on an application in one of these areas, contact us to discuss whether our materials fit your requirements.
