JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #33 - June 2007 - 18

INNOVATIONS Nacelle film adhesive www.gurit.com INNOVATIONS SPRINT® IPT takes these traditional methods of manufacture to the next level, incorporating the individual benefits of both products to make a unique all-in-one solution based on Gurit’s patented technology. SPRINT® IPT is a multi-layer product that is supplied on a roll. It comprises a triax material and a new highperformance surfacing film. When cured, the film provides a tough but abradable surface that can be painted directly on. This reduces production time and costs, and increases product quality. laminates In addition to HexWeb® Acousti-Cap™, Hexcel launched four other new products at this year’s JEC Composites Show: HexPly® XF3 is a new surfacing film that provides an excellent surface finish for applications requiring performance and aesthetic appeal, such as the bodywork of performance cars. The film is used, along with HexPly® prepregs M47 and M49, to manufacture the bodywork of the new Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. This lightly reinforced surface film provides a superior smooth finish that is ready to paint with minimum preparation. Redux® 870 is a twocomponent liquid shim that was developed in support of Airbus requirements for future aircraft programmes. The technical challenge was to provide a shimming product that did not suffer from significant slump whilst having characteristics that allowed the product to be injected. Polyspeed® is a woven glass fibre epoxy laminates with open grid structure supplied in roll form in widths from 38 mm to 1,270 mm. Grid laminate materials are available in a wide fibre area weight range from 500 up to 1,600 g/m2 glass including flexibility on mesh size of the grid pattern. The open grid structure provides reinforcement, whilst the holes enable flow of liquid resins or reactive foams through the lay up structures. This makes the materials ideal for combined technologies where reactive liquid systems need to be combined with Changing the face of composites with nanometal coatings www.hexcel.com solid, already cured composite parts. Target market is manufacturing of large composite structures. Surfacing film, liquid shim and grid Hysol EA 9658 nacelle film adhesive combines hightemperature-strength controlled flow to minimise hole blockage and flash/flow clean-up in the shop. It features approximately three times the toughness of Hysol EA 9689 and is suitable for metal, composite and honeycomb bonding where continuous exposure to temperatures up to 177°C is important. Hysol EA 9658 is offered with the companion low-VOC, water-based nacelle primer Hysol EA 9258.1. Hysol EA 9258.1 water-borne chromated adhesive bonding primer for 177°C service is designed to offer at least twice the improvement in peel strength toughness over current 177°C service film adhesives. www.henkel.com JEC Composites Magazine / No33 June 2007 Nanometal/composite hybrids are now being used to develop innovative new products. Nanometals have crystalline grain sizes on the order of 10nm, 1,000 times smaller than conventional metals, increasing their strength and hardness by 3-5 times. These materials are produced as foils or applied as coatings, and are now being combined with composites to add hardness, durability and other properties to composite parts. In aerospace, a low-thermalexpansion coating (NanovarTM) was developed to give lightweight composite tools a hard durable surface, allowing them to function like New UL-approved sheet moulding compound production Invar moulds. In motor sports, improving the durability of composite fascias and winglets against stone chipping is being explored. In sporting goods, a new hybrid golf shaft design was recently announced using the nanometal to improve torsional stiffness and resiliency, improving both shot distance and accuracy. www.integran.com Adhesives and bonding Plexus highlighted the benefits and savings that major transportation, marine, automotive and engineered construction manufacturers are achieving by using the company’s state-of-the-art, IDI Composites International exhibited a new UL-approved sheet moulding compound developed specifically for the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) market: SMC E5V-204. With superior corrosion resistance, SMC E5V-204 is the ideal replacement for air conditioning drain pans made from galvanized sheet metal that rust during long-term exposure to condensation. The new formulation gives manufacturers a costeffective, long-lasting alternative to metal for this critical application in the HVAC market. Working with Suburban Plastics, a leading moulder of parts in the HVAC market, IDI formulated this grade of SMC specifically to meet the unique material demands of air conditioning drain pans. In addition to the corrosion resistance properties of the materials, SMC E5V-204 is also flame resistant, receiving a UL-94 5V certification, the highest flame resistant designation available. The glass content provides the dimensional stability required to ensure structural integrity. An optional anti-microbial additive guards against harmful pathogens. www.idicomposites.com

http://www.hexcel.com http://www.gurit.com http://www.integran.com http://www.henkel.com http://www.idicomposites.com

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #33 - June 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #33 - June 2007