| USA. Polystrand president Ed Pilpel announces new production line for continuous fiber reinforcement |
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| Tuesday, 17 October 2006 | |
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Company news: Ed Pilpel, president of Polystrand, Inc., has announced the start-up of a new production line for Polystrand® thermoplastic tape products combining advanced continuous fiber reinforcements with thermoplastic resins. Incorporating all of the technical refinements the company has developed since it began consolidating continuous fibers and thermoplastic materials two years ago, the new line is twice the width of the company’s first two production lines – 25 inches instead of 12-1/2 inches – and is capable of making 15 to 20 million pounds of material annually, depending on fiber type. “Adding a 25-inch production line with speeds in excess of 100 feet per minute moves this breakthrough material to a proven, world class, large-volume production process,” says Pilpel. “Depending on the specifications of the material we are producing, this new line effectively doubles our manufacturing capacity.” Pilpel also said tapes from all of the company’s production lines can be combined to provide continuous rolls of material up to 62-1/2 inches wide. A 50-inch width is standard. Rolls of Polystrand material, either unidirectional or X-ply™ tapes, typically contain 1,500 feet of material and weigh about 1,000 pounds. Pilpel says Polystrand continues to expand capacity ahead of demand to assure engineers and designers that material will be available when their project reaches production. “We will add more lines in 15 million-pound increments as the demand grows,” said Pilpel. “We built the Polystrand facility with an eye to the future and can add three more lines to the present plant before we need another facility.” Polystrand Unidirectional and X-ply™ tapes are reinforcement materials made in a proprietary process that impregnates continuous fiber with a polypropylene, polyethylene or copolymer thermoplastic resin. Tapes are generally 60 to 80 percent continuous advanced fibers, including E glass, S glass and aramid fibers, and 20 to 40 percent thermoplastic. The fibers are arranged in a unidirectional or 0°/90° bi-directional orientation. “The tape gives engineers a great way to add strength, impact resistance and stiffness to their products without adding a lot of weight,” said Pilpel. “The tapes provide a clean and easy way to reinforce a variety of materials. In comparison to traditional thermosetting composites, processing Polystrand material is easy, clean and simple. There are no Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions or hazardous chemicals involved. The reinforcing material is dry and easily cut into needed shapes. No special storage is required and shelf life is virtually indefinite. Material from the new line will be in the Polystrand booth (#201) at Composites & Polycon 2006, hosted by the American Composites Manufacturers Association, Oct. 18-20 in St. Louis, Mo. Polystrand will also show a variety of laminated panels made with ThermoPro reinforcements. The laminated panels incorporate various types of core materials including honeycomb, foam, balsa wood and several thermoplastic substrates. The company’s display will include a variety of ThermoBallistic products including ThermoBallistic-H™ armor panel. These hybrid panels combine both “E” and “S” glass fiber and will achieve National Institute of Justice (NIJ) threat level 3A while saving 40 percent in material costs. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 17 October 2006 ) |
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