Huntsman wins China composites award

Presented last month, the Award recognised Huntsman’s development of the process used to build the highly complex prototype of the engine air box for the Ferrari F430 produced by the Italian consortium, the ATR Group. With the Ferrari F430 engine air box, the weight of the finished prototype part was virtually halved from the aluminium original – down from 4.1 kg to just 2.4 kg. This was achieved by using a special, flexible silicone membrane rather than the usual metal Resin Transfer Mould (RTM) mould, which enabled the resin content to reduced and the reinforced fibre content to be increased. Although highly complex, the prototype part produced using the advanced RTM system was extremely accurate – even the engine flange drill holes matched up with no further finishing required. In combination with Huntsman’s resin system XB 3585/ Aradur 3486, the RTM system is so innovative that it enables the production of detailed composite parts in a single shot. It also reduces the weight of the part by minimising the amount of resin used. The ATR Group, an Italian consortium comprising nine leading companies involved in the research and production of advanced structural composite parts and components, specified a new revolutionary advanced RTM system from Huntsman Advanced Materials using the new epoxy resin system XB 3585/ Aradur 3486 from Huntsman. RTM is an established moulding process in which a catalysed resin is transferred into an enclosed mould, lined with reinforced fibrous material. It then may or may not be heated to complete the moulding process. The main benefit of RTM is that it combines relatively low cost tooling and equipment costs with the ability to consolidate large structural parts.