Rapid tooling system benefits boat builders

Rapid Tooling System benefits boat builders These

days everything

exception. squeezed

has to be simpler,

Production

schedules

so fabricators,

of spending Euroresins

weeks

UK Ltd explains

builders

to produce

the benefits

S

ince its launch earlier in the year, Euroresins’ High Performance Rapid Tooling System (RTS) has been adopted by many leading boat builders throughout Europe as well as amongst other sectors of the composites industry. An international distributor to the composites industry, Euroresins offers three RTS options: Standard, for regular moulds; Advanced, for higher heat resistance; and High Performance, for vacuum resin transfer moulding (RTM) and large marine moulds. In the advanced system a vinyl ester gel-coat is specified, while in the high performance system a tie coat layer of Atlac 580 ACT vinyl ester resin from DSM Composite Resins is further specified for optimum heat resistance and durability.

Faster production One of the largest moulds made with Euroresins RTS to date has been a 17 m (55 ft) hull produced by Pearl Motor Yachts. Based in Stratford-on-Avon,

and times

and boat

or months

UK, Pearl

is a young company that has quickly established itself in the luxury motor yacht market. For the Pearl 55, its new 55 ft cruiser, the normal l&month time to market had to be shortened to eight

better

and faster.

to market

are being

in particular, and commission

of the company’s

We were able to complete the hull in just four-anda-half

days and gain an

extra six weeks valuable production

time.

2002

no longer a mould.

have the luxury Bill Bessant

Rapid Tooling

of

System.

including 5-6 coats of various carnauba or carnaubalblend paste waxes such as Honeywax or Simoniz. The instructions for application of each wax need to be followed carefully and a minimum of one hour should be left in between wax coats to allow sufficient hardening, with the fully waxed mould being left overnight before gel-coating for optimum release properties. The application of a thin coat

lent stability improving heat/styrene resistance and reducing fibre printthrough to the mould surface. It is used behind the Neogel vinyl ester gel-coat

Successful

mould making

many systems have been successfully used

December

increasingly

tects the mould from any fibre printthrough. The key to success with RTS lies in following the manufacturer’s recommendations and we appreciate the high level of technical and application support that we receive, from both Euroresins and spray equipment supplier Glas-Craft. From now on we will be switching to Euroresins RTS for all of our tooling.”

nation

REiNFORCEDplastics

is no

of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) over a suitable release wax gives extra security of release and a surprisingly good gloss finish. In the same way that tie coats are widely recommended these days for antiosmosis hull constructions, they have proven equally beneficial in toolmaking. A thin layer (tissue plus 300 g/m2 emulsion bound chopped strand mat) immediately behind the gel-coat, impregnated with Atlac 580 ACT provides excel-

The type of release system applied to the pattern or master mould has a critical influence on the successful mould making process. With RTS tooling gel-coats,

40

making

According to Andrew Ince, development manager at Pearl: “The speed of the Euroresins RTS system has been ideal for building and commissioning such a large mould. We were able to complete the hull in just four-and-a-half days and gain an extra six weeks valuable production time. It’s an excellent system - easy to handle with low styrene emission. It gives a very clean release with no remedial work necessary, and the vinyl ester gel-coat pro-

months in order to hit the launch deadline of the London boat show in January. The company decided to opt for a rapid tooling system and found that the Euroresins system offered the best combiof properties.

Mould

where optimum mould life, heavy production cycles or higher ‘in-mould’ temperatures are likely to be found. Care should be taken in the application of the tie coat layer to ensure that there is no air entrapment and the tie coat layer needs to cure overnight before applying the low shrink RTS resin. The Euroresins RTS system is thixotropic, pre-filled, pre-accelerated and storage-stable, making the system easy and convenient to use. Distinguishing

0034-3617/02/$ - see front matter 0 2002 Ekevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rapid

be at least otherwise shrink

15°C

reduction

18-25°C

Euroresins

and

shop

ideally

optimum

curing

full

Rapid Tooling

System

respects.

spray-up equipment although tips, filters and pressures will need to be assessed

observes:

depending

tems

using

conventional

on the equipment.

Euroresins

certainly Compared

of spray equipment of catalyst.

spray deposition

The

and recom-

manager,

the

market

system

to

we be

sys-

find the

the

best

-

the laminators prefer it. to the others it doesn’t settle

out and doesn’t require as much mixing.

for the correct

It’s a good workable

sequence

for

is similar to hand lay-up, the gel-

coat should be applied by hand, consolidated and allowed to cure overnight. After this, 4-5 mm of RTS resin based GRP can then be applied by spray application and allowed to exotherm. From then on the composite should be built up in further layers of 4-5 mm thickness. Complying with ever-stricter environmental legislation for occupational exposure and atmospheric volatile organic means compound (VOC) emissions, reducing styrene emissions - especially during open moulding processes. For many years DSM Composite Resins has been developing low styrene content and low styrene emission resin and gel-coat systems. The company recently introduced a new Atlac E-Nova tie coat resin using its technology. This new system has less than 35% styrene content which compares favourably to the 50% of a standard vinyl ester.

Other

technical

on the calibra-

system, the barrier layer/s behind

making processes require a warm workshop temperature, and this is even more important for rapid tooling systems. Ambient temperatures as well as plug/pattern and all raw materials, must

on

specialist Glas-Craft to ensure that the sysare available

Rhodes,

It

in several

“Of the three rapid tooling

Euroresins

but in the case of the high performance

supplied complete with dedicated gelcoats (isophthalic or vinyl ester, in three colour options) and catalysts. Both RTS resin and other polyesters will bond well to the cured RTS base layer, for the final inclusion of stiffening ribs and frames. Abrasion of the surface is not normally necessary even after a few days delay, and layers can be built up in a much shorter time than with traditional systems. All mould-

Michael

has worked closely with spray equipment

delivery

through, the ability to cling to vertical surfaces, dimensional stability and easy pattern release. The system, which can be applied by spray-up or hand lay-up, is

systems.

important

tion

characteristics include rapid cure, zero shrinkage with minimum fibre print-

available

GRP

mendations

Euroresins’ RTS was used for these RTM moulds used by Stormking.

the two other

it to be superior

tem is fully spray-compatible

The Pearl 55 cruiser.

test, against

considers

can be sprayed

boat builders

RTS system in a comparative

floor

commercially

are not achieved.

The Euroresins

The 17 m boat hull for the Pearl 55 was built using Euroresins’ Rapid Tooling System in just

and

Tooling System benefits

users

Other leading boat builders both in the UK and abroad, especially in Italy and Scandinavia, have either adopted the Euroresins RTS or are currently evaluating it. But outside of the marine segment, many other companies have also benefited from the advantages that faster tooling brings. For example Lamplas, which supplies 60% of the touring caravans and 65% of the motor home markets with panels, skirts and other comthe posite mouldings, evaluated

thinner nation

material

and being

it wets out better, making

lami-

quicker and easier.”

A further

recommendation

has come

from Stormking Ltd, which uses vacuum injection and RTM for producing building products such as decorative columns, porticos, canopies, bay roofs and fascia panels. Stormking’s Paul Riley remarks: “We work to very tight production schedules so there is always pressure on time and production space when we’re curing moulds conventionally. We’re using the high performance RTS system because it’s extremely durable, much tougher than an NPG (neopentyl glycol) and very forgiving of tough treatment. The vinyl ester gel-coat cures rapidly without shrinkage which is particularly important for our vacuum forming and RTM tools that are in continuous production.” Composite suppliers to the automotive industry have also found that RTS meets their rapid prototyping and production needs. CMAK, for example, specializes in vehicle prototyping and conversion. The company now uses ERTS for all of its tooling, not only for its speed but because the system gives the required high dimensional accuracy needed for close tolerance panel fit. n

Euroresins is the Distribution

Business

of DSM Composite Resins. Euroresins UK Ltd; tel: +44-151-3488800; fax: +44-l 51-348-8806; e-mail: info@ euroresins.com; website: www.euroresins.com.

December

2002

REINFORCEDplastics

41