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PlastiComp installs new pultrusion line in Winona

05 May '17

3 min read

PlastiComp, a global leader in long fibre thermoplastic materials and technologies, has completed installation of an additional pultrusion line dedicated to manufacturing long carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic composite pellets at its Winona location. The company operates four other pultrusion lines to manufacture its long glass fibre products.

The firm brought its initial production line dedicated to producing long carbon fibre composite pellets online in 2014.

"In recent years we have experienced continuous growth in demand for our long carbon fibre reinforced composite materials. This additional, higher volume carbon fibre pultrusion line will triple PlastiComp's capacity for producing long carbon fibre products to ensure an uninterruptable supply chain for our partners," said Eric Wollan, vice president and chief operating officer at PlastiComp.

To provide a safe operating environment and minimise downtime, PlastiComp manufactures its carbon fibre composites on pultrusion lines located in self-contained areas equipped with isolated electrical and air handling systems.

"From a pultrusion perspective, carbon fibre's small filament diameter and conductivity makes it a little more challenging to manufacture composite pellets than other types of fibre. Using our specialised equipment, PlastiComp is able to completely melt impregnate continuous tows of carbon fibre with 12,000 to 50,000 filaments. This capability allows us to offer a broad range of composite material solutions which we tailor to meet customer specific design and performance requirements," said Wollan.

Long carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites provide the strongest and stiffest performance available in flowable materials suitable for injection molding processing. PlastiComp manufactures composite pellets under its Compl?t trade name with 15 to 50 weight-per cent long carbon fibre reinforcement combined into a broad range of thermoplastic matrices ranging from polypropylene to PEEK.

The company also has a long fibre composites product line that combine glass fibre and carbon fibre together into a single pellet solution. PlastiComp's hybrid long glass+carbon products bridge the performance and price gap between all-glass fibre and all-carbon fibre reinforced composite materials.

High strength-to-weight ratio makes long carbon fibre composites an ideal material choice for applications with structural requirements that need to be lightweight. These composites offer mechanical performance equivalent to aluminum while providing design dependent weight reductions of up to 50 per cent.

Thermoplastic materials incorporating carbon fibre reinforcement are conductive giving them excellent surface and volume resistivity properties and up to 80 decibels of shielding effectiveness against electromagnetic interference.

Carbon fibre's extensive use in aerospace and other advanced industries has given it a "high-tech" perception which other markets are now taking advantage of to promote their products to consumers. Initiatives to replace metals for weight reduction have made materials containing carbon fibre a favourite of sporting goods manufacturers where it helps reduce participant fatigue, and the transportation sector where it lowers vehicle mass to increase fuel economy and curtail engine emissions. (SV)

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