Re: new approach to composite materials

From: Nick Osborn (Nick@liptool.co.uk)
Date: Tue Jun 01 1999 - 18:20:26 EEST


Dear Elaine

We started working with a company which uses a natural fibre reinforced foam system to mould interior trim components for the auto industry just over a year ago. Their customers include DaimlerChrysler, AMG and VW.

We originally did some RP patterns (mostly LOM / SLA) and worked with them to produce large scale Rapid Tooling for pressing this material into shape. We are now looking at improving on this by addressing this tooling requirement with a variant of our type "B" LIPTOOL material.

The raw material used in this instance was Elastoflex E3517 from Bayer, which as I undestand it includes hemp and rape seed oil.

In our experience these bio-composite materials can sometimes have the additional benefit of not only providing direct environmental advantages but also of opening people's minds to alternative methods of tooling, i.e. providing an access route for RT.

Regards

Nick

Nick Osborn
Managing Director
------------------------------------------------
nick@liptool.co.uk
LIPTOOL Ltd.
140 - 144 Station Road, March,
Cambs. PE15 8NH, UK

"REAL PARTS REAL QUICK!"

Tel: +44 (0) 1354 650 789
Fax: +44 (0) 1354 650 799
www.liptool.co.uk
-------------------------------------------

>>> Elaine Hunt <ehunt@ces.clemson.edu> 28/05/99 16:15:03 >>>

    FORD MOTOR COMPANY'S VISTEON AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS AND KAFUS ENVIRONMENTAL
   INDUSTRIES SIGN AGREEMENT TO JOINTLY DEVELOP NATURAL FIBER COMPOSITES
FOR THE AUTO INDUSTRY

  Kafus Bio-Composites will blend bast fiber with various polymers to
create flexible non-woven mats. Visteon will then form these mats into
rigid three-dimensional automotive trim components in a one-step molding
process that is expected to cut current production times in half.
  

For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/



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