Important design aspects Thermwood points out important design aspects, including each mould section’s moulded-in rocker, which act as natural rests that enable the mould to be rolled over or tilted 45 degrees to either side during the layup process. Another design feature is the set of moulded wedges clamped to the rockers to hold the mould in the desired position. Once the hull has been laid up and fully cured, the mould is rolled to level and the printed wedges are clamped to both sides. The two mould sides can be unbolted and slid apart to release the finished boat hull. While the test mould used carbon fibre-reinforced ABS, the company notes that certain thermosets will work directly on the ABS moulded surface using just traditional mould release practices, while other, solvent-based thermoset materials could chemically attack the ABS polymer. To prevent this, Thermwood ran a series of experiments with several protective coatings, including traditional mould gel coats. Regardless of the results, while it appears that this approach will work today for certain thermosets, Thermwood notes that it would be ideal to develop a low-cost polymer that is chemically-resistant to the other thermoset solvents and eliminate the need for a protective coating altogether. www.thermwood.com
Elium thermoplastic resin blade parts are first ground and then heated to depolymerize the resin so that it can be separated from the fibre filler. After purification and reformulation, says Arkema, a new liquid thermoplastic resin is obtained with the same characteristics as the virgin resin. The prize corresponds with Arkema’s partnership with the ZEBRA (Zero wastE Blade ReseArch) consortium led by IRT Jules Verne, which aims to create the first 100% recyclable wind turbine blade and to contribute to the development of environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions for wind power. Beyond the wind power market, Elium resin
is said to enable the production of a wide variety of glass fibre or carbon fibrereinforced thermoplastic parts of all sizes and with complex shapes. Its economic benefit comes from two major characteristics: its ease of implementation with short hardening times at room temperature and its compatibility with the numerous technologies for processing existing thermosetting resins, thus limiting investments for fabricators already equipped with these machines and opening up a vast range of developments in many sectors such as transportation, construction and the boating industry.
INEOS Styrolution’s carbon composite convinces with acoustic properties INEOS Styrolution’s StyLight® composite has been selected by Dr Kurt Müller GmbH & Co KG (DKM) for the company’s latest loudspeaker cone assembly. DKM selected INEOS Styrolution’s composite StyLight as the material for new acoustic membranes for cones, domes and dust-caps in automotive as well as in high-end speakers. The StyLight® Aesthetic S C245 carbon sheet is based on a modified SAN matrix ensuring an aesthetic surface and extremely high mechanical performances. The composite is a material of choice for demanding automotive interior and exterior applications. It also made inroads into other industries including electronics, sports/ leisure industry – and now for the first time into home entertainment. www.ineos-styrolution.com
JEC World postponed to June 2021 FOLLOWING the rescheduling of JEC World to March 2021, concerns raised over the longevity of the pandemic have postponed it to 1-3 June 2021, at the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition centre, in halls 5A and 6. According to the statement, organizers admitted that “even if everything was ready to organize the event in March, we have received multiple calls and emails from exhibitors over the past few weeks expressing their concern about the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic, and the lack of visibility on potential travel restrictions in March, notwithstanding the lockdown measures taken most recently by many governments, among others, in Europe.” DEC 2020 / JAN 2021 49