Polymers in Sport and Leisure

References and Abstracts
and mechanical attachment points for face masks and
other accessories. Not only does it have to meet stringent
safety and ergonomic requirements, it also has to be
aesthetically pleasing. Helmet designs also have to get to
market quickly to compete in the time-sensitive sportinggoods
marketplace. Concurrent engineering is reported
to have helped Itech take a new hockey helmet from
concept to hard tooling in about six months. Its TH-70
helmet combines an injection moulded nylon shell with
EPP and EVA foams. With the help of ZYZX Designs,
Itech has made use of 3D CAD/CAM and rapid
prototyping to enable development of the helmet design,
injection tooling and EPP foam fabrication to proceed
simultaneously. The helmet design starts with the human
head, and the engineering team first had to bring all of
Itech’s research on head shapes and sizes into a 3D CAD
design environment - in this case, Cadkey software from
Baystate Technologies. Details are given.
ITECH SPORT PRODUCTS; BAYSTATE
TECHNOLOGIES INC.
CANADA; USA
Accession no.645318
Item 265
High Technology Composites in Modern Applications.
Symposium proceedings.
Corfu, 18th-22nd Sept.1995, p.257-65. 627
DESIGN AND PROTOTYPE MANUFACTURE OF
COMPOSITE BICYCLE FRAME
Katsanis D; Grove S M
Plymouth,University
(Patras,University)
The design and construction of a prototype cycle frame
intended for sprint racing is described. Preliminary
materials selection and detailed specification of composite
ply lay up sequence are based on the results of computeraided
laminate analysis and on static tests on representative
coupons. The frame design is based on the overall
requirements of aerodynamics (but without detailed
calculation), and the need for a low sideways area
concentrated close to the rear wheel. An important design
consideration is that the cycle should accept standard
fittings (wheels, forks, etc.) Initially, the bicycle is
conceived as a ‘one off’. The work is undertaken in the
context of an undergraduate student project, so that very
little funding is available for tooling. The frame is
manufactured by hand lay-up on a foam core - a laborious
process requiring hand finishing, but with low risk, allowing
continual monitoring of quality. Both wet lay-up and
carbon/epoxy prepreg materials are used, and vacuum bag
and autoclave processing give good laminate consolidation.
Aluminium bottom bracket shell, head tube and rear dropouts
are bonded to the foam core and integrally laminated
in the frame. The finished frame is subjected to a series of
static tests to verify its stiffness. Details are given. 13 refs.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY; EUROPEAN UNION; UK;
WESTERN EUROPE
Accession no.645058
Item 266
Chemical and Engineering News
75, No.30, 28th July 1997, p.23-4
CARBON FIBRE MARKET REVS UP
Kirschner E M
The US carbon fibre industry, with government backing,
has been seeking new outlets for the specialty fibres. With
costs reduced through technologies and non-aerospace
grades with relaxed requirements, carbon fibres have
worked their way into sporting goods and industrial uses.
Zoltek has been building up capacity while other
companies were closing down. In 1995, the carbon fibre
market was 25 million lb and by 2000 the requirement
will be about 100 million lb. Grafil has been sold out for
the last 18 months. Its process improvements have
recently increased production to 1.75 million lb/year from
1.5 million lb.
USA
Accession no.642764
Item 267
Advanced Materials & Processes
151, No.6, June 1997, p.49-50
FIBRE-REINFORCED PLASTICS IMPROVE
SPORTING GOODS
Buck M; Dorf M
Quadrax Corp.
Fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites are advanced
materials that have been used almost exclusively in such
military applications as F-22 fighters and Seawolf
submarines. These composites, typically nylon resins
reinforced with carbon fibres, became attractive for sports
goods when prices were slashed by as much as 97% in
1994. Composites priced at levels as high as 200 US
dollars/lb were cut to 26 US dollars/lb for carbon fibre/
nylon 6 resin composites, and to 6 US dollars/lb for glass/
PP composites, making commercially affordable material
properties previously unavailable in recreational
equipment. Sports goods can benefit from high
performance materials. In particular, it has been
determined that flat and tubular sporting goods
components are some of the easiest to manufacture. For
example, a lacrosse stick was in production within six
months of the first prototype. Other such products include
golf club shafts, bicycle handlebars, and hockey sticks.
The composite properties that are attractive for sports
equipment are reviewed, as are fabrication methods and
examples of composite products currently available.
USA
Accession no.642047
Item 268
Engineering Design
No.3, 1996, p.6-7
SAFER SHIFTS FOR BIKERS
Picou A
© Copyright 2001Rapra Technology Limited 71