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The company is making advancements with its Xantu.Layr product, the reportedly world’s only commercially available nanofiber composite reinforcement veil.

Revolution Fibres  is increasing its production output to meet growing world-wide demand for its nanofiber strengthening product used in Formula One race cars, fishing rods and the aerospace industry. The company says that demand for Xantu.Layr, which it says is the “world’s only commercially available nanofiber composite reinforcement veil,” has increased as a result of extensive research and development conducted in 2016, which helped to further validate Xantu.Layr’s performance in composites.

Nanofibre Applications Engineer Gareth Beckermann says significant advancements have been made by using nanofiber interleaving veils to increase the impact strength, delamination resistance and fatigue life of composites.

“We are also increasingly seeing evidence that nanofiber veils outperform thermoplastic toughening particles and microfiber veils, and nanofiber veils can also improve the mechanical properties of composites containing already toughened resin systems.

“In some situations, the addition of lightweight nanofiber interleaving veils can improve delamination resistance by up to 170%, impact strength can be improved by up to 20%, and fatigue life can be improved by nearly 400%, all with negligible laminate weight and thickness gains.

“Nanofiber veils can also be used for localized reinforcement as opposed to having to apply veils to the whole composite part,” he says.

Revolution Fibres’ Operations Manager Brent Tucker says production capacity has recently doubled to meet the additional demand for Xantu.Layr for new and existing clients, which include Kilwell Fishing Rods and Kiwi Composites.

“We expect 2017 to be a significant year for Xantu.Layr production as many clients are coming to the end of their R&D program cycles with positive results,” says Tucker. “This increased production capacity is a huge benefit to all because it will lead to cost reductions, especially for customers wanting larger volumes.”

In 2015, Revolution Fibres achieved its AS9100c certification. This world-first certification provides internationally recognized assurance to customers that the systems and procedures behind the nanofiber production meet aerospace standards.

Revolution Fibres CEO Iain Hosie says the company’s aim now is to get more people using Xantu.Layr, which is why it has introduced smaller quantity Hobby and Starter Packs to the range.

“It’s an incredibly versatile material and our goal is to make it easier for designers, production engineers and hobbyists to purchase Xantu.Layr in smaller quantities and to give them greater access to the technology. For some smaller composite users the 100m MOQ was a barrier but with the new Hobby and Starter packs it’s so much more accessible. It’s surprisingly easy to use, and it should be used more often for improving composites.”

Revolution Fibres is interested in talking to distributors to spread the technology further, especially in Asia and the U.S.

“It’s a product that will fit well with a number of distributor’s product portfolios to provide a significant and unique offering for their clients," he says. "We’re also keen to work with more carbon fiber pre-pregging companies to integrate Xantu.LayrTM directly into prepreg materials as an additional toughening measure.”

Revolution Fibres' electro-spinning technology creates nanofiber out of a range of synthetic and bio-derived polymers.

|  A CompositesWorld release  |  February 27, 2017  ||

German lightweight construction reasearh institute install a Zwick testing system

During the past decade the Department of Lightweight Structures and Polymer Technology (SLK) at Chemnitz University of Technology (TU Chemnitz), Gemany, has developed into one of the leading research institutes in the field of lightweight construction. To cover the increasing demand for testing in the ever-growing number of new fields of application for composite materials, the Department of Lightweight Structures and Polymer Technology has opted for an innovative Zwick testing system.

The areas of application for lightweight and composite materials now extend to virtually every industry. This also has consequences for research, as testing applications become ever more varied. The new Zwick testing system allows a range of different tests to be performed on composite materials and components.

The four-column machine (Fmax 250 kN) is equipped with an additional torsion drive (2000 Nm) to enable biaxial testing, for example on CFRP pipes with an outside diameter between 40 and 80 mm. The testing machine can also be used for tensile tests on standard specimens, as well as tensile and compression tests on complete components, and is equipped with two test areas, eliminating the need for fixture changes and ensuring greater repeat accuracy for test results.

To enable maximum accuracy in simulating environmental conditions the testing machine is equipped with a temperature chamber for tests between -80°C and 250°C.

|  A Zwick release  |  February 3, 2017  ||

Singapore Lift Company (SLC) has launched the first composite lift in the world, paving the way for the city-state to manufacture a revolutionary type of elevators...

Alister Bennett, Managing Director of Singapore Lift Company (SLC), showing the prototype lift to the media. (Photo: SLC)

Singapore Lift Company (SLC) has launched the first composite lift in the world, paving the way for the city-state to manufacture a revolutionary type of elevators in the future.

Made of lightweight and durable materials used in the aerospace sector, Formula 1 racing and deep sea exploration, this new type of lift is expected to be a game-changer in the building and construction industry.

“Composite material is not new, but its use in our lifts is groundbreaking,” said Alister Bennett, Managing Director of SLC, a joint venture between Far East Organization, Woh Hup and Pronus (HK).

Called 8, the prototype lift was largely assembled offsite, significantly reducing the time and labour needed in the installation. The easy installation also means less reliance on specialised labour, a boon for the lift sector, which is facing a shortage of engineers and technicians.

Moreover, it does not need expensive construction of deep pits and high overheads, and the cabin space can be made spacious due to maximisation of the shaft size and minimisation of the overhead and pit. It also requires fewer construction materials, with the prototype’s cabin weighing just 150kg, compared to about 1,500kg for a traditional lift with a similar capacity.

“We see great potential for our product in the building and construction industry as well as the retro-fitting industry... While traditional lifts require on average five to seven days for the installation of a single floor, with 8, the time will be shortened considerably to a minimum of one floor per day,” Bennett noted.

However, he told Channel NewsAsia that the new lift is not suitable for buildings with a height of more than 20 storeys. “We are initially setting a target of eight (floors) and that’s why this launch is called 8. When we get better, we’ll work to get higher ... but we will never be able to do high-rise lifts because the higher and faster you go, the lifts need to be heavier.”

While the composite lift industry here is still in its fledgling stages, SLC intends to develop this sector by leveraging on the existing expertise and capabilities of Singapore’s highly-skilled workforce.

|  A ChannelNewsAsia release|  January 12, 2017  |