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AUGUST 2013 AUGUST 2013 || VOL. 19 VOL. 19 || NO. NO. 44

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Cast Polymer Technology Update

Additives & Modifi ers: Resin Optimization

Gamesa’s Modular Wind Turbine Blade

CONTRAST WITH PAST

We’re the science behind what lies ahead.

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New, fast-curing epoxy systems based on Momentive’s EPIKOTE™ Resin 05475

and EPIKURE™ Curing Agent 05500 can enable cycle times of under two minutes

and accelerate the mass-production of lightweight composite parts. Specifi cally

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for liquid compression molding (LCM) as well. Momentive’s proprietary technology

delivers outstanding handling and processability, is styrene-free and meets new

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For more information contact:

[email protected] or call +1 888 443 9466

Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc. is the global leader in thermoset resins. Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc.serves the global wood and industrial markets through a broad range of thermoset technologies, specialty products and technical support for customers in a diverse range of applications and industries. Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc. is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Momentive Performance Materials Holdings LLC (“Momentive”). With 2012 pro forma sales of $7.1 billion, Momentive is a global leader in specialty chemicals and materials, with a broad range of advanced specialty products that help industrial and consumer companies support and improve everyday life. Its technology portfolio delivers tailored solutions to meet the diverse needs of its customers around the world.

*REACH is the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals.

© 2013 Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc. momentive.com® and ™ denote trademarks owned by or licensed to Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc.

Aerospace

Rail

Automotive

Wind Energy

Table of Contents

FEATURES

August 2013 | Vol. 19 | No. 4

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Side by side: The two models of the Chrysler Group’s (Auburn Hills, Mich.) 2013 Viper. The core SRT version (left) is aggressively sporty, “raw” and exemplifi es traditional “Viper values,” while the GTS model (right) has features and appointments typically found in grand-touring cars. See the story behind the Viper’s two composite clamshell hoods on p. 36.Source | Chrysler Group LLC

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COMPOSITESWATCH

Wind Energy | 9

Automotive | 10

News | 14

COLUMNS

Editor | 3Are we ready?

Composites: Perspectives & Provocations | 5

By the Numbers | 7

DEPARTMENTS

Calendar | 43

Marketplace | 44

Ad Index | 44

Showcase | 45

COVER PHOTO

IBEX 2013 PreviewIt’s Louisville, again, this year ... but IBEX offi cials adopt a rotating show schedule to accommodate attendees and exhibitors elsewhere in the U.S.

SPE ACCE 2013 PreviewGrowth in 2012 necessitates a new and larger venue in Novi, Mich., and an expanded program for 2013.

Additives & Modifi ers | Matrix OptimizationNew and reengineered modifi ers for thermosets and thermoplastics target previously elusive goals in composites processing and performance.By Lilli Sherman

Cast Polymer Market | On the UpswingPostrecession, this commodity industry is emerging stronger and going global as competitive pressures encourage innovation.By Sara Black

Inside Manufacturing Revisioning the Viper | Clamshell Hood ChallengeAutoclave-cured carbon-fi ber prepreg hood/fender combo proves as technically formidable as it is visually stunning.By Peggy Malnati

Engineering Insights | Modular Design Eases Big Turbine Blade BuildFirst segmented composite blade increases power generation, eases installation and keeps weight and costs in check.By Ginger Gardiner

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® Registered trademark, Ashland or its subsidiaries, registered in various countries™ Trademark, Ashland or its subsidiaries, registered in various countries© 2010, 2013, AshlandAD-10746.1

Inform. Inspire. Connect.Compositebuild.com connects the building industry to

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compositebuild.com. For more information, contact Bob Moffit at [email protected]

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Editor

Composites Technology (ISSN 1083-4117) is published bimonthly (February, April, June, August, October & December) by Gardner Business Media, Inc. Corporate and production offi ces: 6915 Valley Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45244. Editorial offi ces: PO Box 992, Morrison, CO 80465. Periodicals postage paid at Cincinnati, OH and additional mailing offi ces. Copyright © 2013 by Gardner Business Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2 Canada.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Composites Technology, 6915 Valley Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45244-3029. If undeliverable, send Form 3579.

Subscription rates: Nonqualifi ed $45 (USD) per year in the United States, $49 (USD) per year in Canada, $100 (USD) per year airmail for all other countries. Single issue prepaid, $10 (USD) per copy in North America, $25 (USD) in all other countries. Send payment directly to Composites Technology at Cincinnati offi ces, (800) 950-8020; fax: (513) 527-8801.

MEMBERSHIPS:

EDITORIAL OFFICES

Publisher Richard G. Kline, Jr. / [email protected] Jeff Sloan / [email protected] Managing Editor Mike Musselman / [email protected] Editor Sara Black / [email protected] Editor Lilli Sherman / [email protected] Designer Susan Kraus / [email protected] Manager Kimberly A. Hoodin / [email protected]

Midwestern U.S. & International Sales OfficeAssociate Publisher Ryan Delahanty / [email protected] U.S. Sales OfficeDistrict Manager Barbara Businger / [email protected], Southwest & Western U.S. Sales OfficeDistrict Manager Rick Brandt / [email protected] Sales Offi ceEuropean Manager Eddie Kania / [email protected]

Contributing Writers Dale Brosius / [email protected] Ginger Gardiner / [email protected] Michael R. LeGault / [email protected] Peggy Malnati / [email protected] John Winkel / [email protected] Karen Wood / [email protected]

6915 Valley Avenue Cincinnati OH 45244-3029P 513-527-8800Fax 513-527-8801gardnerweb.com

PO Box 992,Morrison, CO 80465P 719-242-3330 Fax 513-527-8801 compositesworld.com

Richard G. Kline, CBC | PresidentMelissa Kline Skavlem | COO

Richard G. Kline, Jr. | Group PublisherTom Beard | Senior V.P., Content

Steve Kline, Jr. | Director of Market IntelligenceErnest C. Brubaker | Treasurer

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Dave Necessary | Senior Marketing ManagerAllison Kline Miller | Director of Events

ALSO PUBLISHER OF• High-Performance Composites • Modern Machine Shop • IMTS Directory of Exhibits • NPE Offi cial Show Directory• Moldmaking Technology • Production Machining• Products Finishing • Products Finishing Directory• Plastics Technology / PT Handbook • Automotive Design & Production

In the auto industry, quality must be built

into the process.

Jeff Sloan

Are we ready?

As you know, composites have been used in the automotive industry for many years, but (aside from underhood injection molded composites) primarily in low-volume, high-performance applications and mainly in nonstructural or semistruc-tural parts. You also likely know that global market forces are pushing many high-volume carmakers toward composites in order to meet emissions targets in Europe and fuel-effi ciency requirements in the U.S. Th e question is, How quickly and thor-oughly will composites be integrated into everyday cars and trucks? Some say the “tipping point” is here and that the car industry is in the midst of a full-scale shift to composites. Others say that composites are, and will remain, a niche material.

Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that we are in the midst of a large shift toward composites use in structural and semistructural automotive parts and that the automotive industry on the whole is about to demand composite components numbering in the tens or hundreds of thousands. Th e question I keep coming back to in this scenario is this: What happens when you marry a demanding, quality-obsessed, just-in-time, penny-pinching industry like high-volume automotive manufacture with a labor-intensive, black-artish industry like composites, where 5,000 units of anything is a lot, and 100,000 units might as well be infi nity? In short: Is the composites industry ready for the prime time of high-volume automotive manufacturing?

Certifi ed suppliers to the likes of Ford, GM, Chrysler and VW play by a very demanding set of rules in terms of process control, quality control, on-time delivery, enterprise management, cost containment, documentation, account-ability and a host of other factors. None of these, however, is more important than process control. Automotive parts suppliers can’t check every part before it goes out the door — that’s just not practical. Th is means quality must be built into the process: Raw materials, machinery, procedures and processes must be carefully developed and kept consistently within specifi cation; if this is accomplished, parts resulting from such a well-managed system should be within specifi cation.

I am willing to wager that many of you work in facilities that produce high-quality composite parts. But could you quickly become a high-volume manufac-turer who not only makes in-spec parts but does so without losing all profi t to scrap and rework? Do you have equipment and systems that allow you to dial-in fi xed settings to keep processes constant and consistent, or do you rely on manual labor that is, by nature, less consistent? If an automotive customer told you that a part you supplied was out of spec, do you have documentation procedures that would enable you to track it to the machinery and material lot from which it came?

We have wished for so long that high-volume carmakers would embrace composites. Are we — assuming that the date is close at hand — prepared to meet the need? CT will soon seek an answer to that query by taking a closer look at the composites industry’s prospective process control shift . We’ll talk with experts inside and outside of the auto industry about what the future might have in store, asking how composites professionals can rise to the challenge. Th e goal? Not to be sorry that we weren’t more careful about what we wished for..

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Composites: Perspectives & Provocations

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n my previous column (CT June 2013, p. 5 | http://short.compos-itesworld.com/ctxyiOzX), I raised a big question about carbon

fi ber composites as a means to improve automotive fuel economy and reduce carbon emissions: Are they destined to remain a niche solution, or will the OEM community step up to the investment required to use such materials on a grand scale, as the supplier community is hoping? Although high-performance sports cars that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars have employed carbon-intensive body structures, only BMW has, to date, committed to bringing a carbon fi ber passenger cell to platforms designed for commuters and families.

Yes, there are a number of vehicles on the road today, or in development, that will incorporate carbon fi ber in body panels, and a lot of R&D is focused on trying to achieve the elusive Class A fi nish required for the exterior surface. But the math is pretty simple: 100 kg/220 lb of carbon in a passenger cell multiplied by 30,000 vehicles equals 3,000 metric tonnes (6.6 million lb) of fi ber — roughly the equivalent of a full-scale industrial carbon fi ber line. Equipping cars with carbon fi ber hoods requires 300,000 vehicles to achieve the same volume (at 10 kg/22 lb of carbon per hood). I’m using round numbers here to illustrate, but they are in the right ballpark.

Even though the technical requirements for surface fi nish are high, it is arguably easier to bolt on carbon fi ber exterior panels than to reconfi gure an assembly line to incorporate composites into body structure. Th is has always been a major stumbling block in industry acceptance. But the supplier community, especially on the raw materials side, is not looking for a market in automotive of 3,000 metric tonnes or even 20,000 metric tonnes (44.1 million lb) of fi ber, but rather 40,000 to 60,000 metric tonnes (88.2 million to 132.3 million lb), with aspirations of 100,000 metric tonnes (220.5 million lb) or more by 2025. Resin requirements to pair with this fi ber demand will be slightly less but of the same magnitude. To get there via the body panel route will require the equivalent of 10 million carbon fi ber hoods per year. Th at’s a pretty tall order.

Although having lots of low-cost, industrial-grade fi ber will help the automotive market move toward further adoption, it is

If not automotive, then … what?

Bio | Dale BrosiusDale Brosius is the head of his own consulting company and the president of Dayton, Ohio-based Quickstep Composites, the U.S. subsidiary of Australia-based Quickstep Technolo-gies (Bankstown Airport, New South Wales), which develops out-of-autoclave curing processes for advanced composites. His career includes a number of positions at Dow Chemi-cal, Fiberite and Cytec, and for three years he served as the general chair of SPE’s annual Automotive Composites Con-

ference and Exhibition (ACCE). Brosius has a BS in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA. Since 2000, he has been a contributing writer for Composites Technology and High-Performance Composites.

It’s not too early for those pursuing the automotive

holy grail to begin explora-tion and market develop-

ment elsewhere.

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the cost and speed of processing that will have the biggest impact on these decisions. Slow, expensive autoclave curing was the stan-dard 10 years ago, but there have been tremendous advancements in new technologies that rely on fast-curing epoxy resins, includ-ing high-pressure resin transfer molding (RTM); press molding of prepregs and semipregs, with formulations that contain novel latent accelerators; and rapid-heating machines and tools — all aimed at lowering the costs and cycle times of carbon fi ber parts. My company, Quickstep, is among those pursuing opportunities in this area with our Resin Spray Transfer (RST) process.

Epoxy cure times are already in the 5 to 10 minute range, and experimental formulations can cure in as few as two minutes. Th e formulation work is being led by the largest resin suppliers, in-cluding Momentive Specialty Chemicals (Columbus, Ohio), Th e Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.), Huntsman Advanced Ma-terials (Th e Woodlands, Texas) and Henkel Corp. (Rocky Hill, Conn.). Clearly, they see the large potential for fast-cure epoxies, should more OEMs choose to follow BMW’s lead.

It’s possible that other OEMs are taking a wait-and-see ap-proach and are ready to be fast followers if BMW succeeds. But

what happens to all this technology, not to mention the resin and fi ber capacity, should automotive not deliver? Are there other markets that can take advantage of these advancements and make the suppli-ers’ technology investments pay off ?

I contend that many industries stand to benefi t from this development, although few off er the potential volume of automo-

tive. Epoxy does a better job of translating carbon fi ber properties than do polyester, vinyl ester and thermoplastics, allowing the fabrication of thinner, lighter structures. Th e same molding and catalyst technologies that are now under development for auto-motive applications could be translated to the aerospace market, which faces issues with cycle times and the need to get out of the autoclave for future aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. Further, aerospace composites are already dominated by epoxies.

Epoxy pultrusion has historically been slow compared to polyesters, but these new formulations could challenge that, espe-cially for carbon structural elements targeted for construction or wind turbine spars. Continuous fi lament winding — of pipe, for example — also could achieve higher production rates, especially in the off shore oil and gas market. Th e electronics industry is in-creasing the use of carbon fi ber in housings, mostly via thermo-plastic stamping or injection molding. Continuous carbon with epoxy could make those housings thinner without compromising performance.

All these alternatives take commitment and resources, but it’s not too early for those pursuing the automotive holy grail to begin exploration and market development elsewhere. Just in case. | CT |

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By the Numbers

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n May, the Composites Business Index (CBI) of 50.1 indicated that business activity in the industry grew for the third consecu-

tive month. However, the rate of growth had slowed each month.New orders contracted for the fi rst time in four months. A slide

in the new-order growth rate over three months was the most sig-nifi cant reason the CBI grew more slowly during that period. Pro-duction, however, grew for the fi ft h month, and employment was

on the rise at a consistent rate for three months. Supplier deliveries lengthened at their second fastest rate since October 2012. Backlogs continued to contract, which they have done since June 2012. Ex-ports also continued a prolonged contraction. Th ese two subindices held back what could otherwise have been signifi cant growth.

Material prices continued to increase. Prices received increased in May aft er decreasing in April. However, the rate of growth in prices received was much lower than the rate of growth in mate-rial prices. Future business expectations, however, continued to im-prove; they hit their highest level since May 2012.

In April, facilities with more than 50 employees grew but those with fewer than 50 employees contracted. Th at continued in May.

Th e West North Central U.S. grew for the third straight month and was the second fastest growing region in May. Th e South At-lantic and West South Central had grown in three of the past four months. Th e East North Central grew aft er contracting for three months. Aft er growing in four of the previous fi ve months, the East

Composites Business Index 48.6: First contraction in four months

Bio | Steve KlineSteve Kline is the director of market intelligence for Gardner Business Media Inc. (Cincinnati, Ohio), the parent company and publisher of High-Performance Composites magazine. He started as a writing editor for another of the company’s magazines before moving into his current role. Kline holds a BS in civil engineering from Vanderbilt Univer-sity and an MBA from the University of Cincinnati.

South Central was fl at in May. Both the New England and Pacifi c regions contracted in May. Th e Middle Atlantic had contracted in three of the past four months. And the Mountain region showed contraction for the third consecutive month.

Future capital spending plans in May were at their second lowest level of 2013, but they were still slightly above the historical average.

Th e CBI of 48.6 in June, however, showed overall contraction for the fi rst time since January this year. New orders contracted for the second month and did so faster than in May. Production grew for the sixth straight month, but at a slower rate. Th e relatively strong performance of production compared to new orders, however, re-sulted in further backlog contraction, which prolonged an already lengthy period of contraction that began in June 2012. Th e extended contraction could indicate excess capacity.

Employment continued to grow in June, but it did so at its slow-est rate this year. With the strong performance of the dollar, exports

continued to contract. Supplier deliv-eries lengthened as they have done each month since the index was cre-ated in December 2011. Th at said, the rate of increase was the slowest since November 2012. As with backlogs, the slowing rate of increase in supplier deliveries could indicate a buildup of excess capacity in the supply chain.

Material prices increased in June, but (again) the rate of increase was among the slowest since November 2012. Conversely, prices received de-creased for the second time in three months. Th is hurt profi tability — another sign of excess capacity. Fu-ture business expectations weakened

somewhat in June but remained above 2012’s lowest levels.Th roughout 2013, business activity at large facilities has signif-

icantly outpaced that at small facilities. a trend amplifi ed in June. Shops with 100 to 249 employees reached their highest index lev-el since January 2013 while shops with more than 250 employees reached their highest index level since July 2012. But shops with 50-99 employees contracted for the fi rst time since December 2012, and shops with fewer than 50 employees continued to contract, but faster.

In the U.S., regionally, the strongest performer in June was the West North Central, which has grown for four straight months. Also strong were the South Atlantic and West South Central, both of which have grown for four of the last fi ve months. All the other regions contracted in June.

Future capital spending plans were at their second lowest level of 2013. It was also the second time in 2013 that such plans fell below the historical average. Compared to June 2012, spending plans were down 26.7 percent. | CT |

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THE COMPOSITES BUSINESS INDEX

Subindices June May Change Direction Rate Trend

New Orders 47.6 49.7 -2.1 Contracting Faster 2

Production 50.6 53.1 -2.5 Growing Slower 6

Backlog 44.1 44.8 -0.7 Contracting Faster 13

Employment 50.3 52.9 -2.6 Growing Slower 4

Exports 47.1 45.2 1.9 Contracting Slower 14

Supplier Deliveries 51.8 54.5 -2.7 Lengthening Less 19

Material Prices 61.9 63.1 -1.2 Increasing Less 19

Prices Received 49.4 52.3 -2.9 Decreasing From Increasing 1

Future Business Expectations 64.5 68.2 -3.7 Improving Less 19

Composites

Business Index48.6 50.1 -1.5 Contracting From Growing 1

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Composites WATCH

Floating wind turbines, semifi nished automotive composites and public/private

collaborations and other business expansions top the news of composites.

UMaine launches subscale fl oating wind turbine concept

On May 31, the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures & Composites Center (UMaine, Orono, Maine) launched VolturnUS, its 1:8 scale composite fl oating off shore wind turbine,

off the coast of Maine in Penobscot Bay. Th e VolturnUS is the fi rst grid-connected off shore wind turbine to be deployed in North America and is the fi rst fl oating turbine of its kind in the world. Data acquired during the 2013 deployments will be used to optimize the design of UMaine’s VolturnUS system (pat. pend.). Th e deploy-ments this summer, off shore of two coastal communities, Castine and Monhegan, are expected to “de-risk” the VolturnUS technology in preparation for connecting the fi rst full-scale unit to the grid in 2016. Toward that end, the UMaine Composites Center has partnered with industry leaders to invest in a 12-MW, $96 million pilot wind farm. Th e program goal is to build fl oating off shore turbines that will compete with other forms of electricity generation without subsidies.

Th e 65-ft /19.8m tall subscale system prototype is based on a full-size 6-MW, 423-ft /129m diameter rotor design. It features an all-composite tower that uses advanced material systems with a unique semisubmersible hull and tower design. Ershigs (Belling-ham, Wash.), a program partner, developed the tower using fi ber-glass from PPG Industries (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Tom Pilcher, Ershigs’ president, says, “Th e funding and support that we receive from PPG to advance the development of the off shore wind market is critical for success. Having the right partners ... is vital and essential to our success as a supplier of the fi berglass composite towers.”

Th e VolturnUS technology is the culmination of more than fi ve years of collaborative R&D conducted by the UMaine-led DeepC-wind Consortium, a public/private eff ort funded by the U.S. Depart-ment of Energy, the National Science Foundation-Partners for Inno-vation, the Maine Technology Institute, the state of Maine, UMaine

and more than 30 industry partners. Maine reportedly has 156 GW of potential off shore wind capacity within 50 miles of its shores, and the state plans to deploy turbines to generate 5 GW of off shore wind energy by 2030.

Core manufacturer DIAB International (Laholm, Sweden) reports that its material is being used in the fabrication of an 83.5m/274-ft wind turbine blade, said to be the world’s largest (see “Fair winds for offshore wind farms” | CT June 2013 (p. 32) | http://short.compositesworld.com/fEQbAlC2. As a joint project between blade manufacturer SPP Technology (Stenstrup, Den-mark) and Seoul, South Korea-based Samsung Heavy Industries, the fi rst blade prototype was designed and manufactured by SSP Technology and is now undergoing testing at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Ener-

gy System Technology, in Bremerhaven, Germany. The record-breaking blade was produced in support of a wind turbine development project, the goal of which is a 7-MW offshore turbine with a 171.2m/562-ft diameter rotor. Ultimately, the new design will be used in the construction of 12 units in an 84-MW offshore installation in the Korea Straits. The installation, a collabora-tion between Samsung and Seoul-based Korea Southern Power Corp., is tar-geted for startup in 2015, which will make it South Korea’s fi rst offshore wind energy project.

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COMPOSITES WATCH

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BASF AG (Ludwigshafen, Germany) reported in late June that it is launching a new product

and service package for the automotive industry in October under the trademark Ultracom. Th e package comprises three compo-nents: continuous fi ber-reinforced semifi nished products, adapted overmolding compounds and engineering support to go with both.

Th e key products in the fi rst component are laminates based on woven fabrics and unidirectional (UD) tapes that are fully impreg-nated with Ultramid polyamide or Ultradur PBT resins manufac-tured by BASF. Th ese thermoplastic composites are being enhanced in cooperation with thermoplastics and prepreg specialist TenCate Advanced Composites BV (Nijverdal, Th e Netherlands) and glass fi ber manufacturer Owens Corning (Toledo, Ohio).

Ultracom’s second component consists of overmolding mate-rials developed specifi cally for use with the composite laminates. Th ese materials are also from the Ultramid and Ultradur product lines, this time in the form of compounds. BASF says that by using them in combination with the laminates and tapes, it is possible to injection mold complex parts that have very high mechanical rein-forcement because continuous fi ber reinforcement can be placed at well-defi ned locations.

For applications that require high stiff ness, the package consists of an Ultralaminate based on polyamide 6 (or an Ultratape, if the

BASF program to manufacture semifi nished auto composites

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COMPOSITES WATCH

application calls for highly directed reinforcements) in combina-tion with Ultramid G12 COM, with 60 percent glass fi ber reinforce-ment. For crash-loaded applications with a special need for impact strength, BASF off ers a package that consists of Ultralaminate and Ultramid ZG7 COM. In this case, the Ultratape version exists for local reinforcement — for example, as required in seat structures. It can be overmolded with the same Ultramid ZG7 COM.

Th e third component, engineering support, includes design as-sistance, simulation help via BASF’s Ultrasim soft ware and process-ing support. To demonstrate the technology, BASF has installed at its technical center an automated pilot line that combines an injec-tion molding system with automated laminate feeding.

BASF says it will give itself and the automotive industry three years to develop production concepts for body and chassis parts and intends to spend a “high two-digit million euro sum” on R&D.

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COMPOSITES WATCH

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Toray Industries Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) has ac-quired a 20 percent stake in Plasan Carbon

Composites Inc. (Wixom, Mich.) in a bid to strategically expand its carbon fi ber composite material business globally in the automotive fi eld. Plasan, which produces carbon fi ber composite parts for the Chrysler SRT Viper, Corvette Stingray and other high-performance vehicles, has expanded its automotive manufacturing presence sub-stantially, in part, by developing its Pressure Press high-speed mold-ing technology, in which Plasan uses Toray Composites (America) Inc.’s (Tacoma, Wash.) rapid curing, thermoset resin prepreg.

Plasan president Jim Staargaard says the deal off ers Toray access to Plasan’s infrastructure, operability and experience with carbon fi -ber composites, and Plasan gains access to Toray’s proprietary resin transfer molding (RTM) process and other automotive technolo-gies that Toray might launch. Staargaard noted that Plasan’s work on its own RTM process had been slowed by focus on the Corvette and Viper, but it plans now to pursue structural RTM applications.

Toray says that its interest in Plasan ensures a distribution chan-nel to U.S. automobile manufacturers and establishes a manufactur-ing and development base for carbon fi ber composite auto parts in North America. It is the latest in a series of moves designed to cre-ate a market for carbon fi ber in automotive applications. For more background, visit http://short.compositesworld.com/VLePOQy0.

Toray buys 20 percent interest in Plasan Carbon Composites

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Our line of putties and adhesives features the superior strength, excellent bonding, low shrinkage and corrosion resistance that your applications require. They are designed for various markets including marine, transportation, corrosion and wind energy. The full line of products includes vinyl ester, isophthalic, fire retardant, and specialty putties and adhesives.

For more information, call 1.800.736.5497 or visit www.interplastic.com.

© 2012 Interplastic Corporation. All rights reserved.

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COMPOSITES WATCH

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Composites NEWS

Global glass fi ber source Owens Corning (Toledo, Ohio) announced on June 19 a $130 million investment in North America to expand its global glass nonwovens business. Th e new facility will house a state-of-the-art manufacturing line, coating capability and R&D activities, with future expansion options. Th e North Amer-ican facility will use Owens Corning glass fi bers supplied from existing facilities and will specialize in high-quality nonwovens for composite systems and residential and commercial building materials, including wall coverings, ceiling and fl ooring materials, specialty insulation, gypsum and automotive products.

Th e location of the new facility has been narrowed to several U.S. states. Th e fi nal determination will be based on proximity to customers; availability of talent, infrastructure and natural resourc-es; and whether it is a favorable business environment. Th e fi nal site selection is expected in the near future.

“Th ere is a limited supply of glass nonwoven products serving the global building materials market today,” contends Owens Corn-ing group president Arnaud Genis, who notes that because “projec-tions for long-term growth are optimistic, our customers have been

eagerly waiting for Owens Corning to off er more of our unique products and solutions to support and accelerate their growth.”

Th e company also recently announced a strategic alliance with glass fi ber pro-ducer Taishan Fiberglass, a subsidiary of China National Materials Group, also known as Sinoma (Beijing, China), to ex-pand throughout the world the use of Al-kali Resistant (AR) specialty glass products sold under the trademarks CemFIL, Anti-CRAK and SlurryFIL.

Since their development and launch in 1970, AR-glass fi bers have been used, ac-cording to Owens Corning, in more than 120 countries for the reinforcement of ce-ment and concrete. CemFIL is a high-per-formance alkali-resistant glass fi ber that is engineered to reinforce concrete and prevent plastic, thermal and dry shrinkage crack-ing. CemFIL increases fl exural strength and ductility and adds toughness to concrete. AR-glass fi bers and CemFIL are best known for their use in factory-produced glass fi ber-reinforced concrete (GRC) elements, but the range of Anti-CRAK fi bers has been recent-ly expanded for use in the general ready-mix concrete and precast industries (e.g., fl oor-ing, thin-walled elements).

Owens Corning expands business with investments, new partnership

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COMPOSITES WATCH

Manufacturing for the alliance will be based in China and supported by Owens Corning’s global R&D centers, which will provide product and applications develop-ment for these specialty reinforcements. To ensure commercial focus and success, Taishan will market the products in China, the Association of Southeast Asian Na-tions (ASEAN) region, Japan, South Korea, South Africa and Saudi Arabia, while Owens Corning will serve markets throughout the rest of the world.

Genis adds, “We believe a bright future exists for glass reinforcements in cement materials, the largest materials market in the world. With Taishan’s strong manufacturing experience in China, and Sinoma’s experi-ence in cement materials and engineering, this alliance is the right combination to bring growth to AR-glass reinforcements for the foreseeable future.”

Evonik Industries (Essen, Germany) has launched its Composites Project House. As the tenth in a succession of similar internal developmental organizations, it is based in Marl, Germany, with a branch in Darmstadt, Germany. The Composites Project House will develop new materials and system solutions for the lightweight construction sector. The topics to be addressed include automotive and aviation applications and applications in renewable energy. Having established the Composites Project House, the specialty chemicals company is intensifying its strate-gic research for resource-effi cient, sustainable solutions, particularly in the fi eld of mobility. “Our aim in setting up the Composites Proj-ect House is to expand our expertise in the fi eld of composites. Innovative composites will make it possible to improve resource effi -ciency signifi cantly at the same time,” says Dr. Dahai Yu, Evonik’s executive board member responsible for the Specialty Materials seg-ment. In the project house, Evonik’s strategic R&D unit, experts from several operating units and external experts work together on issues that will expand Evonik’s product and tech-nology portfolio and drive research forward until commercial products are ready for use. The research fi ndings are then commercial-ized either by Evonik’s established operating units or an internal start-up.

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Show Coverage

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As International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition and Conference (IBEX) offi cials prepared to set sail for the show’s fourth consecutive voyage to the Kentucky Exposition Center, Sept.

17-19 in Louisville, Ky., the winds of change were already blowing. Although IBEX cosponsors Professional BoatBuilder magazine and

the National Marine Manufacturers Assn. (NMMA, Chicago, Ill.) indicated in 2012 that this inland destination on the Ohio River would be its boatbuilding show venue for the foreseeable future, IBEX offi cials announced on May 16 that, aft er further consideration, they have adopted a rotating show schedule to accommodate attendees and exhibitors else-where in the U.S. and those who come in from Latin America and the rest of the world.

ALTERNATING SCHEDULE

“Louisville continues to be an excellent location for IBEX, but there are two major geographic areas in the USA where about 80 percent of boatbuilders in North America reside,” says Anne Dunbar, IBEX show

director. “Rotating between these two cities is ideal for our dedi-cated IBEX attendees, and for all those marine professionals who have been unable to attend.” Th e 2013 event will take place in Louis-ville, but for 2014 IBEX will return to Florida, putting in at the port of Tampa. Th e IBEX 2014 show will be held Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at the Tampa Convention Center, a world-class event space. Th e facility is located on the waterfront and is within walking distance of many hotels, fi ne restaurants and attractions. Steps away from the show site, an expansive marina off ers plentiful docks and slips. And dock space will be available to exhibitors on a fi rst-come, fi rst-served basis. (Exhibitors may reserve dock or in-water exhibit space at

IBEX 2014. Contact Tina Sanderson, [email protected], or Kate Holden, [email protected].) Th e rotating schedule, based on a Tuesday through Th ursday run, is already in place through 2019 (see “IBEX: Louisville/Tampa Rotation,” at bottom left ).

In Louisville for 2013, IBEX has asked Rick Pitino, coach of the University of Louisville men’s basketball team, to deliver the keynote address at the IBEX Industry Breakfast on Tuesday, Sept. 17, from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m.

As the Louisville Cardinals head coach since 2001, Pitino took his team to victory this year in the NCAA Men’s Division I Basket-ball Championship. He is the only NCAA coach to have led three diff erent teams to the Final Four. Pitino’s keynote “is a great way to kick off IBEX,” says Dunbar. “We are confi dent everyone will enjoy his talk and take away some positive refl ections they can apply to their own businesses.”

Prior to Pitino’s introduction, Th om Dammrich, president of NMMA, will deliver an opening address on the state of the ma-rine industry and the opportunities available to boatbuilders in the coming years.

DOWN TO BUSINESS EARLY

Although the exhibition opens on Sept. 17, the IBEX conference off erings begin a day early with Pre-Conference Workshops. Th is year, fi ve hands-on presentations on Monday, Sept. 16, will cover the many uses of and techniques for using shrink wrap, and will survey composite infusion technology and composite boat design, with an introduction to composites and a primer on fi berglass boat repair.

IBEX has scheduled 75 seminars for the 2013 show under the thematic banner “Designed to Build Better Boats.” Highlights of in-terest to boatbuilders who work with composites will include “Pre-

IBEX 2013

IBEX: LOUISVILLE/TAMPA ROTATION

IBEX 2013 Sept. 17-19 Louisville

IBEX 2014 Sept. 30-Oct. 2 Tampa

IBEX 2015 Sept .15-17 Louisville

IBEX 2016 Oct. 4-6 Tampa


IBEX 2018 Oct. 2-4 Tampa


What: IBEX 2013

When: Kentucky Exposition Center, Louisville, Ky.

Where: Sept. 17-19

Louisville gets the nod for the fourth year in 2013, but in 2014 IBEX

returns to Florida by popular demand.

Preview

Rick Pitino, coach

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Show Coverage

preg Best Practices,” which aids boat shops that want to take advan-tage of recently developed out-of-autoclave prepreg technology to avoid issues such as bridging and racetracking that are common to vacuum infusion processes.

“Gel Coat Fundamentals” will review tips, tricks and best prac-tices for the selection, storage, preparation and application of the component that makes up 5 percent of the composite structure but has historically been the source of 90 percent of composite boat-builders’ challenges.

“Adapting Open Molds for Infusion” will deal with ways and means to do exactly that, including how to achieve desired results in both room-temperature cure and heat-cured vacuum infusion processes and how to avoid transition pitfalls.

A “Double-Bagging Debate Update” will give attendees data from a second round of ongoing testing to determine the merits (or lack of same) of the double-bag-ging alternative to conventional single-bag infusion (see “Learn More,” below). “Bond-ing to Infused Laminates” will update at-tendees on the latest secondary bonding techniques and tabbing procedures. Other speakers will describe “Common Errors in Fiberglass Repairs” and how to avoid them, as well as “Best Practices in Open Mold-ing.” Th ey’ll take attendees “Inside the Bag: Vacuum Pressure Analysis” and help them “Stop the Creep: Transom Problems and Solutions.” Th ey’ll describe how to avoid “Common Composites Processing Errors,” talk about the latest techniques for “Infus-ing Stringers and Floors,” and explain the benefi ts of one-off custom building by means of “Cold Molded Construction,” which combines wood and plywood with composite materials in a relatively simple process with low setup and tooling cost.

In addition, seven Exhibitor Work-shops will help boatbuilders with topics

Read this article online | http://short.compositesworld.com/igQHozOb.

CT has covered the doubling-bagging vs. single-bagging debate in the following:

“Double-bag infusion: 70% fi ber volume?” | CT December 2010 (p. 54) | http://short.compositesworld.com/s2RIkexJ.

“Single bagging can do the job” | CT February 2011 (p. 10) | http://short.compositesworld.com/cRi0JpzZ.

compositesworld.com

Innovative building methods contribute to a cleaner environment,higher-quality laminates and fasterproduction. Our advanced GPS-typeAIREX® foams and BALTEK® balsacores, as well as Lantor SORIC® andFINISHMAT® materials have beenspecifically designed to enhance all

For today’s vacuum infusion, usetoday’s choice cores.

infusion applications. The result: No voids and highly-efficient use of materials. For detailed information on resin infusion methods and compatible coresas well as technical support, contactthe experts at 3A Composites Core Materials.

Europe / Middle East / Africa:Airex AG5643 Sins, SwitzerlandTel. +41 41 789 66 [email protected]

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that range from soft ware-based yacht design and analysis and the surface quality of infused parts, to marketing boats and boat-related services and avoiding problems associated with inadequate knowl-edge of boat- and yachtbuilding standards.

On Tuesday, Sept. 17, IBEX will sponsor its fourth Opening Night Fourth St. LIVE! Networking Event. IBEX badge holders will be invited to enjoy music, drink and dinner specials in most down-town Louisville restaurants.

To see a complete schedule of events visit http://www.ibexshow.com/schedule_events.php. To register for the show, visit http://www.ibexshow.com/attendee-registration.php. | CT |

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Show Preview

Growth in 2012 necessitates a new venue

and an expanded program.

PREVIEW

The 13th annual Automotive Composites Conference & Exhi-bition (ACCE), organized by the Automotive and Compos-ites Divisions of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE,

Newtown, Conn.), returns Sept. 11-13, but this time to a new venue across town from Michigan State University’s Management Education Center in Troy, Mich., its home of the past 12 years. ACCE has grown steadily since its debut in 2001. Another year of record attendance and sponsorship in 2012 pushed the facility past capacity. With automotive interest in composites showing no signs of slacking, ACCE organizers decided to move the event this year to Th e Diamond Banquet & Conference Center at the Suburban Collection Showplace, in nearby Novi, Mich. Th is much larger facility can better accommodate the event’s anticipated growth, and ACCE organizers report they have worked hard to maintain the event’s friendly feel and excellent networking opportunities in the larger venue by creating new “conversation stations” around the facility and by scheduling numerous coff ee breaks, breakfasts, lunches and networking receptions.

MORE PAPERS, MORE SESSIONS

ACCE offi cials have not only booked record numbers of sponsors and exhibitors, but they also have seen a signifi cant increase in the number of submitted papers for the 2013 technical program. As a result, a fourth parallel technical track already has been added on day one. Th is turn of events also has opened the opportunity to add

a new Tutorial track that greatly expands on the single, well-received two-hour tutorial given in 2012. Th is time around, more than six hours of training are already on the docket. At CT press time, topics included “Processing Technologies for the Manufacture of Th ermo-plastic & Th ermoset Composite Parts,” “Repair for Advanced Com-posite Structures,” “Sizings for Fiberglass Reinforcements,” “Design and Development of Precision Plastic Gear Transmissions,” “His-tory of Automotive Composites,” “Preforming Choices – Pros and Cons” and “Developing Accurate Material Models for Composites.” Organizers indicate they are planning to preserve tutorials on video and make them available on a new YouTube channel that will be created around the ACCE event.

Alongside the Tutorials track, a number of regular technical ses-sions will return (each with a group of presentations related to the topic): Advances in Preforming & Reinforcement Technologies, Advances in Th ermoplastic Composites, Advances in Th ermoset Composites, Bio- & Natural Fiber Composites, Enabling Technolo-gies, Nanocomposites, Opportunities and Challenges with Carbon Composites, and Virtual Prototyping & Testing of Composites.

Along with its perennially strong technical program, the SPE ACCE is well known for its lively panel discussions. Each is sched-uled for 90 minutes, during which the moderator quizzes panelists for the fi rst hour and then, in the fi nal half-hour opens the dis-cussion to questions fi elded from the audience. Th is year’s panel is titled “Composites & Aluminum: Compete or Collaborate?”

SPE’s ACCE 2013

SPE’s ACCE is renowned not only for the quality and breadth of its technical program but also for its lively panel discussions, which invite audience participation and lead to intriguing dialogue between OEMs and the supplier community.

The 2nd annual Automotive Parts Competition will be a prominent feature at this year’s conference. Parts nominated last year included the roof and clamshell hood assemblies (pictured here) for the new 2013 SRT Viper supercar from Chrysler Group LLC. (The Viper’s hood is the subject of our Inside Manufacturing story on p. 36).

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERPeggy Malnati covers the automotive and infrastructure beats for CT and provides commu-nications services for plastics- and composites-industry clients. [email protected]

Moderated by Antony Dodworth, the 2013 SPE ACCE cochair and managing director of Dodworth Design (Buckingham, U.K.), it will continue a discussion begun during last year’s panel on “Design and Assembly of the Multi-Material Car” and expanded upon during a 2013 keynote by Alcoa Inc.’s (Pittsburgh, Pa.) Mario Greco, on “Th e Multimaterial Reality.”

Th e ACCE also is known for its numerous and diverse keynote addresses, and this year won’t disappoint. Confi rmed keynoters to date hail from a wide range of notable fi rms that are involved in the automotive industry. In addition to Alcoa’s Greco, Martin Star-key, managing director, Gurit Automotive Ltd. (Isle of Wight, U.K.) will discuss “A Class Surface Composites: From Niche Production to Advancing Ma-terials for Higher Volume OEMs”; Greg Rucks, senior consultant, Rocky Mountain Institute (Boulder, Colo.) will describe “Th e Autocomposites Commercializa-tion Launchpad: Kickstarting Mainstream Adoption of Automotive CF Composites”; and Howard Coopmans, Viper product responsible, Street & Racing Technol-ogy, Chrysler Group LLC (Auburn Hills, Mich.) will cover “Composite Technology Developments on the SRT Viper.” Addi-tional keynoters will include Elias Shak-our, research scientist, Manufacturing, Engineering & Technology, Center for Au-tomotive Research (Ann Arbor, Mich.) on “Creating Value through Collaboration”; Ray Boeman, program director – Energy Partnership, Oak Ridge National Labora-tory (Oak Ridge, Tenn.), who will pres-ent “Th e National Advanced Composites Manufacturing Institute – A Consortium Approach to Automotive Composites”; and Jai Venkatesan, director – Material Science & Engineering, Th e Dow Chemi-cal Co. (Midland, Mich.), speaking on “Industrialization of Carbon Fiber Com-posites – Lessons Learned, Investment Pri-orities for the Future.”

Another popular aspect of the SPE ACCE, free plant tours in and around the Detroit area, will be on off er again this year. At press time, two tours were under consideration: One, on Tuesday aft ernoon, the day before the conference, will involve an hour-long visit to a new natural-fi ber

composite prepreg production line. Th e second, on the event’s fi nal day, is yet to be announced. | CT |

For more information about the SPE’s ACCE program, visit http://speautomotive.com/comp. To register, visit http://attendacce.com/.

Read this article online | http://short.compositesworld.com/MT9q3chR.

compositesworld.com

Additives & modifi ers

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FEATURE: Resin Additives Roundup

n resin systems, additives adapt the base resins for particular applications and, thus, help diff erentiate products in the market-place. Sometimes known as modifi ers — a class distinction more

descriptive of their function — they variously alter or fi ne-tune one or more of the system’s native processing or performance attributes.

Additive suppliers cite several trends in additive product devel-opment. One is sustainability. With an eye to increased regulatory scrutiny, many new developments have been stimulated by a desire for renewable content that is green (bio-derived) or recycled/recycla-ble. Another trend is a preference for reengineering. Salvatore Monte, president of Kenrich Petrochemicals Inc. (Bayonne, N.J.), says that to reduce regulatory exposure and product-development costs, many companies prefer to rework an existing product rather than develop a new one. He draws a parallel to the pharmaceuticals industry.

“Like drugs, additives are now subjected to a much more rigor-ous global registration process than just three decades ago — and the amount of time and toxicology study costs involved really re-

quire a ‘killer app’ that will justify the investment in a really new ad-ditive. So, blends, hybrids and new combinations and applications of existing additives will trump truly ‘new’ materials — unless a new additive is so disruptive that it cannot be held back because ever-increasing performance demands require its use.”

What’s clear is that both new and renewed resin modifi ers are breaking new ground in process and part-performance optimization.

FLAME RETARDANTS

Among reengineered additives, obvious examples are halogen-free fl ame retardants. Although they are harmless and benefi cial in other uses, halogens (i.e., bromine, which, along with fl uorine, chlorine, iodine and astatine, occupy Group VIIA of the periodic table) in some fl ame retardants that are used in plastics are now known to release toxic and corrosive gases when exposed to fl ame. Don Mills, sales director for fi re retardants at Huber Engineered Materials (Atlanta, Ga.), isn’t alone in anticipating a continued reduction in

New and reengineered modifi ers for

thermosets and thermoplastics target previously

elusive goals in composites processing and performance.

MATRIX OPTIMIZATION

21

Additives suppliers are on the innovation track.

One trend involves nanotechnology. Nanopox

nanosilicas, for example, developed by Evonik

Hanse (Geesthacht, Germany), have demonstrated

the ability to increase scratch resistance in

unsaturated polyester composite parts, such as

abuse-prone subway train wall panels. pSource | Evonik Hanse

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their use. “As we evolve globally in seeking greener and safer solu-tions,” he predicts, “halogen-free products will be key to the future of the fi re-retardant additive industry.” At the same time, he expects an increasing demand for products with greater fl ame retardant performance and lower smoke generation.

To meet this demand, suppliers are optimizing alumina trihy-drate (ATH) products. “Many companies are trying to put more ATH into their fl ame-retardant compounds because many other fl ame retardants are too expensive or have environmental issues to overcome,” confi rms Dan Mahlmeister, vice president at R.J. Mar-shall Co. (Southfi eld, Mich.). In the past, there were practical limits to ATH content because the material raised compound viscosities so high they could not be processed. Recent developmental work has relaxed those limits.

Huber recently introduced halogen-free MoldX-brand opti-mized ATH products for use in unsaturated polyester, vinyl ester and modifi ed acrylic-based formulations. MoldX reportedly en-

ables higher loadings without a change in viscosity, resulting in what is said to be outstanding mold fl ow. Th is enables a signifi cant reduction of halogen-containing fi re retardants without sacrifi cing fl ame retardant properties.

MoldX A100 for sheet molding compound (SMC), bulk mold-ing compound (BMC) and hand layup applications allows load lev-els from 250 per hundred parts resin (phr) to as high as 400 phr. It is suitable for halogen-free product formulations that require sig-nifi cant smoke suppression, and its low viscosity reportedly allows molders to process it on SMC machines and in BMC mixers at load-ing levels not previously thought possible. And, Huber says, its fl ow properties make it suitable for molding large, intricate parts.

Two other MoldX grades are targeted to pultrusion, resin infu-sion and wet mat applications. MoldX A105’s fi ne particle size makes it useful in any process that is sensitive to particles coarser than 45 microns in parts with a glass content less than 55 percent. It’s partic-ularly suitable when fi berglass mat acts as a fi lter to prevent the

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Evonik Hanse’s new Nanopox

colloidal silica sols are used to improve

both fatigue performance and surface scratch

resistance of epoxy composites, such as this double T-beam

used in yacht construction where the visible carbon fabric texture is

desirable.

Although the primary function of sizing is to protect the fi ber from abrasion damage by acting as a dry lubricant during processing functions such as weaving, sizing expert Andy Brink, business development manager at Michelman SARL (Cincinnati, Ohio), says sizings on reinforcements used in composites also contribute to adhesion at the fi ber/resin interface. In ther-moplastics, for example, Brink says sizing can function as a reactive system that, together with coupling agents compounded into the resin, improve the mechanical properties by improving the interfacial shear strength.

One example is Michelman’s new-generation FGLASS fi ber sizings, targeted for glass-reinforced polypropylene (PP), as PP composites make inroads into applications previously held by reinforced nylon. In another project, Michelman has partnered with Organic Transit (Durham, N.C.) to develop new composite solutions for glass-reinforced-fi ber panels on a new and unusual bicycle. The result was Hydrosize PP2-01, a nonionic PP emul-sion that is reportedly ideal for sizing glass fi ber for long-fi ber thermoplastics (LFTs) and sizing carbon fi ber to optimize fi ber/resin bond strength.

Hydrosize PA845 anionic polyamide dispersion, Michelman’s fi rst com-mercial product based on its new solvent-free (hydrazine-free) chemistry, is designed for carbon fi bers in high-temperature resins (see photo below) and complies with the European Union’s Plastics Implementing Measure (PIM) di-rective regarding plastics in food-contact applications, including appliances.

Michelman also expanded its Hydrosize portfolio with new nylon

sizings, such as HP PA845, said to be particularly effective in high-

temperature carbon fi ber composite applications, such as this engine

intake manifold.

The sizing is said to be a viable alternative in some applications that now use polyimide chemistry, which provides very high thermal stability but is diffi cult to use in both fi ber coating and compound production. PA845 is reportedly much easier to process and provides high thermal stability, although not as high as polyimides, such as Michelman’s Hydrosize HP1632. Because it is inherently fl ame retardant and heat resistant, Hydrosize HP1632 PI dispersion is now being used as a sizing for carbon fi ber that reinforces thermoplastics in aerospace applications.

Elsewhere, Evonik Hanse GmbH (Geesthacht, Germany) has developed an aqueous emulsion of nanosilica-modifi ed epoxy resin to be used as sizing on glass and carbon fi bers. Nanopox FW 404, which contains 40 percent surface-modifed SiO2 nanoparticles, can be blended with existing sizing formulations or used as an after dip, applied directly to the fi ber in a very thin layer.

Because sizings are used in small quantities, the impact on cost is negligible, but the toughness and fatigue performance of the part can be improved. “We have data that show that it is suffi cient to have the nanosilica particles only at the fi ber/epoxy resin interface,” says Evonik senior market development manager Stephan Sprenger, who notes that at less than 1 percent by weight, the sizing results in a nearly two-fold increase in the composite’s toughness.

FIBER SIZINGS: COUPLING AGENT COMPANIONS

Organic Transit’s ELF “enclosed solar/pedal tricycle” features

glass-reinforced polypropylene body panels with interfacial shear

strength enhanced, in part, by Michelman’s Hydrosize PP2-01 sizing.

The ELF’s effi cient green design and advanced technology earned it a

place as a fi nalist in the Code-n13 Startup Contest, at the CeBIT 2013

trade show (March 5-9), in Hanover, Germany.

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free fl ow of particles suspended in the resin. Its low viscosity allows formulators to use a higher loading than is typical. For glass content greater than 55 percent, Huber off ers MoldX P18 for pultrusion, resin infusion, cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) and vacuum bag mold-ing of fi berglass-reinforced polyester. P18’s particle size distribution tops out at <18 microns, which has been shown to provide excellent processing at high fi ber-to-resin ratios. Lacking coarse particles, it reportedly fl ows readily throughout the reinforcement. As a result, a pultruder, for example, can use a lower pull force and achieve line speeds that are not possible with conventional ATH.

For similar reasons and with similar results, R.J. Marshall has add-ed optimized ATH products to its Maxfi l line, particularly for BMC and SMC applications. Careful management of particle-size distribu-tion in these specialty grades allows higher loadings, which increases fl ame retardancy without increasing resin viscosity. Th ree ATH grades Source | Evonik Hanse

23

Ogden, Utah-based sporting goods

manufacturer Enve Composites used Arovex

epoxy prepreg, supplied by Zyvex Performance

Materials (Columbus, Ohio), fortifi ed with

Graphistrength MWCNTs from Arkema (Colombes,

France, and King of Prussia, Pa.) to develop this

new, tough, downhill mountain-bike wheel —

reportedly the fi rst time a composite has proved

durable enough for this application. Source | Zyvex

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feature, respectively, maximum 5-micron, 10-micron and 45-micron particle sizes. Th e company also has added blends of ATH and cal-cium carbonate for applications where fl ame retardance and smoke suppression are not as critical, such as BMC/SMC sprayup of wall panels for bathrooms and pultruded pipe for oil platforms.

For thermoplastic composites, Clariant Corp. (Muttenz, Swit-zerland, and Charlotte, N.C.) has announced two developmental fl ame retardants for its Exolit OP line. Th e fi rst is Grade OP 1400, designed for glass-reinforced nylon 6 and 6/6 used in electric/elec-tronic, transportation and appliance applications. Like its predeces-sors, OP 1312 and 1314, it is a blend of organic aluminum phos-phinate and synergists. However, this semicommercial product also contains a new substance currently under registration or evalua-tion in the U.S Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxic Substance Control Act inventory and similar inventories in other countries. OP 1400 off ers low density, good mechanicals and high compara-tive tracking index (CTI) values — the CTI integrates standard in-dustry test methods UL 94, glow wire index test (GWIT), Needle Test, and limiting oxygen index (LOI). Functionally, OP 1400 en-hances thermal stability, making it suitable for use at high process-ing temperatures and in formulations that are injection molded into complex cavities, even in hot and humid shop environments. In reinforced nylons, all three grades (1400, 1312 and 1314) report-edly achieve UL 94 V-O classifi cation (burning stops within 10 sec-onds) at thicknesses as low as 0.4 mm/0.0157 inch.

Th e second new retardant, Grade OP 1260 (a test product), is a synergistic blend that achieves UL 94 V-O at 0.8-mm/0.0314-inch thickness, with only 18 percent loading vs. 20 percent loading for its predecessor, OP 1240. It also enhances the melt fl ow and me-chanicals of glass-reinforced thermoplastic polyester PET/PBT blends. Compared to reinforced PBT and PBT blends that are com-bined with a brominated fl ame retardant, ATH blends that contain either OP 1260 or 1240 have lower densities and much higher CTI values. Formulations that contain OP 1260 surpass the halogenated fl ame-retardant formulation in elongation at break and also have near-equivalent notched Izod impact strength.

Nabaltec AG’s (Schwandorf, Germany) viscosity-optimized ATH fi ller is designed to achieve the highest performance possible in resin transfer molding (RTM) applications. Apyral 44 ATH is characterized as a fi ne-particle product that will not increase resin viscosity in fast infusion processes. It features optimized fi ltration behavior, results in good part surface quality and contributes good fl ame retardance. High loadings are possible, and Nabaltec says it has shown that this product improves fl ow, compared to other ground hydrates in un-saturated polyester resin composites.

CURE MANAGEMENT

Th e movement to halogen-free fl ame suppressors has been mirrored by the advent of cure accelerators that contain alternatives to carcinogenic cobalt compo-nents. Although the move to cobalt-free accel-erators for the curing of unsaturated polyester

and vinyl ester resins is centered in Europe, the “winds are blowing this trend to North America,” says Mike Wells, senior applications engineer at Arkema (King of Prussia, Pa.).

Th e OM Group (OMG, Cleveland, Ohio), for example, continues to expand its Borchi Oxy Cure line, which is based on patented iron ligand technology as an alternative to cobalt in the curing of unsatu-rated polyesters. Included is a developmental product, WXP-126, a solution of a highly active iron complex called FeLT.

Kenrich Petrochemicals is converting exothermic peroxide-cured unsaturated polyester composites into bubble-free endother-mic systems (absent cobalt accelerators) by using elevated tempera-ture (40°C/104°F) as the “accelerant” in combination with hybrid

titanate coupling agents, such as the company’s Ken-React CP-XP1 (see “Coupling agents,” later).

AkzoNobel (Amersfoort, Th e Netherlands, and Chicago, Ill.) has extended its portfolio of 100

percent cobalt-free curing solutions with

In unsaturated polyester resin composite formulations,

multifunctional OMS additives, such as Evonik Hanse’s Tegomer

M-Si 2650, boost scratch resistance (top vs. bottom photo),

improve wetting of glass fi bers and reduce sedimentation.

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Interested in exhibiting?

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“although the low cost of conventionally milled extenders will limit usage due to the high cost of reclaiming materials.”

STYRENE SUPPRESSION

Arkema’s Wells also cites a big push in North America away from styrene-based resins and additives, partially because late in 2011 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services classifi ed styrene as a suspected carcinogen (see “Learn More,” p. 27). One alternative, he says, is acrylic resin, but he concedes that the cost of transitioning to acrylics is an issue, not least because they’re more expensive than their styrene-based counterparts. Still, Wells sees acrylic resins as capable of fi nding a price/performance niche between unsaturated polyester and vinyl ester resins.

the launch of its second-generation Nouryact accelerators. Based primarily on iron, the new “eco-premium” accelerators are said to work in a wide range of temperatures and reportedly have a low im-pact on end-product coloration. Th e company claims they readily replace existing cobalt-based accelerators and, in some cases, enable cure behavior that is not achievable in conventional systems.

In contrast, Pergan GmbH’s (Bocholt, Germany) new Pergaquick CP is a reportedly nonhazardous cobalt polymer accelerator product line, an alternative to the cobalt octoate (cobalt 2-ethylhexanoate) now classifi ed as a carcinogen. Pergan says the new accelerators bind the cobalt into a high-molecular-weight matrix that is said to “decrease its bioavailability yet safeguard its curing performance.” Moreover, cobalt polymer is reportedly exempt from registration, according to REACH, the European chemical regulatory agency.

Th e increasing need to control resin pot life and the timing of cure initiation prompted the development of Arkema’s Luperox IS Series additives, which are specifi cally aimed at vacuum infusion and RTM of extremely thick vinyl ester and unsaturated polyester resin composites. Said to be particularly eff ective in closed mold-ing processes (pultrusion, vacuum infusion, RTM and compression molding of SMC and BMC), the additive packages contain Luperox IS 300, a blend of peroxide and BlocBuilder RC-50, a nitroxide-me-diated reactivity controller. Th e latter prevents the reaction between unsaturated vinyl/polyester resins and organic peroxides at or below predetermined low temperatures. At temperatures above 60°C/140°F, however, RC-50 will “unblock” and allow the peroxide to initiate the reaction. It has been shown to extend the pot life of prereacted resins and can enhance the stability of faster-reacting systems.

COST VS. PERFORMANCE

No less evident is a continued emphasis on improving the cost/performance quotient of all additives. Arkema’s Wells speaks for many when he says that, generally, the green driver continues to be bigger in Europe and Canada; the big driver in the U.S. is cost.

Stephan Sprenger, senior market development manager for com-posites and lightweight construction consumer specialties at Evonik Hanse GmbH (Geesthacht, Germany), cites two cost vs. performance trends: reducing the cost of wind turbine manufacturing, especially the blades, while increasing performance (e.g., fatigue); and reduc-ing costs and shortening production cycles to three to fi ve minutes as required by the automotive sector, which is swift ly moving to com-posites. Evonik Hanse, formed in 2011 when Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany) acquired Hanse Chemie GmbH and Nanoresins AG, addresses these trends with several products. Nanopox modifi ers, such as its F-Series colloidal silica sols, have been shown to improve fatigue performance in thermoset composites by up to fi ve times. Abipox tackifi ers reduce layup time in the mold (e.g., in large wind blade tools), and internal mold releases from the company’s family of Tegomer/Tegopren organosiloxanes eliminate the need for external agents and their application and, thus, speed the production cycle.

Still, a strong thrust in the cost arena is the use of fi llers and extenders to minimize the impact of resin cost on part cost. For the fi re retardants business, Huber’s Mills sees continued eff orts to increase mineral extenders’ load levels. “Th ere will be interest in utilizing extenders that contain recycled or green content,” he says,

100 phr ATH in Modar® 875 fi re-retardant resin stored at room temperature after fi ve days.

ATH Settling Results Comparsion


In a recent product comparison trial, Atlanta, Ga.-based Huber

Engineered Material’s MoldX P18 demonstrated superior settling

resistance despite its high ATH loading — a desirable attribute for

pultrusion processes, because it allows for longer operating times

between resin bath clean outs.

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the nanoclay surface, which makes the interface incompatible with some polymers. “We get the job done with one-tenth the amount of a titanate-zirconate hybrid quat, which is completely compatible with the full range of thermoplastic and thermoset polymers.”

Kenrich test data reportedly demonstrates the effi cacy of titanates and zirconates in unfi lled and fi lled polymers and indicates that they could be better coupling agents than silanes for glass, aramid and carbon fi ber and nanoreinforcements. Th ese fi ndings have been sub-stantiated in commercial applications, where the addition of a tita-nate coupling agent reduced the severity of cracking along weld lines where there is little glass content. Th ere was a signifi cant decrease in barrel temperatures from as high as 304°C/580°F, without a cou-pling agent, to as low as 188°F/370°F with the titanate, and there was a reduction of about four seconds in cure time over other coupling agents. Similar fi ndings have been reported in thermoset composites.

SURFACE QUALITY AND DURABILITY

Suppliers cite a defi nite upward trend in part surface quality (driven in part by the auto industry’s demand for Class A body panels) and maintenance of part appearance over its useful life.

Sprenger says grades from Evonik’s Nanopox line have success-fully enhanced the scratch resistance of unpainted epoxy composite parts, where the aim is to display the texture of woven carbon fi ber. Similarly, antiscratch additives have been used in unsaturated poly-ester composites, such as subway car wall panels and in glass-fi ber-reinforced thermoplastic composite door panels. Th e technology is based on Evonik’s Tegomer/Tegopren organomodifi ed siloxanes (OMS), which serve as multifunctional additives in thermoplastic and thermoset composite formulations. In glass-reinforced nylons, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and PC, certain grades (e.g., H-Si 6440P and AntiScratch 200) have long demonstrated outstanding scratch and mar resistance.

Newer Tegomer/Tegopren OMS grades have been shown to provide a signifi cant advantage as defoamers, particularly in glass-reinforced epoxies and unsaturated polyesters. Th ey improve fi ber wet out, and as a result, the fi ber retains its key bulk properties (i.e., hardness, transparency, inertness) and will not print-through to the surface, resulting in a smoother surface appearance.

In unsaturated polyesters, grades like Tegomer M-Si 2650 im-prove scratch resistance and reduce sedimentation. In epoxy com-posites, they also serve as internal release agents and dispersion aids for fi llers. For example, Tegomer M-Si 2650 added at 0.3 percent to epoxy resin systems forms a separating fi lm that enables easy de-molding yet does not diminish paintability.

An improved surface fi nish is one benefi t of Huber’s new Huber-carb W4 ground calcium carbonate. Th is cost-eff ective extender, a uniquely soft and low-silica micritic limestone ore, mills to a more spherical shape than conventional marble sources, which grind to rhombohedral forms. W4 minimizes glass fi ber breakage during processing and molding because its rounder shape and broad par-ticle size distribution not only enables maximum particle packing and, therefore, higher mineral loadings but it also keeps the viscosity low and reduces part shrinkage in most molding processes.

Wacker Chemie (München, Germany) has added two new low-profi le additives (LPAs) for room-temperature processes to its Vin-

Arkema formulates acrylic-based modifi ers and acrylic-based additives, and some of its recent additive developments are geared to further that aim. For example, new Luperox LP dilauroyl or-ganic peroxide is a low-melting solids product that demonstrates excellent solubility in acrylic composites. Another such product is PNP25, an all-aliphatic, tertiary-butyl acid peroxide based on natu-rally occurring materials, as opposed to conventional methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP). PNP25 is said to be well suited to acrylic composites and is promotable without cobalt accelerators.

Elsewhere, BYK-Chemie GmbH’s (Wesel, Germany) new green BYK-S 760 styrene emission reducer combines waxes with polar components (more than 85 percent renewable raw material con-tent) and is reportedly highly eff ective in reducing the monostyrene emissions that are typical of polyesters and vinyl esters at recom-mended load levels of 0.3 to 1.0 percent. Th e additive, however, is said to have no negative infl uence on interlaminar adhesion be-cause more than 70 percent of its ingredients contain unsaturated groups, which react with the resin during polymerization.

COUPLING AGENTS

Central to the sustainability trend are bio-based resins. Kenrich Petrochemical’s Monte sees new interfacial coupling technologies as the keys to bringing these materials up to very high performance levels. “For decades, I have aimed to teach the more effi cient use of raw material through titanium chemistry,” he says, noting that today the resulting organometallics, in liquid, powder and pellet form, can contribute signifi cantly to composite mechanicals.

Kenrich has several developments underway involving its Ken-React titanate and zirconate coupling agents. “Since our organo-metallics are designed to form 1.5-nanometer atomic monolayers, which means they provide organo-functionality on any inorganic or organic surface via proton coordination absent the need for water of condensation, we have an enabling nanotechnology that allows for optimal functionalization of larger nanoparticulates, such as montmorillonite clay. Sometimes resin producers and compound-ers make the mistake of exfoliating nanoparticulate with low-cost ammonium quats.” Th is provides greater Angstrom platelet sepa-ration, but leaves up to 35 percent ammonium quat chemistry on

An increase in loading to 150 phr with Huber’s MoldX A105 yields the

same formulation viscosity as a 15-micron ATH at about 120 phr.

MoldX® A105 Viscosity at Room Temperature

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15 Micron Competitive ATH Product

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There’s not just one thing that sets us apart at Composites One, there are thousands – of PRODUCTS that is,

including the widest range of raw materials from more than 400 industry-leading suppliers. We stock everything

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napas range of polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) solid resins for optimized nonshrink surfaces. Th ey have been shown to reduce the shrinkage of unsaturated polyesters to less than 0.05 percent, yielding a Class A surface. Th e fi rst, Vinnapas LL 8588, a novel polymer architecture composed of polyvinyl acetate and polystyrene segments, also en-sures that the fi nished product has low water uptake. Developed for semiautomated, low-emissions infusion processes, it reportedly pro-motes rapid infusion and is suitable for complex composite parts in automotive or boat and yacht applications. Th e second, Vinnapas LL 8251, is a copolymer of vinyl acetate and crotonic acid. Its viscosity is similar to that of saturated polyesters, so it is said to be easy to pro-cess, even at high fi ber and fi ller contents. Beyond typical applications in the automo-tive sector, it has potential for use in com-posites for construction (windows, doors, industrial profi les and railings).

For its part, Arkema is pressing com-mercial development of two nanorein-forcements, says Michel Glotin, director of materials science. Th e fi rst is Graphist-rength C S1-25 multiwall carbon nanotube liquid masterbatch (20 percent MWCNTs) designed for use as a modifi er in thermo-set-based composites. It is still in a rela-tively nascent stage, so the company has been selling small quantities primarily for high-performance epoxy materials. Glotin reports that commercial applications so far include hockey sticks, bicycle wheels and baseball bats, where the masterbatch serves primarily to improve modulus and resist crack propagation. Th e second, the Nanostrength acrylic block copolymer family, is in an earlier stage of development as a modifi er for epoxies. It features three blocks of linear molecular chains covalent-ly bonded to one another. Nanostrength is blended with a polymer that is compatible with one of the three blocks, so it disperses easily and imposes a structural organi-

zation on the host matrix that has been shown to impart impact strength, high rigidity and transparency. In hockey sticks made of epoxy composites, Nanostrength demonstrates high resistance to crack propagation yet retains or increases the fi nal glass transition temperature (Tg) of the cured system at 10 percent loading. | CT |

Read this article online| http://short.compositesworld.com/3XoZq1Eo.

Read more about the classifi cation of styrene as a suspected carcinogen in the following CT articles:

“Styrene: Issues and implications” | CT February 2012 (p. 25) | http://short.compositesworld.com/7rkRvIAk.

“The styrene puzzle” | CT February 2012 (p. 5) | http://short.compositesworld.com/fwGI5tnO.

compositesworld.com

Senior EditorLilli Sherman covers both the plastics and composites industries, dividing her time between CT and Plastics Technology magazine. [email protected]

he global demand for cast polymer materials used in residen-tial and commercial construction is substantial. According to a recent study by the Freedonia Group (Cleveland, Ohio), the

cast polymer market is forecast to grow by 8.1 percent per year, to 263 million m2 (2.83 billion ft 2) per annum by 2016, with more than half the demand attributable to Asia (especially China). Market

gains will be boosted by growth in the U.S., in both its new housing and remodeling sectors, as well as expansion expected in Europe, Australia and Japan, says Freedonia.

In 2016, kitchen and bath countertops are expected to account for 86 percent of cast polymer demand. Although new housing starts will provide the most rapid gains, the majority of the demand,

says Freedonia, will come from home remodeling and institutional projects, such as hospitals and schools. In the U.S., the National Kitchen and Bath Assn. (NKBA, Hackettstown, N.J.) reports that cast polymer surfaces continue to be key kitchen

Stark before-and-after evidence of how cast polymer

has changed since the 1990s: the inset photo (below)

shows a custom bathtub and shower made with white

cultured marble, now known as engineered composite.

The “after” photo (left) is a granite-look engineered

composite remake, called Venetian Gold, produced by

Mobile Marble (Mobile, Ala.). Virtually identical to natural

stone, the look is created on gel-coated slabs with the

TruStone photo-imaging process.

T

Postrecession, this commodity industry is emerging stronger

and going global as competitive pressures encourage innovation.

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Cast polymer market

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FEATURE: Cast Polymer Update


and bath components, and their share in each sector is trending up-ward in competition with granite and engineered stone.

Th is remarkable uptrend, however, comes on the heels of what industry veteran Charles Martin, a sales manager at resin supplier CCP Composites (Kansas City, Mo.), calls “a perfect storm” that hit manufacturers since CT last covered this topic (see “Learn More,” p. 35). It began in the late 1990s, when attractively priced natural granite began to fl ood the market from China, Italy, India and other sources. New methods for economically mining, cutting, polishing and edging this previously luxury surface had driven its price down signifi cantly. Meanwhile, more aggressive ceramic tile and high-pressure laminate industries touted their wares to consumers and builders. What’s more, cast polymer manufacturing in Asia, Mexico and elsewhere brought a slew of low-cost imports to U.S. home im-provement stores during a time when raw material prices for do-mestic users of resins and fi llers were increasing. Th en came the collapse of the long-reliable U.S. housing fi nance market in 2007, a major impetus for the global recession.

Caught up in these events, only 700 of 1,200 U.S. cast poly-mer companies survived. “Th e challenge, particularly for cultured marble fi rms, was that the historical cost advantage went away when low-cost granite and imports entered the market,” says Bob Moffi t, senior product manager at Ashland Performance Materi-als (Dublin, Ohio), a key cast polymer resin supplier. “Consumers could get granite — a perceived high-end material — at a price point similar to cast polymer products.”

Now in its sixth decade, the industry appears to be turning the corner. A hygienic alternative to porous natural stone, cast polymer can be customized and is now available in green formulations. Cast polymer materials off er huge design fl exibility for wheelchair-ac-cessible and more-easily cleaned kitchens and bathrooms, an aid to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance. And although the basic technologies remain the same (see “Cast polymer catego-ries,” p. 33), leaner practices, new materials and processes, new mar-kets and new marketing methods are driving the latest resurgence. Says Martin, “Many companies have completely changed the way they do business to adapt to today’s conditions.”

Jack Simmons, VP at fi ller manufacturer ACS International (Tucson, Ariz.) sums up, “I think the industry is at the end of the lat-est down cycle. Th e goal now is to continue to create diff erentiated products that stand out, to compete with natural stone and tile.”

A BETTER

BUSINESS MODEL

Th e players in the far-fl ung and fragmented cast polymer industry range from global solid surface giants like DuPont (Wilmington, Del.) to local, two-person shops. As the fore-going indicates, many companies have had to adapt to changing conditions — or reinvent themselves. “I think the industry was coasting through the 1960s and 1970s, since business was good and costs were low,” says Anne Morris, a former board member of the International Cast Polymer Assn. (ICPA, part of the American Composites Manufacturers Assn., Arlington, Va.) and a technical sales representative at distributor Composites One (Arlington Heights, Ill.). “Aft er the big downturn in 2007, companies for the fi rst time had to think about their business strategy, and had to do more with less and become more cost-eff ective.”

“We weathered the storm because we chose to diversify,” says Peter Martin, director of administration, marketing and informa-tion technology at solid surface manufacturer Tower Industries (Massillon, Ohio). “We went from producing slabs and engineered composites to working with architects, designers and contractors, and directly with consumers.” In addition to producing solid sur-face sheets, using a proprietary resin formulation and R.J. Marshall (Southfi eld, Mich.) fi llers, Tower off ers custom fabrication and in-stallation for residential remodelers, kitchen and bath dealers, new-home builders and large institutional customers. Th e company also off ers its customers a choice of surfacing options, including granite and engineered stone. According to Martin, Tower’s college and university business — which includes solid surface vanity counter-tops, lavatories and shower bases/enclosures — is projected to more than double in volume this year. Institutional contracts are helping to drive the company’s current robust growth.

Mobile Marble (Mobile, Ala.), a small, family-owned engineered composite fabricator headed by David Lindsey, transformed itself into a bath remodeling fi rm, off ering renovations directly to cus-tomers, in a range of materials, including engineered composites. “We made so much white cultured marble in the 1990s that the product just became boring, especially for new construction. We have a design showroom now, and customers come to us to pick out their materials, whether it’s just a new vanity top or a complete bath-room with a tub replacement shower,” explains Lindsey. “If someone wants engineered composites, we can still make the part directly,

This geometrically complex solid surface Terreon

Express lavatory fi xture, manufactured by Bradley

Corp. (Menomonee Falls, Wis.), can accommodate two users.

It incorporates photovoltaic cells embedded within the upper shelf,

which capture light in the restroom and store the energy to power the

sensored faucet. One such installation at H2 Engineering (Tallahassee, Fla.)

helped that company achieve LEED points for its building expansion, and cut

restroom water consumption by more than 40 percent.

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in their choice of color, using our molds and materials.” He adds that having the TruStone product line (described in next section) “saved our business. We can now do a complete bathroom install and make it look like real stone, but without the drawbacks of stone.”

Another fi rm that successfully switched focus is Monroe Indus-tries (Avon, N.Y.). Th e company specializes in customized shower enclosures and now works with kitchen and bath designers and has its own design showroom. Monroe also off ers complete bath instal-

lations — a far cry from the fi rm’s business plan in the 1980s. “We are not your grandmother’s cultured marble,” quips Monroe’s vice president, Bonnie Webster.

ACS’ Simmons explains, “Cast polymer manufacturers needed to change their marketing approach. Th ey can no longer sell only new-home construction, or to consumers who happen to come into a showroom at their manufacturing facility. Consumers fi nd mul-tiple options, using the Internet, and simply won’t travel very far to industrial areas.”

Morris points out, “Th e key is an ability to customize shapes, whether for bowls, countertops or showers, giving shops the ability to better compete today.”

Engineered composite and solid surface fi rms that weren’t dependent on residential new home construction had it better, but they still suff ered during the downturn, according to Bradley Corp.’s (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) senior marketing manager, Kris Alderson, whose company also had to diversify its product lines. Bradley had previously supplied only commercial customers, and its well-known Bradleys, or circular washbasins with multiple taps that can accommodate several people at once, were originally done in terrazzo when they were introduced in 1920.

“About 20 years ago, we started migrating to cast polymer, and now make most of our products from solid surface or our own engineered stone product. It’s more durable than gel-coated engi-neered composite for our customers’ institutional settings,” adds Alderson. Th e company has a large product development program to innovate and anticipate trends, which helped it during the re-cession. For example, its award-winning Advocate All-in-One is an innovative, complex-shaped, wall-mounted solid surface wash-room sink that provides soap, water and hand drying in one unit. Cameron Barnes, Bradley’s materials engineer, says the solid sur-face part is molded as one piece in a proprietary mold made in-house by Bradley engineers.

Another major engineered composite player, Mincey Marble (Gainesville, Ga.), left the residential market behind in the mid-1990s, says Natt Davis, director of business development. Mincey moved into health care, military housing and educational institu-tions and now claims to be one of the largest providers of engi-neered composites to the hospitality industry.

Th e company realized early on that it is better to make hundreds of parts from one mold than to cast one-off custom parts, adds Da-vis. Mincey supplies trademarked MINCOR tub and shower pan-els that achieve a Class A rating per ASTM International’s (West Conshohocken, Pa.) E84 tunnel test, thanks to a specifi c ratio of raw materials and additives. Th e panels meet hotel building code standards. Its antimicrobial solution incorporates Agion-branded antimicrobial technologies into a number of products for health care and other germ-averse customers. Together these innovations have helped Mincey expand — it just added 30,000 ft 2 (2,787m2) of manufacturing space to accommodate increased demand.

GETTING IMAGE-CONSCIOUS

Because natural granite continues to be a formidable competitor, cast polymer manufacturers are embracing ways to make engi-neered composites look exactly like granite through imaging

Bradley’s Corp.’s Evero engineered stone product is shown off here in the

company’s Verge Lavatory System, installed in a restroom at the Henry

Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee, Wis., which during Summerfest, the

world’s largest annual music festival, sees some of the heaviest restroom

traffi c in the world.

Robal recycled post-consumer glass is the fi ller in this engineered

composite table by Monroe Industries (Avon, N.Y.).

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techniques. Photofuzion, a patented technology developed by TruStone Products LLC (Bluff dale, Utah), can imprint or embed a high-resolution photographic image, using heat and pressure, into the gel-coated surface of an engineered composite slab within minutes. Images can include granite, marble, travertine and virtu-ally any other textured material. “Our graphics department has even set up images of branded leather for a Wyoming home-owner,” quips TruStone’s president, Doug Tibbitts.

How does it work? Tibbitts explains that aft er a fabricator manu-factures, cures, demolds and fi nishes a composite slab, the slab is moved into the Photofuzion heat press; a granite image, on paper printed with “a dye sublimation ink in an unstable state,” is placed over the slab, then the slab is enclosed within the press. When vac-uum and heat are applied, the ink sublimates, that is, it transforms to a gaseous state, and the vacuum drives the gas into the gel coat. “While it can’t be used for bowls or highly curved parts, the image can be transferred to gentle edge radii or even shower bases,” says Tibbitts, who adds that the images set up by his fi rm are compatible with most gel coats. A gel coat thickness from 18 to 22 mils works best, and technicians need to watch variations in thickness along slab edges, which can aff ect the image.

Not only are TruStone parts doppelgängers for granite, the heat cycle helps postcure the gel-coated slabs, which improves fi nished part durability. Charles Martin adds that CCP Compos-ites off ers STYPOL acrylic-modifi ed gel coat (CCP 4917) that has been optimized for the Photofuzion process.

Mobile Marble’s Lindsey, a TruStone Photofuzion licensee, says virtually all of his engineered composite parts are now made with the process. “It looks like stone, no question — this process really helped our business survive when real granites, marbles and tile were the trend.” He points out to his customers that granite makes no sense in a bathroom, because of its weight, porosity and cost. With his product, they get an identical look that’s water- and mildew-resistant, easier to clean, has no grout lines and doesn’t require sealing. His sentiments are echoed by other TruStone li-censees, including Venetian Marble Co./Ortega Kitchen and Bath (Lubbock, Texas) and Lighthouse Marble (Biloxi, Miss.). Nearly 70 other engineered composite manufacturers have licensed the process in the past fi ve years.

Another image-transfer technique is off ered by Tyvarian (Lin-don, Utah), headed by president Jeff Hall. “We can replicate natural surfaces like granite and marble but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We can transfer not only photos but digital art, patterns, logos, and more — ideas that were never possible before,” says Hall. “We feel we’re giving designers a lot of creative options.” In the case of Tyvarian, an image is transferred into a clear polyester resin, with a thickness of ~25 mils. Th e relatively thick resin coat means that the image is diffi cult to damage, as proven by scratch and UV test-ing. “Scratches can be buff ed out without touching the image,” says Hall. Tyvarian is investigating the transfer of patterns, like glass tiles or subway tiles, onto cast polymer panels to get the tiled look in shower enclosures and kitchen backsplashes without the draw-backs of tile’s porosity and grout lines. More than 45 Tyvarian deal-ers in North America have licensed the process, which, say many, helped them through the diffi cult economic downturn.

An example of a custom engineered composite shower from Monroe

Industries.

Tower Industries (Massillon, Ohio) diversifi ed into institutional markets to

increase its business. The countertop surfaces shown here are Tower’s

Meridian solid surface material.

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Source | Tower Industries

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SYNTHETIC STONE, REAL VALUE

In the more expensive realm of engineered stone (also called engi-neered quartz), where the goal is to closely approximate natural granite without the high cost of quarrying, cutting and shaping blocks of stone, the high capital equipment cost of the established Breton process (see the “Cast polymer categories” sidebar, below) puts it out of reach for smaller producers. Mark Harber, cast polymer business manager at AOC Resins (Collierville, Tenn.), says, “We have several customers making a lot of engineered stone with our resin, with proprietary recipes, and we’re seeing an upward trend in consumer demand, especially from consumers who delayed remodeling projects.”

“Engineered stone is growing very fast, and did even during the downturn,” contends Daryl Francis, casting group business man-

The cast polymer industry is multifaceted. Its many products, however, can be grouped into three general categories, differentiated by the materials and manufacturing methods used, as follows:

Engineered composites is the new moniker put forth by the Interna-tional Cast Polymer Assn. (ICPA, part of the American Composites Manu-facturers Assn., Arlington, Va.) for what previously was known as cultured marble or cultured stone. This material, which is made by hand or with automated equipment, features a low-viscosity orthophthalic unsaturated polyester resin fi lled with calcium carbonate or alumina trihydrate (ATH) and pigments, at about 75 to 78 percent fi ller loading, behind a surface gel coat that contains UV stabilizers to ensure color stability and gloss. An alternative process, called spray granite, sprays a mix of granite granules and a clear gel coat onto a substrate for a granite look. Bathroom vanity tops, basins and shower surrounds are the most common applications. The basic polyester resin can be adjusted by various combinations of glycols (e.g., ethylene, propylene), acids (e.g., maleic anhydride) and monomers (e.g., styrene) to create slightly more elongation or impact-resistance, or longer gel time, for a particular manufacturer’s product. Although early products combined shots of dark pigmented resin and fi ller with a lighter resin mixture to create swirled veined marble, today’s engineered compos-ites tend to have a “chopped” look that more closely resembles granite. Heavily pigmented resin, in this case, is added in chunks and blobs to the base resin. Better gel coats now prevent the chalking, or whitish discolor-ation, and scratches that can occur over time, and they enable the use of darker, richer colors, such as CCP Composites’ (Kansas City, Mo.) IMEDGE product, says Charles Martin, a sales manager at the company. Even matte fi nishes, which are created by sanding the gel coat, are sometimes speci-fi ed to give homeowners more options, he adds.

Solid surface products consist of resin and fi ller (at 50 to 65 percent loading) without a surface gel coat. DuPont’s (Wilmington, Del.) well-known Corian material, introduced in 1965, is a notable example. Solid surfaces require a resin with higher strength and heat-distortion temperature to withstand the abuse common to kitchens (soaps, acids and hot pans) and institutional settings, such as hospitals and schools. Solid color products typically use fi ne ATH fi ller, says Jack Simmons, vice president at fi ller man-ufacturer ACS International (Tucson, Ariz.). He adds that for granite-effect products, the fi llers are coarser than those used in engineered composites. Solid surface products are typically manufactured with isophthalic unsatu-

rated polyester with UV stabilizers, and they also can be made with more costly, but more stain-resistant, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) thermoset acrylic, or a blend of the two. With PMMA or in blends, acrylic replaces styrene, so less UV stabilizer is needed. Acrylic content also reduces resin viscosity while improving air release, adds Simmons.

Visually, solid surface products can range from pure white to myriad color schemes, created by incorporating pigments and colored granules, or specks, that give the illusion of natural granite. The granules are typically made by casting sheets of pigmented polyester, thermoplastic or acrylic resins, then crushing them to the desired size and adding them to the resin. More recently, specks have been replaced with many different sizes of particulate to more nearly replicate natural stone.

Engineered stone, on the other hand, is essentially man-made granite. It is a broad category that includes engineered quartz, polymer concrete (see “Learn More”) and engineered marble stone. For the 50 or so manufactur-ers who use the large-scale Breton method, developed by Italian equipment manufacturer Breton Spa (Castello di Godego, Italy) in the 1960s, it is the most capital equipment-intensive and complex of the cast polymer processes. But some cast polymer manufacturers are starting to produce engineered stone by other means, using more cost-effective, if labor-inten-sive, methods (see main story).

The patented Bretonstone technology, properly referred to as a “compac-tion by vibrocompression vacuum process,” uses elastomeric molds in which a crushed stone/resin mix is cast on a moving belt. Natural stone ag-gregate — usually specifi c types of minerals, such as quartz, or waste rock from quarries — is combined with a small amount of resin (between 5 and 10 percent for a fi ller loading of 90 to 95 percent), pigments and proprietary additives. The mix is heated and compressed under vacuum in a large press. The vibration helps compact the mixture and results in an isotropic slab with virtually no porosity that can be cut to fi t any installation. Slabs are sold under many trade names, including Zodiaq, CaesarStone, HanStone and more, in hundreds of custom colors.

Although epoxy is sometimes used as the engineered stone matrix, polyester resin is more common, according to Interplastic Corp. - Thermoset Resins Div.’s (St. Paul, Minn.) casting group business manager Daryl Fran-cis. And Mark Harber, AOC Resins’ (Collierville, Tenn.) cast polymer business manager, explains that engineered stone resins must possess low shrink and high resilience for the best performance.

ager at Interplastic Corp. – Th ermoset Resins Div. (St. Paul, MInn.). “Because it’s a premium product, there is less cost pressure.”

Bill Schramm, director of global business development for com-posites at resin supplier Reichhold Inc. (Durham, N.C.), adds that consumer demand for upgraded kitchens is a big driver, because engineered composite can’t compete in the kitchen.

But, robust demand has led some manufacturers to develop their own versions of engineered stone on a smaller scale, without the costly Breton machinery. Bradley Corp., for example, spent years developing a proprietary production method capable of mak-ing shaped bowls and parts using granite and quartz in a polyester resin. “Our process is comparable to the amount of labor needed to make solid surface,” claims Barnes, “although fi nishing and pol-ishing requires more time due to the harder nature of the engi-

CAST POLYMER CATEGORIES

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Mincey Marble (Gainesville, Ga.), a supplier to commercial hospitality

customers, produces MINCOR tub and shower panels, as shown here, with

a Class A fi re rating to meet hotel building code standards.

neered stone.” Bradley’s nonporous Evero Natural Quartz Surface is reportedly customizable to any shape and is said to contains up to 70 percent recycled content, including shells and glass. Adds Alderson, “We’re able to work with architects to develop a higher-end look for any type of building.”

ACS International’s Simmons reports that the ICPA is support-ing the trend of low-cost production of engineered stone with a re-search study on best practices and materials to assist small manufac-turers. He states, “If this push is successful, it could really open up new markets, especially kitchens, for the small producers.”

A GREENER OPPORTUNITY

Perhaps the biggest trend in cast polymer is the emergence of green fi llers and resins, driven in part by the high prices of petroleum in 2008 and 2009, says Moffi t, which made green sources more cost competitive. Used in both residential and commercial installations, the green chip is worth playing. “Builders get credits for incorpo-rating recycled content as part of the LEED program [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, part of the U.S. Green Building Council],” says Moffi t, “and that’s very important to many builders and consumers.” But for Schramm, it’s a two-faced coin: “Bio-resins like our Envirolite polyester provide plenty of performance. Th e issue becomes that ‘green’ costs more, and fabricators still need to keep their costs low.” According to Moffi t, fabricators have migrated away from a focus on bio-resins to incorporating more cost-neutral components, such as recycled fi llers and resins containing recyclate.

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Technical EditorSara Black is CT’s technical editor and has served on the CT staff for 13 [email protected]

Read this article online | http://short.compositesworld.com/2Bfoh9TM.

CT’s previous coverage of cast polymer technology includes these two prerecession reports:

“Automation in the cast polymer industry” (CT August 2006 (p. 50) | http://short.compositesworld.com/sjGzfmYf.

“Cast polymer concrete structures save city’s sewers” |CT April 2008 (p. 42) |http://short.compositesworld.com/5TSavWPW.

compositesworld.com

Monroe’s Webster asserts that her fi rm pushed ahead to develop its Robal recycled postconsumer, prelandfi ll glass fi ller, for which it has won several awards. “It was a big investment, and it’s costly to clean and crush the glass, but we believe it has opened a lot of doors and brought in customers who demand green products.” Robal also is available to other producers under a licensing agreement. Monroe can achieve up to 82 percent recycled content by weight when it combines Robal with bio-resins, such as Ashland’s Envirez product line. “We pride ourselves on off ering the most innovative materials and longest-lasting products,” says Webster.

Bradley’s Evero engineered stone product is also considered green, with its 70 percent recycled content. And Mincey Marble off ers its customers minceygreen, a trademarked commer-cial line of sustainable products, with 30 percent postconsumer content, for LEED credits. Simmons reports that ACS uses postconsumer waste — recycled polyeth-ylene terephthalate (PET) from soft -drink bottles — in its Poly Chips thermoplastic granules series — Artistone, Dura Stone and Poly Stone — with bio-resins as the binder. “Our Ecotone line uses post-con-sumer recycled glass and other renewable resources for LEED points, and our Terra Bella line is made with recycled gemstone waste,” he adds.

“Green building is here to stay, but it’s evolving,” observes Scott Williams, prod-uct development manager at R.J. Marshall. “Our solid surface color granules contain up to 22 percent postindustrial recycled content, and we also grind B-grade fi ber-glass strand for fi ller, which otherwise would go to a landfi ll.” His company’s Re-Stone product contains 30 percent pre- and postconsumer recycled glass combined with fi llers and patented color granules, and it is eligible for LEED rating points.

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“Th e industry has some momentum developing with builders and architects now,” concludes Moffi t. “With our greater presence at architectural and builders shows, and with the compositebuild.com Web site, we’re helping specifi ers better understand the value propo-sition for engineered composites and cast polymer surfaces.” | CT |

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When Chrysler Group LLC (Auburn Hills, Mich.) brought back its iconic Viper supercar under its new SRT (Street & Racing Technology) brand, aft er a two-year absence,

the development team wanted it to return with more power and performance, superior craft smanship, comfort features and inno-vative technologies than ever before. Moreover, the Viper design studio wanted to make a big statement on this 5th-generation Viper with aggressive yet sophisticated styling. A major step toward that goal was the visually stunning but technically challenging clam-shell hood/fender assembly, produced in prepreg autoclave-cured carbon fi ber-reinforced plastic (CFRP).

Unveiled on April 4, 2012, at the New York International Auto Show (New York), the 2013 Viper sports chassis enhancements that boost torsional stiff ness by 50 percent. Th at and a lightweight skin of composites (more than 50 percent of the vehicle’s exterior) and

aluminum enhance high-speed stability, improve aerodynamics and reduce curb weight by more than 100 lb/45 kg, giving the 2013 Viperthe best power-to-weight ratio in Viper history.

NEW LOOK, NEW CHALLENGES

Th e new Viper sports the same low stance and extreme cab-rear-ward proportions that have traditionally defi ned this mid-engine two-seater, and the car’s classic look is enhanced by a return to a traditional Viper clamshell hood, but forward-hinged (see photo, p. 37) to provide an unobstructed view of the engine compart-ment, including the 8.4-liter/513-in3 V-10 engine and the tops of the front wheels. Th e hood’s aggressive sweep, prominence and high aesthetic, inside and out, make it a key visual focus, but its sheer size — nearly 2m by 2m (6.6 ft by 6.6 ft ) — and the fact that it was to be molded in CFRP laminate raised a host of manufacturing

Revisioning the Viper

CLAMSHELL HOOD CHALLENGE

Autoclave-cured carbon-fi ber prepreg hood/fender

combo proves as technically formidable as it is visually stunning.

Source | Chrysler Group LLC

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INSIDE MANUFACTURING

and tooling challenges for Tier 1 molder Plasan Carbon Compos-ites (PCC, Bennington, Vt.) and toolmaker Weber Manufacturing Technologies Inc. (Midland, Ontario, Canada). Th e clamshell unites the hood and fenders, and it features a painted, one-piece outer panel bonded to a polished (unpainted/visible-weave) two-piece inner panel (no cores are used). Th e studio wanted the outer panel molded as a unit not only to prevent the read-through (aesthetics-spoiling “shadows”) that occurs in painted parts with bondlines but also to avoid the cost of multiple tools and extra fi nishing associated with bonded parts.

“We favored the functionality and styling heritage of combining hood and fenders into one large part,” says Mike Shinedling, Chrys-ler’s Viper launch manager, but he notes, “Th ere were also weight and fi nishing advantages of a single-piece outer panel clamshell. Since our projected peak volumes [2,500 units/annually] meant that we were going to have to make multiple hood molds anyway, we took advantage of that and designed two diff erent outer panel styles.”

Th ere are, in fact, two models of the 2013 Viper: Th e core SRT version is aggressively sporty, “raw” and exemplifi es traditional “Vi-per values,” while the GTS model has more of the features and ap-pointments found in grand-touring cars. Although both hoods are similar in shape, the SRT version has six air extractors to cool the en-gine during operation and the GTS model has only two. Both hoods also feature an engine air intake scoop, which proved to be the most diffi cult feature to mold on the entire car. Holes for air extractors are molded in rather than cut out of the hood’s solid laminate. Th e stu-dio believed that molded-in openings would provide a better styling interface for bezels, because GTS-model air extractors have a fl ush gap, while those on SRT models are subfl ush.

Not just for show, these fully functional scoops perform diff erent tasks. Scoops on opposite sides of the die line are designed with op-posing drop angles, so the front scoop pulls cool air into the engine while the others vent hot air from the radiator up and out. Opposite draw angles in the tool made demolding a challenge, particularly in a one-piece design with rigid CFRP, because they must be pulled in opposite directions during removal.

Another challenge was maintaining gap tolerances on the hood side-to-side and point-to-point because the assembly mounts to a magnesium-and-steel frame on the car body, and meets the bumper fascia, aluminum side sills, and door — parts made from materials with coeffi cients of linear thermal expansion (CLTEs) much higher than CFRP’s very low value.

Also problematic was the fender curvature, which made layup in these sections extremely diffi cult. Worse, a full return fl ange runs the entire periphery of the outer panel and forms the fi nished edge of the composite part, much like a rolled and hemmed edge does on stamped-metal parts. However, because the fl ange measures be-

tween 3 and 4 mm (0.12 and 0.16 inches), it provides a signifi cant undercut that’s hard to lay up and even trickier to demold. In fact, during brainstorming sessions with Chrysler early in the program, PCC representatives told the automaker that the fl ange’s tight ra-dius might make the part impossible to manufacture. “We pointed out that this fl ange’s radius was less than 2 mm [0.08 inch], which within the automotive carbon composites industry would be con-sidered substandard and, therefore, likely to lead to breakage of fi ber bundles, recounts Gary Lownsdale, PCC’s chief technology of-fi cer. “Normally, in our industry, 3 mm [0.12 inch] is considered the minimum you can go without getting fi ber bridging and resin-rich edges.” Although CFRP laminate can be molded to near-net shape, PCC deliberately overmolds to ensure that edges have the right resin/fi ber mix to avoid dry spots or resin-rich areas that could fail prematurely. “Chrysler asked us to go back and reconsider, but early on, there were only two of us who believed this part could be made,” recounts Lownsdale. “We knew we had considerable technical hur-dles to clear.” Ultimately, the entire engineering team — automaker, molder and toolmaker — “knuckled down and found a way to make it work,” he adds. “We did this through tooling concessions, devel-oping new technologies and, as a last resort, styling concessions.”

Fortunately, PCC oft en looks to other industries to benchmark new projects, especially when it tackles a part not previously done in automotive, and that’s where the team found some interesting solu-tions. For example, predictions indicated that the outer panel could be pulled off the tool, but that the return fl ange from the outer panel to the inner panel insertion would cause interference — one reason the inner panel was, in the end, produced in two pieces. Getting the die pull angles just right in such a tight geometric pattern so that the hood and side scoops could be separated from the tool also made mold design a challenge, but Weber met it by developing additional, hand-placed inserts for these sections.

The new Viper’s classic look is enhanced with a forward-hinged hood that

opens toward the front bumper and offers an unobstructed view of, and

access to, the engine compartment.

TTTTTT

When Chrysler Group LLC brought back its iconic Viper for

the 2013 model year, the development team’s aggressive yet

sophisticated styling strategy yielded two confi gurations: One for

the core SRT version (bottom), an aggressively sporty, “raw” look

that exemplifi es traditional “Viper values” and another (top) for

the GTS variant, with features and appointments found in grand-

touring cars. Each features a unique hood outer skin.

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2 As work begins on layup for a panel on the

clamshell hood, the layup instructions for that

part are loaded into the laser-guidance

system. Also, retrorefl ective targets with

cross-hairs are shot down at the lift table to

calibrate the laser prior to start of layup.

3 A laser projection unit is suspended from the

ceiling over each work area where the

clamshell hood panels will be layed up.

1 A day before they are scheduled to be used

in production, plies of CFRP prepreg are cut

and assembled into kits, then refrigerated.

8 Once the autoclave cycle is complete and

parts are cooled and demolded, both inner

and outer panels are sent for routering.

9 Next, inner panels with visible carbon weave

are buffed and polished to a high luster.

7 The NVD clamshell hood tools are so large

that special racking had to be developed to

move the bagged parts into and out of the

autoclave. In fact, these tools barely fi t in

Plasan’s 30 ft/9.1 m autoclave.

Weber used CAD data to produce three single-sided hood outer tools and two hood inner tools, using the nickel-vapor deposition (NVD) process. Th e inserts for tricky areas were machined from P20 steel, including the air extractor openings. When Weber machined the blocks of aluminum that would be used to create the mandrels for the outer-panel NVD tools, they were so large that they barely fi t within the work envelope of the company’s 5-axis CNC machine. Further, the fully vacuum-bagged outer part in its tool barely fi ts in PCC’s 30 ft /9.1m autoclave in Bennington, where the parts are produced. Getting bagged parts into and out of the pressure cham-ber requires careful racking technique and two technicians to avoid damaging the vessel’s liner and vacuum lines.

Notably, given the complexity of the assembly, no prototype tooling was produced. A series of “engineering splashes” — parts made with temporary composites tooling, which can be pulled off clay models, REN (wood/epoxy composite) planks or even another part — was used to produce parts that could be analyzed in Chrys-ler’s wind tunnel, but no conventional stepped tool-build process was necessary, a fact that sped development and reduced costs. Shinedling says that the kickoff of surface geometry through to the fi rst trials on production tools spanned only 16 to 18 weeks.

AEROSPACE MATERIAL INSIGHTS

Materials selection for this project drew from supplier input, Shinedling’s automotive experience, and the aerospace background of colleague Howard Coopmans, Viper project responsible, Street & Racing Technology. “We had a lightweight objective on a large part that had to be toolable,” notes Coopmans, who, as a former Boeing engineer, well understood strength and stone-chipping issues around such a large part and suggested a move to a tougher resin system in the prepreg. Th e team selected unidirectional prepreg supplied by Toray Composites America Inc. (Tacoma, Wash.) for the inner layers of all panels and the outer layer of Class A painted surfaces, and used 2x2 twill-weave fabrics for the face layers of polished/unpainted inner panels. Although they are technically not aero-space-grade materials, they are impregnated with G83C epoxy resin, optimized for strength, cost, and processability, and supplied at stan-dard 186-g/m2 (5.49-oz/yd2) areal weights. Th eir greater ultimate strength permits production of thinner, lighter panels with minimal surface defects and high smoothness. Th ey meet the team’s high aesthetic requirements for both painted hood outers and polished hood inners. Th e ply counts vary depending on panel and location but, typically, six layers are used on the outer panel (except in thicker

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5 For reference, the work instruction/ply book is

never far away.

6 Once layup is complete, the part is bagged

and prepped for the autoclave cycle.

4 The system sequentially projects a green

laser outline in the exact shape of the next ply

that should be laid down in its specifi c target

location, providing a poka-yoke (mistake

proofi ng) mechanism as well.

11 After that, the complete assembly is

masked and then paint primer is applied to

the outer panel.

12 The fi nal step before the complete

assemblies are shipped out to another

supplier for paint is inspection/measurement

to ensure dimensionality and surface quality.

10 Once trimmed, inner and outer panels

are brought together in a fi xture and

adhesively bonded and cured via hot-air

impingement.

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load-bearing areas around latches and hinge) and feature up to 15 plies on sections of the inner panel. As designed, the outer panel has a nominal 1.2-mm (0.05-inch) wall thickness, while the inner panel’s thickness varies from 1.45 to 3.25 mm (0.06 to 0.13 inches) to satisfy global panel stiff ness and slam/durability requirements while still minimizing assembly mass.

Given the size and complexity of the part kits, and the fact that some plies are cut at ±45o instead of standard 0o/90o, PCC worked diligently to maximize cutting effi ciency via soft ware and design of experiments (DOE). Th e work was done at PCC by senior research engineer James Salerno and manufacturing engineer Neil Sbardella. “We conducted extensive DOEs of kit lot sizes and combinations, and we improved kit-cut effi ciency dramatically,” explains Salerno. “Currently, we’re well over 70 percent effi ciency for the hood nests. Th e large and complex nature of the plies used on these parts made this a very diffi cult achievement.” Salerno used JetCam CAD/CAM nesting and materials management soft ware (from JETCAM Inter-national, Monaco) in conjunction with CATIA CAD soft ware (from Dassault Systèmes, Vélizy-Villacoublay, France) and Simulayt AFM advanced fi ber modeler (Simulayt Ltd., Woking, Surrey, U.K.). Kits are typically cut a day ahead of production and refrigerated.

Measuring almost 2m by 2m (6.6 ft by 6.6 ft) the bonded clamshell

hood assembly consists of a painted one-piece CFRP outer panel and two

unpainted/polished CFRP interior panels with visible weave.

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR

http://short.compositesworld.com/CF2013LEARN MORE AND REGISTER FOR THE CARBON FIBER 2013 E-NEWSLETTER

December 9-12, 2013 / Crowne Plaza Knoxville / Knoxville, TN USA

CARBON FIBER 2013

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from the industry’s leading innovators and network with decision makers and key executives from all aspects of the carbon fiber supply chain!

This year we’re including an optional tour of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s carbon fiber manufacturing facilities!

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Read this article online | http://short.compositesworld.com/4eCFiUwU.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERPeggy Malnati covers the automotive and infrastructure beats for CT and provides commu-nications services for plastics- and composites-industry clients. [email protected]

edges and parts are shipped on special racks for painting elsewhere. Inner and outer panels are bonded with Pliogrip structural adhesive (Ashland Performance Materials, Dublin Ohio) and cured in a hot-air impingement bonding fi xture.

Th e bare, bonded hood assembly weighs only 36.62 lb/16.61 kg, a 43 percent mass reduction vs. equivalent parts on previous Vi-pers made from metal and sheet molding compound (SMC). Th e hood’s low mass contributes to the vehicle’s lower center of grav-ity, which improves handling, cornering and braking stability. Shinedling notes that when fi rst-time customers open the hood, they’re shocked at how little it weighs.

By all measures, the 2013 Viper already is a success. Customers love it, the car has won a number of prestigious awards, and Chrys-ler is well on the way to meeting target volumes its fi rst year. | CT |

Weber Manufacturing Technologies Inc

Tel 705.526.7896 • Midland, ON

www.webermfg.ca

Precision Tooling and CNC Machining

for the Composites Industry

Invar

Steel

NVD Nickel

Precision

LAYUP SPEED AND EFFICIENCY

Early in development, technicians were forced to do blind layups in certain areas of the part — even when they bent over the tool, they couldn’t see where they placed plies, owing to the tool’s size and curvature. To improve confi dence in layup accuracy, Lowns-dale borrowed a layup technique he’d learned while he was CEO of Mastercraft Boat Co. (Vonore, Tenn.), because the hood curvature is similar to that of a boat hull: Pairs of technicians work on opposite sides of the tool, each directing the other as he/she hand-places the plies. Th is “spotting” technique was used for many months during the development phase, but the ply schedule was so complex that as PCC neared the PPAP (production part approval process), the R&D team added a tool borrowed from aerospace — a ceiling-mounted, laser ply-placement system that sequentially projects green outlines in the precise shape and at the exact location where each ply must be laid down.

Typically, three technicians now take 90 minutes to lay up each hood panel, then carefully wheel the bagged parts to the autoclave where they go through a 110-minute cure cycle. Although the cycle could be faster, it has, thus far, been paced to match other steps in the production sequence. Cured parts are carefully wheeled out, disposables are removed, and they undergo a power-cooling cycle before a demolding sequence that employs a combination of lift ers and other, proprietary techniques designed to remove parts with-out damaging their Class A surfaces. Demolded parts are trimmed, bonded and fi nished. For painted parts, primer is applied to seal the

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Meet the world’s most dynamic composites players and develop your business faster

DESlGN & PROCESS EFFlClENCY AUTOMOTlVE

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Boston Convention & Exhibition Center

TRADE SHOW

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PRESENTATlONS

JOB CENTER

Get your free access badge online at: http://www.jeccomposites.com/badgesjam

Calendar

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Sept. 11-13, 2013 Automotive Composites Conference and Exhibition (ACCE) Novi, Mich. | speautomotive.com/comp.htm

Sept. 17-19, 2013 IBEX 2013 Louisville, Ky. | www.ibexshow.com

Sept. 17-19, 2013 Composites Europe 2013 Stuttgart, Germany | www.composites-europe.com

Sept. 18-20, 2013 2013 International Conference on Lightning and Static Electricity (ICOLSE) Seattle, Wash. | www.icolse.us

Sept. 23-25, 2013 2013 Polyurethanes Technical Conference Phoenix, Ariz. | www.americanchemistry.com/ polyurethane

SEP

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TOct. 2-3, 2013 High-Performance Composites for Aircraft Interiors Seattle, Wash. | www.compositesworld.com/ conferences

Oct. 2-4, 2013 JEC Americas 2013 Boston, Mass. | www.jeccomposites.com/ events/jec-americas-2013

Oct. 3-5, 2013 Turk Kompozit 2013 Istanbul, Turkey | http://turk-kompozit.org/en

Nov. 5-7, 2013 Composite Pressure Vessel Symposium 2013 Hasselt, Belgium | www.cpvsymposium.com

Nov. 12-13, 2013 Composites Engineering Show 2013/ Automotive Engineering Birmingham, U.K. | www.compositesexhibition.com

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Oct. 15-17, 2013 BIOFIBE 2013 Winnipeg, Canada | www.biofi be.com

Oct. 21-24, 2013 SAMPE Tech Conference Wichita, Kan. | www.sample.org/events

Oct. 24-26, 2013 India Composites Show 2013 New Delhi | www.indiacompositesshow.com

Oct. 29-31, 2013 SAMPE China 2013 Shanghai, China | www.sampe.org.cn

Oct. 28-29, 2013 The Composite Decking and Railing Conference 2013 Baltimore, Md. | www.deckrailconference.com

Dec. 9-12, 2013 Carbon Fiber 2013 Knoxville/Oak Ridge, Tenn. | www.compositesworld.com/conferencesD

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Marketplace

Marketplace

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Available in various temperature ranges

Fax Website: http//:www.generalsealants.comE-mail: [email protected]

Used world wide by composite manufacturers

Distributed by:AIRTECH INTERNATIONAL INC.

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To Advertise in the Composites Technology Marketplace contact: Becky [email protected] 513.527.8800 x224

RECRUITMENT |www.forcomposites.com

Composites Industry Recruiting and Placement

COMPOSITES SOURCES

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

Regional Sales ManagerPosition represents DIAB in the field developing DIAB’s market position in the region across 5 markets including Marine, Aerospace, Wind Energy, Transportation and Industrial applications across 8 states based in SC or NC.

Requires: 5 years’ experience in composite materials sales and territory management and BS - Business or Engineering or 10+ year’s fabrication experience.

DIAB is an equal opportunity employer and offers competitive salary and excellent benefits. For more information on DIAB Inc., visit www.diabgroup.com

Send resume to: [email protected]

A&P Technology Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Ashland Performance Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Baltek Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17BASF Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Chem-Trend Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Composites One LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Grieve Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Henkel Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11IBEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Interplastic Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12JEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Kenrich Petrochemicals Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14LMT Onsrud LP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10McClean Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

McLube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside CoverNorth Coast Composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Pro-Set Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Reed Expo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Saertex USA LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back CoverSAMPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Single Temperature Controls Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14SPE Automotive Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Superior Tool Service Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Weber Manufacturing Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Wisconsin Oven Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Wyoming Test Fixtures Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Zyvax Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover

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ShowcaseShowcase

Product & LiteratureSHOWCASE

The Companies of North CoastNorth Coast Tool & Mold Corp.North Coast Composites, Inc.

www.northcoastcomposites.com216.398.8550

ATTEND THE WORLD’S LEADING AUTOMOTIVE COMPOSITES FORUMThe Automotive and Composites Divisions of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE®) International invite you to attend the 13th-annual SPE Automotive Composites Conference and Exhibition (ACCE), September 11-13, 2013. The show – which has become the world’s leading automotive composites forum

– will feature technical paper sessions, panel discussions, keynote speakers, networking receptions, & exhibits highlighting advances in materials, processes,

and applications technologies for both thermoset and thermoplastic composites in a wide variety of ground-transportation applications.

PRESENT BEFORE AN ENGAGED, GLOBAL AUDIENCEThe SPE ACCE typically draws nearly 650 attendees from 14 countries on 5 continents who are interested in learning about the latest composites technologies.

Fully a third of attendees work for an automotive, heavy truck, agricultural / off-road equipment, or aerospace OEM, and roughly a fifth work for a tier integrator.

Few conferences of any size offers such an engaged, global audience vitally interested in hearing the latest composites advances.

SHOWCASE YOUR PRODUCTS & SERVICES WITH EXHIBIT & SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIESWe’ve moved to a larger venue. A variety of sponsorship packages – including displays, conference giveaways,

advertising and publicity, signage, tickets, and networking receptions – are available. Companies

interested in showcasing their products and/or services at the SPE ACCE should contact

Teri Chouinard of Intuit Group at [email protected].

[email protected]

COMPOSITE CHILLERSPerfect for controlling resin viscosity in com-posite forming by cooling lay-up during cure cycle. Also, effectively used for reducing tack on pre-preg during lay-up if required. Low Global Warming formulation available. We also offer a complete line of EPONTM Epoxy Resins/Curing Agents and PTFE Release Agents.

For technical information and sample call 800.992.2424 or 203.743.4447

MILLER-STEPHENSON CHEMICAL COMPANY, INC.California – Illinois – Connecticut - Canadae-mail: [email protected]

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Engineering Insights

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First segmented composite blade increases power generation,

eases installation and keeps weight and costs in check.

Today’s larger wind turbine rotors are pushing

the limits of transportabllity to wind farm sites.

Gamesa’s modular blade technology enables

affordable transport and installation of high-

productivity rotors, even in remote locations.

he primary drivers in wind turbine development are power generation and cost. Assuming no changes in design, mate-rials or construction methods, the amount of generated

power increases with blade length in proportion to the square of the turbine rotor’s diameter, but blade mass increases in proportion to the cube of its diameter. Th is means the rate of mass increase exceeds the rate of generated power increase as blades get longer. As a result, longer, exponentially heavier blades vastly increase trans-portation and installation diffi culties and cascade mass and cost increases throughout the turbine/tower system.

Th at’s why Gamesa’s (Vizcaya, Spain) G128 turbine, fi tted with the world’s fi rst commercial segmented composite blade, is making big news. Based on Gamesa’s trademarked INNOBLADE design, the blade is the longest on the market for onshore turbines (62.5m/205 ft ). Th e turbine generates up to 5 MW of power, but its blades weigh

less than blades now used on standard 100m/328-ft rotors and are as easy to install as the much shorter blades used on 2-MW systems.

A LONG PROCESS

Gamesa patented a segmented wind blade design in 2005. It was refi ned to increase annual energy production and reduce noise and cost, in part through participation in UpWind, a European Union-funded 6th Framework Program that explored large-turbine design solutions from 2006 to 2011. A 42.5m/139-ft in-house blade design was evaluated with diff erent aerodynamic profi les for effi cient energy production, including aeroelastic analysis. Gamesa devel-oped a trade-off matrix for various blade joint alternatives, studied their eff ects on modal shapes and pursued integration of a control system that would mitigate the increased load of longer blades (see “Learn More,” p. 48).

In parallel to UpWind, more than 150 Gamesa engineers completed the majority of the G128 turbine development in-house, obtaining multiple patents for the innovations required. “We had a strict limit on weight and aerodynamic performance, so we had to develop a joint without modifying the blade aerodynamics,” says blade chief engineer Ion Arocena. “Th is forced us to invent new technologies.” Starting with an optimized geometry supplied by Gamesa’s aerodynamics department, the team began prototyping a composite blade structure. “We then supplied comments back to the aerodynamics group on what best fi t our structural and manu-facturing needs,” says Arocena.

SEGMENTING THE BLADE

Aft er several iterations between the aero-dynamics and structural teams, Gamesa tackled where to divide the blade. UpWind research indicated that a wide range of joint positions were possible without disturbing the blade’s modal shapes and natural frequencies. “We could have separated the blade anywhere,” Arocena points out, but they chose at that time to “locate the

BIG TURBINE BLADE BUILD

Modular design eases

Source (both photos) | Gamesa

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Illustration | Karl Reque

ENGINEERING CHALLENGE:

Develop a longer wind turbine blade that will produce more power out-put without increasing blade weight, the load on the turbine or the costs for transportation to and assembly at the wind farm site.

DESIGN SOLUTION:

A segmented wind turbine blade assembled with a reliable bolted joint and a proprietary structural concept, using optimized composite materi-als, processes and automation for a 25 percent weight reduction.

joint in almost the middle of the blade to minimize the length for transport.” Th is original concept has since evolved into a modular system that features inboard (root) sections and outboard (tip) sections in customized lengths to suit the specifi c wind conditions of each installation (see drawing, above).

“It is possible to ship these blades using two standard 90-ft [27.4m] fl atbeds,” Arocena says. “For a standard 100m rotor, you need blade-specifi c trucks, which are much more expensive.” For larger rotors, many ships, trucks and shipping terminals are unable to handle the blades at all. “Rotors with a 117m [384-ft ] diameter are pushing the limits for transporting the equipment to the wind farm,” he says. “Gamesa’s INNOBLADE design off ers the ability to install high-productivity rotors in remote locations.”

BONDED FITTINGS AND BOLTED ASSEMBLY

With the basic confi guration in hand, Gamesa still faced much work to establish exactly how the joint would be manufactured and then

assembled aft er delivery to the wind farm site. “When the blade is in operation, it has to look and act as a one-piece blade, with a continuous bend and no fl at spot, in order to avoid disrupting the aerodynamics and loading,” explains Daniel Broderick, Gamesa’s resident engineering manager for North America. “Th e systems we developed allowed for a signifi cant mass in the middle of the blade yet the wind turbine does not feel that it has a modular blade. In fact, that is a unique design benefi t of the G128 turbine: It can use either the INNOBLADE or a one-piece blade.”

UpWind blade fi ndings had indicated that channel fi ttings out-performed spar lugs or T-bolts for the blade joint. Th ese channel fi ttings were bonded to a pultruded carbon fi ber-reinforced profi le embedded within the spar cap laminates, which widened at the joint to accommodate multiple fi ttings. A simple bolted joint between each set of two fi ttings connected the two blade segments.

“Th e fi nal G128 design uses many insert and bolt connections within the joint,” says Arocena. “We designed this joint accord-

CHANNEL FITTINGS (detail)

Segmentation enables customization of inboard and outboard section lengths and shapes for each wind farm site’s unique wind conditions.

Outboard blade section (with tip)

Metallic inserts receive bolts

GAMESA’S INNOBLADE SEGMENTED DESIGN FOR THE G128 TURBINE

Inserts are bonded to form a high-strength, double-lap-shear joint with spar laminate.

Channel fi ttings (multiple redundant upper and lower connections, in accord with aerospace damage tolerance practices

Preload sensors ensure bolts are

properly tightened.

Inboard blade section (with root)

Segmented blade sections can be shipped on standard 90-ft fl atbed trucks

JOINT DETAIL

Fairing (not shown) covers joint and makes smooth aerodynamic transition

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Engineering Insights

4848

Read this article online | http://short.compositesworld.com/M6SDJPz8.

Read more online about Gamesa’s proprietary turbine and crane developments | “Big blades, big innovations” | http://short.compositesworld.com/o1fjjFQ0.

ing to aircraft industry regulations for fail-safe performance and damage tolerance. Th us, if any inserts fail, the rest must work. Th ere are close to 15 connections in the upper section of the joint and the same number in the lower section.”

Th e inserts are metallic and are bonded into the blade laminate in such a way that they form a double lap-shear joint, long consid-ered by the aerospace industry to be one of the strongest options for adhesively bonded joints in composite structures. “Th e bonded metallic inserts enable the two segments to be bolted together, with all of the loads in the blade transferred through the joint,” says Aro-cena. “It is very critical that the joint functions precisely, so we did not want to use a manual process for assembly. We decided the best way to ensure a quality and robust process was to use automation for the manufacture and installation of the inserts.” Arocena explains that the inserts are installed in a cleanroom environment. “Our re-sults show we have maintained a very consistent quality of joint.”

Th e metal bolts are equipped with preload sensors. “Th e assembly tool used to make the connections receives input from the sensors so that when the correct load is reached, the tool stops,” Arocena explains. According to one supplier of preload sensors, the previous method of measuring bolt load, with a torque wrench, was accurate to within 20 percent, at best. With sensors, the accuracy can be maintained within 1 percent. “Th us, 100 percent of the blades are properly assembled,” says Arocena. Th e maximum blade assembly time is four hours.

Aft er the bolts are secured, a metallic external fairing covers and protects the joint’s metal components and provides a smooth transi-

tion across the joint. Gamesa claims its joint and assembly design achieves low cost by enabling transport via standard equipment used for 2-MW turbines. Th e joint adds ~10 percent to blade cost, but the increase is more than off set by transport savings.

BALANCING MATERIALS AND PROCESSES

“Th is is not a complex joint design,” says Arocena of the G128 blade, “but small parameters could greatly aff ect the load capability, and we needed a high load-carrying capacity.” Th e materials used in blade manufacturing normally withstand much lower loads than those seen in the G128’s joint. “We had a wide selection of materials to consider, both metallic and composite laminate. Th e solution we chose uses prepreg in the spar laminate of the joint area to attain that load capacity.” Some designs worked perfectly as a joint but were too expensive to produce. Others that were aff ordable but did not carry enough load. “In the end, we found the right balance,” says Arocena.

Th e G128 uses both glass and carbon fi ber, balsa core and a pro-prietary new multipanel internal structural concept to optimize the weight allocation inside the blade. Arocena observes, “A complete set of blades for a rotor over 100m in diameter averages 20 metric tonnes [44,092 lb] per blade. Our combination of load reduction and internal structure optimization reduces this by 25 percent to 15 met-ric tonnes [33,069 lb]” (see Fig. 1, bottom left ). “We considered many diff erent materials, including plastic foams and balsa cores, and we also combined diff erent processes, such as resin infusion, prepreg and pultrusion. We strategically used each material and process to be cost-eff ective and to minimize weight.”

Although automation could reduce blade manufacturing cost, Arocena notes that “it also has the potential to increase costs. We have studied this for some time and have chosen to use automation only where it provides a demonstrable advantage.”

FUTURE POSITIONED

Gamesa completed an extensive validation program for the G128 turbine — more than 600 component tests at 100 certifi ed laborato-ries in the U.S., Japan and Europe, 190 functional tests at the Wind Turbine Test Laboratory (LEA, Navarra, Spain) and more than 300,000 hours of validation and test engineering. Twenty-seven segmented blades are now in service on nine Gamesa 4.5-MW G128 turbines and many more projects are in progress. | CT |

Contributing WriterGinger Gardiner is a freelance writer and regular CT contributor based in Washington, [email protected]

Metallic fi ttings are bonded into the spar laminate of each blade segment

and then bolted together to join the two segments.

Fig. 1: The G128 rotor defeats the square-cube law — power is proportional

to the square of the rotor diameter while wind blade mass increases with

the diameter cubed — reducing average weight by 25 percent for a rotor

that has a diameter greater than 100m/328 ft.

Sour

ce |

Gam

esa

Source | Gamesa

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Rotor Diameter [m}

302520151050

90 100 110 120 130

Blade Mass vs Rotor Diameter

Blad

e M

ass

[T}

G128-4.5MW

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