- Email: [email protected]
Pultruded decking
TECHNOLOGY US invests in low cost carbon fibre production
Delastek reduces costs with automation
The US DEPARTMENT of Energy has awarded The Dow Chemical Company US$9 million in funding for a project to develop a low cost carbon fibre production process.
DELASTEK INC, a Canadian manufacturer of composite aircraft parts, has experienced a 5% reduction in composite material costs since installing a Virtek® LaserEdge™ laser templating system and GERBERcutter® DCS2500 computer-controlled composite cutting system.
The project, Scale-Up of Novel Low-Cost Carbon Fibers Leading to High-Volume Commercial Launch, will be carried out in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Ford Motor Company. Its objective is to develop a lower cost process for the production of carbon fibre using polyolefin in place of conventional polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as the feedstock. This could potentially reduce production costs by 20%. Earlier this year, Ford and Dow Automotive Systems announced a partnership to research the use of carbon fibre composites in high-volume vehicles. Cutting the weight of new cars and trucks by up to 750 lbs by the end of the decade is a key component of Ford’s strategy to improve fuel efficiency. Dow is also forming a joint venture with Turkish carbon fibre producer Aksa (see page 11). The Energy Department award to Dow is part of more than $54 million in funding to 13 projects which will develop manufacturing technologies to help American manufacturers increase the energy efficiency of their operations and reduce costs, thus improving the competitive position of US industry. Industrial processes consume about one-third of all energy produced in the US. US Energy Department; www.energy.gov Dow Chemical; www.dow.com
16
REINFORCEDplastics
Quebec-based Delastek’s customers include OEMs and Tier II aerospace suppliers. The company manufactures the integrated internal cockpit for Quebec-based Bombardier Aerospace’s CSeries mediumrange jet airliners and it has invested in systems which are compatible Bombardier’s. “Automation has enabled us to significantly reduce our material expenses and ensure our product quality so we provide the highest components to our customers at a competitive price,” reports Delastek’s project manager, Mathieu Doucet. “These technologies are a central part of our plan to both increase
our composite manufacturing capacity and expand our capabilities.” “The Gerber and Virtek teams brought us a suite of technology solutions that we couldn’t find from any other single supplier in the market,” he adds. The GERBERcutter DCS2500 system is a high-speed, static cutting system designed to cut single to low plies of composite materials with precision. It cuts to within millimetres at speeds of up to 1.1 m/s. It also maximises material utilisation. The Virtek LaserEdge system is a three-dimensional (3D) laser templating and positioning system that eliminates the need for physical templates, reduces costly rejects and saves set-up time. It projects a laser template onto moulds in order to quickly and accurately guide operators through the ply lay-up process. Delastek; www.delastek.com Gerber Technology; www.gerbertechnology.com
Pultruded decking US PULTRUDER Creative Pultrusions Inc has developed Superdeck Mass Transit Decking (GR250) specifically designed to upgrade concrete infrastructure in the mass transit industry. Applications for the GR250 pultruded deck include: • mass transit platforms; • decking for walkways and platforms; • marina dock decking; • pedestrian bridge decks; and • commercial piers.
JULY/AUGUST 2012
The composite deck offers the benefits of corrosion resistance, light weight and reduced maintenance. It was designed for rapid construction with an integrated tactile and ADA compliant wearing surface. It features a connection system which is said to allow contractors to install the deck in a fraction of the time of a concrete product. Creative Pultrusions Inc; www.creativepultrusions.com
In brief Amber Composites has added three products to its HX series prepreg range. The expanded product line provides more choice of out-life and cure schedules, enabling the manufacture of larger, higher quality tooling for complex composite structures. HX32 and HX40 enable larger tools with extended out-life, and HX44 has similar properties but is specially formulated for glass tooling. Umeco Structural Materials’ new MTM®47 out-of-autoclave capable, high service temperature epoxy resin prepreg is designed for the manufacture of primary aerospace structures. MTM47 has been formulated to allow processing options of oven vacuum bag or autoclave cures and variable cure temperatures of 250°F (121°C) or 350°F (177°C) respectively. It is also manufactured in the form of slit unidirectional tape for advanced fibre placement (AFP). Gurit is introducing a SparPreg prepreg with a special coating technology designed to enable the economic manufacture of high quality wind turbine blade spar caps using glass and carbon fibres. Airstream coated products are said to address the fundamental problem of creating a very high quality, low void content laminate without the use of expensive automated equipment or a temperature controlled environment. Johns Manville has received Germanisher Lloyd (GL) approval for its StarRov® 076 direct roving to be used in wind turbine blades. The product is said to be particularly suitable for the resin infusion process because of its good wetting characteristics and excellent fatigue behaviour in epoxy systems. FORMAX’s range of carbon fibre multiaxial fabrics has been awarded DNV qualification for use in a lifeboats and other marine vessels. SP-High Modulus, the marine business of Gurit, has appointed Revchem Composites, headquartered in Bloomington, California, as its distributor for the west coast of the USA.
www.reinforcedplastics.com
Delastek reduces costs with automation
The US DEPARTMENT of Energy has awarded The Dow Chemical Company US$9 million in funding for a project to develop a low cost carbon fibre production process.
DELASTEK INC, a Canadian manufacturer of composite aircraft parts, has experienced a 5% reduction in composite material costs since installing a Virtek® LaserEdge™ laser templating system and GERBERcutter® DCS2500 computer-controlled composite cutting system.
The project, Scale-Up of Novel Low-Cost Carbon Fibers Leading to High-Volume Commercial Launch, will be carried out in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Ford Motor Company. Its objective is to develop a lower cost process for the production of carbon fibre using polyolefin in place of conventional polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as the feedstock. This could potentially reduce production costs by 20%. Earlier this year, Ford and Dow Automotive Systems announced a partnership to research the use of carbon fibre composites in high-volume vehicles. Cutting the weight of new cars and trucks by up to 750 lbs by the end of the decade is a key component of Ford’s strategy to improve fuel efficiency. Dow is also forming a joint venture with Turkish carbon fibre producer Aksa (see page 11). The Energy Department award to Dow is part of more than $54 million in funding to 13 projects which will develop manufacturing technologies to help American manufacturers increase the energy efficiency of their operations and reduce costs, thus improving the competitive position of US industry. Industrial processes consume about one-third of all energy produced in the US. US Energy Department; www.energy.gov Dow Chemical; www.dow.com
16
REINFORCEDplastics
Quebec-based Delastek’s customers include OEMs and Tier II aerospace suppliers. The company manufactures the integrated internal cockpit for Quebec-based Bombardier Aerospace’s CSeries mediumrange jet airliners and it has invested in systems which are compatible Bombardier’s. “Automation has enabled us to significantly reduce our material expenses and ensure our product quality so we provide the highest components to our customers at a competitive price,” reports Delastek’s project manager, Mathieu Doucet. “These technologies are a central part of our plan to both increase
our composite manufacturing capacity and expand our capabilities.” “The Gerber and Virtek teams brought us a suite of technology solutions that we couldn’t find from any other single supplier in the market,” he adds. The GERBERcutter DCS2500 system is a high-speed, static cutting system designed to cut single to low plies of composite materials with precision. It cuts to within millimetres at speeds of up to 1.1 m/s. It also maximises material utilisation. The Virtek LaserEdge system is a three-dimensional (3D) laser templating and positioning system that eliminates the need for physical templates, reduces costly rejects and saves set-up time. It projects a laser template onto moulds in order to quickly and accurately guide operators through the ply lay-up process. Delastek; www.delastek.com Gerber Technology; www.gerbertechnology.com
Pultruded decking US PULTRUDER Creative Pultrusions Inc has developed Superdeck Mass Transit Decking (GR250) specifically designed to upgrade concrete infrastructure in the mass transit industry. Applications for the GR250 pultruded deck include: • mass transit platforms; • decking for walkways and platforms; • marina dock decking; • pedestrian bridge decks; and • commercial piers.
JULY/AUGUST 2012
The composite deck offers the benefits of corrosion resistance, light weight and reduced maintenance. It was designed for rapid construction with an integrated tactile and ADA compliant wearing surface. It features a connection system which is said to allow contractors to install the deck in a fraction of the time of a concrete product. Creative Pultrusions Inc; www.creativepultrusions.com
In brief Amber Composites has added three products to its HX series prepreg range. The expanded product line provides more choice of out-life and cure schedules, enabling the manufacture of larger, higher quality tooling for complex composite structures. HX32 and HX40 enable larger tools with extended out-life, and HX44 has similar properties but is specially formulated for glass tooling. Umeco Structural Materials’ new MTM®47 out-of-autoclave capable, high service temperature epoxy resin prepreg is designed for the manufacture of primary aerospace structures. MTM47 has been formulated to allow processing options of oven vacuum bag or autoclave cures and variable cure temperatures of 250°F (121°C) or 350°F (177°C) respectively. It is also manufactured in the form of slit unidirectional tape for advanced fibre placement (AFP). Gurit is introducing a SparPreg prepreg with a special coating technology designed to enable the economic manufacture of high quality wind turbine blade spar caps using glass and carbon fibres. Airstream coated products are said to address the fundamental problem of creating a very high quality, low void content laminate without the use of expensive automated equipment or a temperature controlled environment. Johns Manville has received Germanisher Lloyd (GL) approval for its StarRov® 076 direct roving to be used in wind turbine blades. The product is said to be particularly suitable for the resin infusion process because of its good wetting characteristics and excellent fatigue behaviour in epoxy systems. FORMAX’s range of carbon fibre multiaxial fabrics has been awarded DNV qualification for use in a lifeboats and other marine vessels. SP-High Modulus, the marine business of Gurit, has appointed Revchem Composites, headquartered in Bloomington, California, as its distributor for the west coast of the USA.
www.reinforcedplastics.com