- Email: [email protected]
Sandwich system wins boat builders award
Materials news
Improved glass Fire-resistant polyester resin reinforced PA GERMAN COMPANY TechnoCompound GmbH is introducing a glass fibre reinforced polyamide (PA) with enhanced properties. The new formulation for PA 6 and PA 66 boosts notched impact strength by more than 70% and flexural strength by around 10% when compared with other glass fibre reinforced PA with the same glass content. The material can be used as a substitute for aluminium die casting and is said to be a cheaper alternative to other PA products. Applications include housings for electrical appliances, coolant reservoirs, fans and valve covers for the automotive industry.
ASHLAND Composite Polymers, headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, USA, has launched HETRON® FR620T-20M polyester resin. The resin has improved wetting and low shrinkage and meets strict fire regulations while retaining its usability, the company claims. “Our new formulation has delivered laminates with Class 1 performance without the addition of antimony or other fireresistant additives,” says Thom Johnson, industry manager for the company. The low-VOC resin is suitable for hand lay-up, spray-up or filament winding processes.
TechnoCompound; www.technocompound.com
Ashland Composite Polymers; www.ashland.com
Sandwich system wins boat builders award ZPLEX™, a conformable sandwich system developed by 3TEX Inc, Cary, North Carolina, USA, won a 2006 Innovation Award during the IBEX (International Boatbuilders' Exhibition & Conference) last month. The product won in the category for boat building methods and technologies. These annual awards are sponsored by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and judged by Boating Writers Internationa l (BWI). Zplex is a fibreglass reinforcement with foam core woven directly into the material. It can be produced with a variety of skins separated
by thin foam cores that are woven into the fabric with the Z-fibres fully integrating the skins. Once cured, the Z columns become rigid, taking the loads instead of the foam. Using the Zplex system, boat builders can lay the mat, foam and inner skin in one application instead of having to add in the foam core separately. Applications for Zplex are said to include curved parts which are difficult to make with balsa or rigid cores, lightly loaded parts such as car hoods, and double-walled structures where internal passages are useful. 3TEX Inc; www.3tex.com
December 2006
rp_5011_pg12_13.indd 13
REINFORCEDplastics
13
06/12/2006 15:03:49
Improved glass Fire-resistant polyester resin reinforced PA GERMAN COMPANY TechnoCompound GmbH is introducing a glass fibre reinforced polyamide (PA) with enhanced properties. The new formulation for PA 6 and PA 66 boosts notched impact strength by more than 70% and flexural strength by around 10% when compared with other glass fibre reinforced PA with the same glass content. The material can be used as a substitute for aluminium die casting and is said to be a cheaper alternative to other PA products. Applications include housings for electrical appliances, coolant reservoirs, fans and valve covers for the automotive industry.
ASHLAND Composite Polymers, headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, USA, has launched HETRON® FR620T-20M polyester resin. The resin has improved wetting and low shrinkage and meets strict fire regulations while retaining its usability, the company claims. “Our new formulation has delivered laminates with Class 1 performance without the addition of antimony or other fireresistant additives,” says Thom Johnson, industry manager for the company. The low-VOC resin is suitable for hand lay-up, spray-up or filament winding processes.
TechnoCompound; www.technocompound.com
Ashland Composite Polymers; www.ashland.com
Sandwich system wins boat builders award ZPLEX™, a conformable sandwich system developed by 3TEX Inc, Cary, North Carolina, USA, won a 2006 Innovation Award during the IBEX (International Boatbuilders' Exhibition & Conference) last month. The product won in the category for boat building methods and technologies. These annual awards are sponsored by the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and judged by Boating Writers Internationa l (BWI). Zplex is a fibreglass reinforcement with foam core woven directly into the material. It can be produced with a variety of skins separated
by thin foam cores that are woven into the fabric with the Z-fibres fully integrating the skins. Once cured, the Z columns become rigid, taking the loads instead of the foam. Using the Zplex system, boat builders can lay the mat, foam and inner skin in one application instead of having to add in the foam core separately. Applications for Zplex are said to include curved parts which are difficult to make with balsa or rigid cores, lightly loaded parts such as car hoods, and double-walled structures where internal passages are useful. 3TEX Inc; www.3tex.com
December 2006
rp_5011_pg12_13.indd 13
REINFORCEDplastics
13
06/12/2006 15:03:49