JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #39 - March/April 2008 - 96

SPECIAL JEC COMPOSITES 2008 Accurate control of fibre-to-resin ratio in open-mould production > Stand M29 GlasCraft Inc.’s Smart Chopper will revolutionize open-mould production. GlasCraft has designed a PLC system that precisely controls the glass fibre-to-resin ratio during open-mould production processes. This system can be retrofitted to existing GlasCraft manufacturing equipment. Key benefits of the Smart Chopper: - Lower operational cost by reducing waste of expensive glass fibre & resin materials. - Flexibility to precisely control the glass fibre ratio for each part on a production line. - Consistent and repeatable physical properties for all components produced. - Accurate forecasting for material usage based on production schedule. - Ability to track & report production and consumption (download to Excel). As an option, the Smart Chopper will also create a summary and a profile of each component produced and/or report the day’s production and material consumption. Operating the Smart Chopper is simple. The operator simply inputs the number of glass fibre strands, the weight of resin & glass fibre, and the desired ratio of glass to resin. Then you can begin dispensing the most efficient, most controlled spray in the www.glascraft.com industry! Moulding tool made of > Stand S5 composites Magnabosco Autoclaves is a branch of the Magnabosco Engineering Group, founded in 1960 by Mr. Giuseppe Magnabosco. Its carbon-fibre autoclaves are the result of studies and research on the heating process, temperature uniformity, autoclave pressurization and vacuum systems. All functions are controlled by a PLC or a last-generation PC, and each machine is completely manufactured by Magnabosco according to customer requirements. The autoclaves can be heated by steam, diathermic oil, electric power, microwaves or by a new system called N.E.S. (Night Energy Saving), which exploits night energy and reduces power consumption by 75%. In case of steam and diathermic oil heating, suitable boilers can be produced by the company. For energy saving, all autoclaves have a very thin internal and external insulation system designed to allow for fast heating and cooling. Magnabosco Autoclaves took particular care in manufacturing the truck holding the materials, so that the vacuum tests can be performed while the truck is out of the autoclave. This makes it possible to detect any possible loss before introducing the materials into the autoclave, so that the operators do not need to enter the machine and the materials are not damaged. www.magnabosco.com > Stand T29 Aerovac offers a brand new service for the management of consumables used in the manufacture of composite parts: consumable kits cut to measure and ready to be placed directly on the lay-up. Aerovac is now equipped with several cutting machines that can provide both simple linear cuts and complex tailored shapes. Aerovac has significant width and length cutting capabilities ideally suited to small and large composite structures. Its equipment can transform its range of vacuum consumables from very thin films (release film) to the thicker fabrics (breather and bleeder). The formats are cut and then packed and sorted according to customer requirements in order to maximise productivity. Kitting simplifies and improves the management of consumables, eliminates off cuts (hence waste) and errors during fabrication. It has been proven to offer significant increases in operator performance by eliminating the time required for cutting and retrieving products from workshop racks. Kitting is without doubt the ideal solution for cost reduction initiatives and improved productivity for mass production of advanced composites. www.aer ovac.fr Kitting Due to the success of the Innovation Report for the 2008 JEC Show in Paris, you will find all of the other innovative developments in a next issue. To be continued JEC Composites Magazine / No39 March-April 2008

http://www.glascraft.com http://www.magnabosco.com http://www.aerovac.fr

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #39 - March/April 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #39 - March/April 2008