composite materials
BACCHUS2
materials.
Thanks.
David Fisher
I assume that you are looking for these materials in small lots.
Because of the nature of these materials, they are very hard to acquire
in small quantities. This is because they are limited-life items with short
in-freezer shelf lives. Also, they are made to order and it is VERY costly
to set up a production line. No manufacturer wants to run just a few yards.
Some manufacturers, like 3M, keep over-age inventory which they sometimes
sell at comparatively (note: not relatively) reasonable prices. We purchased
7781 glass cloth prepreg (with one of their bizarre resin systems) which was
several years old at the time, which put it well beyond military and most com-
mercial specs, and then kept the roll at room temperature for nearly a year
as we used it up. Interestingly, it lasted. That is quite unusual.
Your best bet, perhaps the only alternative, is to approach the manager of
a composites fabrication shop, get him good and drunk, and then ask to
purchase spare material. If he is sufficiently plastered and he likes you, he
might agree.
There are many who will request a free material sample from a prepregger
when they have to run a small job requiring only a few yards of material. Only
one company actually charges for samples, and no one likes them at all. This
will not work if you are not recognized as a legitimate prospective customer
because these samples are very expensive for the prepregger to hand out.
Also, the transportation of these materials is costly, since they are shipped
by refrigerated express or by air.
One possibility is tooling prepreg. This is sometimes available in small quan-
tities, but it is very costly. I have seen it priced at fifteen dollars a yard for
glass, and that's three times the price of ordinary material.
If you are looking for larger quantities (more than $1K to $3K per order), the
problem becomes much less daunting.
If you wish to pursue this, contact us at f...@eznet.net and I will try to offer
some possible sources from the trade indices we have in the office.
David Fisher
Chief Engineer
Fisher Research Corporation
Thomas Juska
>Need to find companies that sell pre-preg carbon fiber and fiberglass
>materials.
>
>Thanks.
Bacchus:
Here are some suppliers with contacts and phone numbers. I work for
a navy lab in composites, but am currently on assignment at NASA/Langley,
where I am involved with the general aviation program.
I feel guilty putting the names and phone numbers of my friends in industry
on the net, but trust that you will have questions in mind when/if you
call. As a minimum, know your cure temperature and how long you can
store the material at room temperature. Many of the following suppliers
have developed long out time, low cure temperature materials for the
marine and sporting goods markets which are also great for GA.
Advanced Composites Group, Inc. 918-252-3922 Chris Ridgaard
Bryte Technologies 408-434-9808
Ciba Composites 714-779-9000 Cedric Berthod
Cytec Industries 714-630-9400
Hercules Advanced Materials 801-251-3379 Will McCarvil
Hexcel Corp. 510-828-4200 Bill Swanson
Fibercote Industries 800-755-1344 Laura Grasso
ICI Fiberite 602-730-2000 Bob Peterson
J. D. Lincoln 714-650-8106 Mike Burkitt
3M 404-235-2376 Brad Love
Newport Composites 714-545-4524 Chuck Graves
Sunrez Corp. 619-442-3353 Mark Livesay
YLA, Inc. 707-747-2750 Gary Patz
There are more, these are just the companies I've worked with. Sunrez
is different from the rest because they can supply prepregs which cure
when exposed to sunlight. I recommend a vinyl ester. The Sunrez prepregs
can be stored indefinely at RT and don't need to be vacuum bagged or
heat cured.
Feel free to email me if you want additional info.
TJ