Composite Products

The use of fibre-reinforced plastics has been growing with applications in almost every industry from automotive to infrastructure. The use of composite materials is attractive given its several unique advantages starting from lesser weight, resistance to corrosion, moulding of relatively complex shapes, the variety that can be achieved in terms of colors, textures etc. With these advantages, the use as well as the scale of production of composite parts and components are in high demand. Twin’s Machines are used in mixing and dispensing of epoxy/resins used in a variety of composite applications.

The composite applications demand a very high level of accuracy in mixing which is successfully met by Twin’s advanced mixing technology. Composite processes use Glass fibres or Carbon Fires as the structural base and have a variety of application methods for adhesives, depending on the manufacturing process. Twin’s Machines serve all the key application methods in composite production including RTM, Pultrusion, Resin Infusion, Epoxy Baths in Filament Windings along with bonding and sealing. Twin’s Machines are well proven for reliability even under extreme conditions and very high production volumes.

Twin has a distinct range of machines built to serve the needs of composite applications. Additionally, Twin also has Machines that can cater to specific process requirements such as the intellomix series for resin infusion in wind rotor blade manufacturing or the intellobond range used in joining wind rotor blade parts. A long standing partnership with material manufacturers has helped Twin to develop Machines for established as well as emerging materials. Twin’s expert team has extensive experience in automating a variety of manufacturing processes in composites and is valued for its advise on various aspects starting from the plant layout to exceeding the quality expectations of the end customers.

Filament Winding
Twin’s machines are well proven for epoxy mixing and dispensing for impregnation baths used in composites produced from glass/fibre winding. The epoxy dispensing machines can be easily integrated with your existing set-up and are practically plug to play systems.

Resin Infusion
Resin infusion is a popular choice for composite products that need to have very high strength and rigidity to perform under extreme conditions. The process uses vacuum pressure to drive resin into a laminate. Dry materials are laid into the mold and the vacuum is applied before resin is introduced. Once a complete vacuum is achieved, resin is literally sucked into the laminate via carefully placed tubing. The main infusion tube is connected to a meter mix system which in turn can draw the resin supply from built-in tank or bulk supplies to maintain constant resin flow into the mould.

Typically, due to its longer cycle time, the Resin or Vacuum Infusion process is used for components required in relatively low quantities, say less than a few hundred identical pieces per mould per year, or physically large parts which are difficult, or prohibitively expensive to make by any other method.

Twin’s Machines for resin infusion come with some of industry’s most advanced features that ease manufacturing and boost productivity. With options to draw resin from built-in tanks/IBCs, flexible layout and mobility options, users can configure a Machine that best suits their manufacturing requirements.

Pultrusion
The pultrusion process is ideal for production of straight constant cross sections of desired lengths. The parts are manufactured from a continuous molding process where renforced fibers are saturated and impregnated with liquid resin and pulled through a heated die to form a specific shape. The components manufactured using the pultrusion process find applications particularly in construction, automotive, renewable energy etc. Typically, Resins for Pultrusion have low initial viscosity to ensure full fibre separation before impregnation. Twin’s Machines are suitable for introducing the resin in open impregnation bath or under vacuum in the mould.

Twin can provide flexible mixing and dispensing solutions which can be easily integrated into the existing pultrusion layout to significantly improve productivity. The advanced electronic controls allow for easy and accurate adjustment of the flow rate, to achieve optimal process parameters.