At #OrthotropicEngineering, we were so excited to infuse our first glass/epoxy test panel that we decided to capture the event for posterity using timelapse photography!
Not bad for a first attempt, but not perfect either: See how the resin front progresses unevenly, leaving small regions slightly short of resin. We've since perfected our procedure to eliminate this problem and create top quality panels with no dry spots.
A major milestone for Orthotropic, the manufacture of this panel marks the start of the manufacturing phase of our materials test programme. We're now set up to infuse, cure and process 30 test panels using 10 #epoxyresin systems to find out how their properties hold up after long-term immersion in seawater. We'll be conducting all the manufacturing and test work in-house, and will be asking the sorts of question that typically take too long to answer within the life of a design programme. Of course, we'll continue to share milestones as we reach them, so do keep an eye on this space to see how we get on!
As well as underscoring our commitment to the #marinerenewables sector, the establishment of a small manufacturing and test facility reflects our firm belief that #compositesengineering is a highly practical subject, presenting many questions that can't be answered by computer alone. Sometimes, you just have to make something and break it to find out what you need to know!
Although Orthotropic is a small company, we take a very serious approach to our manufacturing and test activities, as the quality of our efforts here underpins the reliability of our results: Full control and traceability of materials, processes and critical measurements can be taken for granted throughout.
Please do get in touch if you'd like to find out more about our materials test programme, and how our results could be of value to your project.
Also check out our new YouTube channel, where we'll be hosting our videos in future.
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