Spooled composites offer advantages for lean manufacturing

In today’s competitive manufacturing environment, greater flexibility, a deeper level of manufacturing automation, higher productivity and reduced waste are key objectives and Exel Composites’ spooled products can help companies to realize their lean manufacturing strategies.

Exel Composites manufactures composite products using the pultrusion and continuous lamination processes. These continuous processes enable products to be produced in practically endless lengths that are not possible using other composites processing techniques. At the end of the production line we can wind certain types of product onto reels for convenient shipment to the customer.

These spooled products include:     

• rods up to 15 mm in diameter;

• flat laminates (tapes) up to 1200 mm wide with a maximum thickness of approximately 4 mm; and

• profiles with specific cross-sections.

Exel has been supplying spooled products for many years, in lengths ranging from a few hundred meters up to several tens of kilometers. We also offer various options which add further value for customers, including incorporation of metal inserts or fiber optics, marking (using laser printing and other identification techniques), thermoplastic coating, and machining. Our online control and non-destructive testing systems ensure product consistency and satisfy customer quality assurance requirements.

Diverse applications

Exel supplies both glass fiber and carbon fiber composite products on reels and their lightweight, high strength and corrosion resistance are exploited in many demanding applications.

For Norwegian company Ziebel’s innovative oil well sensor we supply 6.2 km lengths of 15 mm diameter carbon rod with a fiber optic core. The carbon fiber is the mechanical component, allowing the use of use heavy downhole tools during well intervention. The fiber optic cables make it possible to monitor temperature and pressure.

Flat pultruded carbon fiber profiles are used in strengthening and stiffening applications. The flat pultrusions exhibit extremely good mechanical performance – high tensile strength and stiffness, combined with low weight. They can be used to increase the load bearing capability of concrete structures as external reinforcement, and in a wide range of applications such as bridges, wooden beams, and to refurbish older buildings. The strengthening plates are delivered on easy to handle reels and can be cut to length on site.

Carbon fiber rods can be used to substitute metal cables in anchoring, supporting or lifting applications. Cable stay bridges are one area of application. In the offshore oil and gas sector carbon fiber rods are found in the moorings of tension leg platforms and as strengthening elements in umbilicals. They are also used as reinforcing members in high voltage electrical cables, where they reduce line sag and improve power transmission performance.

Long lengths of glass fiber rod equipped with cameras permit inspection of pipelines.

Improved productivity, less waste  

An increasing number of companies are also discovering that integrating spooled products into their own production operations brings lean manufacturing benefits:

• the spooled product allows for easy feeding into injection processes, resulting in higher productivity;

• the composite rod or profile can be cut to the exact length required, with no waste;  

• long lengths of continuous strengthening elements are possible, eliminating issues associated with connection of shorter lengths;

• reels have a compact footprint and are easy to store.

Employing spooled composite product with injection processes presents a great many application possibilities, including integrated stiffener profiles.

Find out how spooled products can bring lean manufacturing benefits to your business.

For further information please contact Patrick Loock, Segment Owner, Products & Applications
patrick.loock@exelcomposites.com. Tel. +358 50 596 2479