Aug 24 2009
Advanced Composites Group Ltd. (ACG), part of the Composites Division of Umeco plc, will be exhibiting on Stand No.: 328 at the DSEi 2009 show in the ExCeL centre, London 8th to11th September 2009.
Prepreg products from the Advanced Composites Group are used extensively in a variety of Defence applications ranging from ballistic protection to structural components for aerospace applications, including UAVs, Naval applications, radomes and communication dishes.
To demonstrate its expertise in the ballistics arena, which encompasses vehicle and body armour, ACG will exhibit a spall liner manufactured at Permali Gloucester Limited using a hot press moulding technique with ACG's MTM82 phenolic resin/S2-Glass prepreg. The moulded shape of the liner provides improved coverage by matching the contours of the vehicle interior, thus increasing the protected area while reducing overall component weight. The materials and process are now used in full-scale production, and parts have been supplied for fitment to an in-service fleet of vehicles.
ACG's has significant expertise in the aerospace and marine sectors. In aerospace, Airbus' qualification of ACG's first Out-of-Autoclave (OoA) pre-impregnated advanced composite material, namely MTM44-1, for structural applications, is seen as an endorsement of the Group's capability.
This has been further demonstrated by UK based AESIR Ltd. which uses ACG's MTM28 Series prepregs to manufacture the fuselage of the ODIN, HODER and VIDAR Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs). AESIR chose ACG's MTM28 Series prepregs because of their excellent impact resistance, autoclave curing capability, long out life, and flexible 85 to 120°C (185 to 248°F) cure range. In the marine sector, Lloyds' Register of Shipping approval of ACG's VTM Series prepregs, and the abundance of success across marine in general, is confirmation of the Group's established reputation for providing technologically advanced materials and a dedicated pre- and post-sales support service.
In the communications arena, ACG's customers have had considerable success in the application of its composite materials for radomes and satellite dishes. ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array - for astronomy), one of the largest ever ground-based array projects, uses ACG's MTM and ZPREG product formats. L-3 ESSCO (ECL), the world's premier designer and manufacturer of ground-based radomes and antenna products, has applied ACG's polyester prepregs with considerable success on a range of metal space frame (MSF) radomes.