Composite Material Products in sandwich structure with exceptional strength-to-weight performance

Kurzfassung

An Israeli SME developed a process for designing composite material products in sandwich structures for use in a wide variety of industries. The company`s designed materials have strength-to-weight characteristics similar to those of the strongest materials currently used, with the added advantage of design flexibility, which allows for parts that have three-dimensional strength oriented in the areas and directions required by the customer. Partners are sought for application of this technology.

Details

A leading Israeli company specialising in the fields of R&D, planning, precise processing and casting of plastic, metal & wood, has developed a unique technology that can be defined as a process to design cost-effective three-dimensional parts with exceptional strength-to-weight performance. The products are cost-effective because the process uses existing production technology and commoditised materials; a single three-dimensional product can be used to replace several standard parts, having strength-to-weight performance similar to the best technology on the market. Also, depending on the materials selected, the resulting product can be recyclable.
The technology is based on a 3-D knitted grid, placed between two face sheets in a sandwich structure. The grid is strength-oriented in all three dimensions. In case thermal and noise insulation are required, the grid is embedded in foamed polymers (5% to 15% foam by weight). The grid can be placed into Integral Skin materials, where it enhances up to three times the bending resistance of polyurethane for example, adding only 7% weight to the material.
The new technology uses well-known ways of producing the face sheets (Infusion, RTM - Resin Transfer Moulding, SMC - Sheet-Moulded Composite, Thermoforming), standard knitting machines, and low-pressure aluminium moulds to produce an end product, rather than raw materials like sandwich panels or foamed cores.

Innovative Aspects:
This technology involves the creation of a completely new kind of compression spring - a textile spring. It is a strip compressed in thickness direction. The solid thickness of this spring is very small in relative free thickness and as a result, has lower costs, lower weight and lower height relative to other springs of equal efficiency.

Main Advantages:
Overall, the benefits offered by the company`s process include the more efficient use of materials, lower labour costs, superior strength-to-weight material performance, and superior insulating performance when compared to alternative designs. For those industries that place value on these benefits, this process can be a significant source of competitive advantage.