SmartPress 2

Enabling Technologies for New Single-Polymer Composite Materials

This Grant for R&D Development Project, ‘SmartPress2’, followed the successful conclusion of the Grant for R&D Research Project ‘SmartPress’ project in 2005. That project had proved the feasibility of moulding simple shapes from single polymer composites (also known as self-reinforced plastics) and SmartPress2 was undertaken to advance the technology to develop methods and materials which would enable the manufacture of more complex shapes and assemblies.

Self-reinforced plastics (SRPs), plastics reinforced with high-strength fibres of the same polymer, are a new family of materials, which offer significant benefits including complete recyclability compared to glass-reinforced plastics, improved strength and stiffness compared to unreinforced plastics and very high impact energy absorption compared to most conventional materials. Self-reinforced polypropylene (SRPP) is commercially available in sheet format and as a woven-tape fabric.

The SmartPress 2 project is now complete and has been a great success for NetComposites, enabling many new technologies to be explored.

We have moulded SRPP into more ambitious forms than previously attempted and extended the materials options into PET. We have also made the largest SRP part attempted by NetComposites – a 1000mm diameter, 200mm deep part which is 6mm thick. A major advance in technology has been the development of flowing compounds for compression moulding which has the potential to open up a vastly wider market. In addition, NetComposites now have knowledge and expertise in enabling technologies such as trimming, painting and bonding, backed up with test data.

We have also proved that semi-automated or fully automated lines are possible with sheet materials and that they can produce high volumes of parts, at lower cost and with higher consistency, without the loss of critical properties.

Acknowledgements:

The support of the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) is gratefully acknowledged.