Axson's prototype paste brings time and cost savings

Citation

(2000), "Axson's prototype paste brings time and cost savings", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 29 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.2000.12929ead.010

Axson's prototype paste brings time and cost savings

Axson's prototype paste brings time and cost savingsKeywords: Axson, Amber Composites, Epoxy pastes, Prototypes

French company Axson announces a major breakthrough in prototyping, with an extrudable epoxy paste (SC261) that claims high speed, versatility and substantial material savings for prototype modelling applications.

The Axson SC261 paste (Plate 9) is for applications involving a large number of prototype models with a larger surface area, the classic example being automotive industry manufacturing and subcontracting, where projects typically run to four or five projects per year, each involving around four different vehicles. Other typical customer industries include railway engineering and aerospace.

The new process is believed to bring major advantages in simplicity, speed and quality. The extrusion machine feeds a 1:1 resin-hardener mix directly to a variable-flow manual application nozzle. There is said to be no lengthy set-up procedure, and the product components come ready to use in 200kg drums.

Plate 9 Axson's prototype paste SC261

According to Axson the SC261 process requires just a single application (50 to 60 mm thick) of resin on a polystyrene preform, or even on chipboard on wooden boards, forming a hollow body for milling. This the company believes makes for very substantial material savings and very fast modelling times, since the resin hardens in 24 hours maximum at ambient temperature.

Because of its dimensional and thixotropic properties (which are claimed to allow adhesion to vertical walls), SC261 is said to be suitable for modelling very complex shapes. Models in SC261 are stated to have high dimensional stability and a homogeneous surface quality with no porosities. The process is operator-friendly since the product is claimed to be non-toxic and no physical contact is required.

The SC261 paste requires a high-performance extrusion machine, which is why Axson recommends a Dopag machine: said to be an efficient, easy-to-use unit with hydraulic control and variable flow.

Details available from: Amber Composites. Tel: +44 (0) 1773 530 899; Fax: +44 (0) 1773 768 687.