Polymers in Sport and Leisure

References and Abstracts
Item 180
Materials Challenge - Diversification and the Future.
Volume 40: Book 1. Symposium proceedings.
Anaheim, Ca., 8th-11th May 1995, p.985-8. 627
MAKE OR BUY DECISIONS FOR HIGH
VOLUME COMPOSITE MATERIAL AND
COMPONENT MANUFACTURE
Walker R G
Plastic Developments Ltd.
(SAMPE)
There is increasing worldwide demand and competition
for high volume and quality composite materials and
components for sports goods. Many manufacturers
involved in the chain of converting fibres and resins into
finished components still use labour and skill-intensive
old established processes and equipment more suited to
the low volume aerospace industry. To increase output,
more of the same people and equipment are brought in to
increase market share at lower prices. Without process
improvement geared to high volume, the result can be
reduced control, quality, reliability, and margins. A
turnaround is forecast. Manufacturers who reduce labour
and skill levels by investing in automated process
equipment suited to high volume and quality will be the
winners. This will enable successful make-or-buy
investment decisions involving forward and backward
integration of the production process. These
manufacturers will increase market share with consistent
high quality and margins. Manufacturers that remain with
cheap labour-intensive slower equipment will lose out.
Automated manufacture of high volume and quality sports
goods can be located in the market where there is major
volume demand. Examples of turnkey graphite UD
prepreg machines, automated golf blank manufacture and
automated golf shaft paint finishing illustrate this
inevitable change. 2 refs.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY; EUROPEAN UNION; UK;
WESTERN EUROPE
Accession no.698189
Item 181
Materials Challenge - Diversification and the Future.
Volume 40: Book 1. Symposium proceedings.
Anaheim, Ca., 8th-11th May 1995, p.935-41. 627
TEXTILE PREFORMS FROM
THERMOPLASTIC TOWPREGS FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF COMPOSITE SPORTING
GOODS
Holty D W; Greene T L
Custom Composite Materials Inc.
(SAMPE)
Thermoplastic towpregs made by electrostatic powder
coating are useful for the manufacture of textile preforms.
These towpregs can be designed with a high, uniform resin
content. They possess good drape and flexibility; thus
they are ideally suited for processing into braids, woven
fabrics and filament wound preforms. Graphite golf shafts,
tennis racquets, carbon fibre bicycle tubes and
loudspeaker cones are just a few examples of sports/
recreation articles manufactured by moulding and
consolidating parts from thermoplastic textile preforms.
These processes are proving to be economical, and in
addition, the thermoplastic matrix often delivers superior
performance in comparison to the conventional thermoset
composites. 11 refs.
USA
Accession no.698182
Item 182
Materials Challenge - Diversification and the Future.
Volume 40: Book 2. Symposium proceedings.
Anaheim, Ca., 8th-11th May 1995, p.998-1001. 627
COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
FOR COMPOSITES REINFORCED WITH
CONTINUOUS AND CHOPPED HIGH-
PERFORMANCE FIBRES
Burg M; Rasmussen B
Composite Market Reports Inc.; BMR Associates
(SAMPE)
1995 has become another year of decision for
manufacturers of carbon and aramid fibres. Several new
non-aerospace applications, which were in the early
development phase two or three years ago, have either
entered or are now approaching volume production.
Market summaries are presented for such applications as
hybrid composite risers for offshore oil production, new
and retrofit bridge components to improve seismic
damage resistance, injection moulded industrial
components, alternate power systems for vehicles, newdesign
easy-access lightweight buses, rail freight and
passenger cars, and various marine applications. Data are
also presented on the sports equipment likely to use highperformance
fibres in sizable quantities during the next
ten years. Those current and new applications which are
most likely to grow and eventually to exceed current
reinforcement fibre production capacities are identified.
Continued market growth will therefore require
construction of large new fibre production plants.
USA
Accession no.698010
Item 183
Materials Challenge - Diversification and the Future.
Volume 40: Book 2. Symposium proceedings.
Anaheim, Ca., 8th-11th May 1995, p.989-93. 627
CARBON FIBRE-REINFORCED COMPOSITES:
ENTERING A NEW ERA
Fanter D L; Strandburg D B; Dry A C
Zoltek Corp.
(SAMPE)
Between 1960 and 1980, the technology of carbon fibrereinforced
composites (CFRCs) was driven by aerospace
applications. As a result, the costs of CFRCs were
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