High marks for isopolyester

applications

Moulder

offers SMC street cabinet

COMPOSITES moulder Mitras has launched a range of street cabinets onto the UK market. Suitable for electrical

weathering and are available in widths of 115 cm or 82 cm with a maximum depth of 37 cm.

distribu-

Assembled

tion, gas and water utilities and

sion moulded

telecommunications

and door sections,

applica-

from

compres-

SMC roof, wall the larger

tions, from

the cabinets are made sheet moulding com-

of the cabinets has separate chamber with a second door,

pound

(SMC) and are claimed

bolt and lock system, and both

not to dent

or deform

offering

excellent

insulating

capability.

The composite alternative painted

to

while

electrical

resistant

cabinets, an conventional

free and to

match

ments.

steel, are said to be

maintenance

sizes are available in any colour in

highly

corrosion

and

customer

Although

used has a natural

requirethe

SMC

flame retar-

dancy, the cabinets can be produced, where required, in a special

highly

fire

retardant

High marks for isopolyester THE ALL-COMPOSITE deck of a US Navy demonstration pier is getting high marks for strength, maintenance and corrosion resistance. Constructed in 1994 the glass reinforced isopolyester

deck

plates

and

box beam structural elements of the pier are showing no signs of corrosion or deterioration. The pier, used frequently by pedestrian traffic and for access to various test structures, is part of the Advanced Waterfront Technology Test Site (AWTTS) at The Naval Facilities Engin-

Mitras Composites’ SMC street cabinet replaces steel

eering Service Center (NFESC), Port Hueneme, California, USA. “The composite pier has had zero repairs and zero maintenance,” says NFEsC’swaterfront structures director Robert J. Odello. “While no actual tests of physical properties have been conducted on the composite sections, they certainly don’t appear to be having any problems”. The isopolyester resin used appears to be unaffected by the California’s summertime ultraviolet (UV) exposure, with no ‘blooming’ of the glass fibre.

Vibration welded manifold debuts on Ford truck engine THE 5.4 1, two-valve engine on the 1999 Ford F-series 150 and 250 light trucks features a multishell, vibration welded manifold using DuPont’s Zytel@ welding-enhanced amide (PA) 66 resin.

poly-

A team from Ford, DuPont Automotive and Montaplast took 14 months to develop the manifold, which was originally designed in thermoplastic for lost core moulding. This change is now said to significantly reduce costs compared with the original design. Vibration welding has been used to manufacture air intake manifolds

in Europe

for the

past five years and millions of other PA 66 parts worldwide according to and though, Automotive, the DuPont process is predicted to grow in North America it will not replace lost core moulding. The availability of the welding-enhanced Zytel allowed the team to take advantage of the benefits of vibration welding.

6

REINFORCEDplastics

designs.

grade.

January

1999

Vibration welded manifold.

The material was developed in anticipation of demand for a resin that combined high temperature performance, enhanced burst strength and weldability. The PA 66 resin used is claimed to offer a 35% improvement in static burst pressure at the weld joint, heat aging properties, chemical resistance and dimensional stability. “The programme is a perfect example of global simultaneous engineering and illustrates how quickly we can make a major process change - from design manufacture,” says through Montaplasts’s Michael Ellenbeck. “It could have been a three year programme.”