The Saint-Gobain Technical Fabrics (SGTF) Composites Group has announced the launch of its latest development for closed mould processing, MAXFLOW multiaxials.
These are engineered fabrics that have been adapted by a patented process to allow up to
2 X speed of infusion compared to standard multiaxial reinforcements, whilst retaining the same basic architecture and properties of their equivalent standard fabrics. The process works by the addition of trace amounts of special flow-promoting fibres. This procedure helps to improve the infusion molding process for large parts (train roofs, boat hulls and decks, wind turbine blades) that experience high mechanical strain.
Being able to offer a like-for-like reinforcement with a very fast impregnation speed is a major advantage, but perhaps of greater advantage in a real production environment is having a reinforcement that gives a more ?obust?manufacturing process. Knowing that the MAXFLOW properties enable a difficult area of the laminate to fully impregnate time after time is what a manufacturer really needs.
All SGTF multiaxial fabrics can be treated with MAXFLOW.
This procedure has been developed in response to what SGTF foresees as a major move by the industry to closed moulding applications - RTM, RTM-lite and infusion technology. The expanded product range includes well-known products such as MULTIMAT, MULTIMAT-LITE, MULTICORE, and MULTIFILO products, and is now joined by MAXFLOW.
"There is no such thing as the perfect reinforcement for every application, which is why each of our products meet different criteria in different ways. Our goal is to have an excellent solution for every technical application" explains Martin Spooner, SGTFC Group Marketing Manager for Europe.
