01.03.2014
On its booth, Bcomp presented its new 0/90° powerRibs™ reinforcement grids, which were developed to take maximum advantage of the flax’ high stiffness-to-weight ratio and low density.
The powerRibs™ technology allows designing thin-walled composite parts with a flexural stiffness-per-weight ratio equivalent to a pure carbon composite part, however with a damping performance increased by 250 %.
Thus, the powerRibs™ technology is the solution of choice for composite shell elements with high stiffness- and damping requirements, allowing its use in a wide variety of applications in the composite industry, ranging from interior semi-structural parts with a unique look, to structural exterior shell elements. Especially the automotive-, aerospace and sport marked players showed a big interest in the new products.
The video artist, Xavier Ducry, produced for the JEC exhibition a masterpiece that explains the powerRibs™ technology in a simple way.
First concert-level instrument
Another of Bcomp’s JEC corner points was displayed at the JEC Innovation Showcase: Clara is the first concert-level ukulele made from natural fibre composites, combining lightweight, strength and toughness with an unparalleled sound quality. To realize this product, Lingrove Composites combined Bcomp’s low-crimp ampliTex™ flax with its cashew nutshell-based bio-resin to make a novel, high-performance prepreg named Ekoa, which was engineered into this game-changing instrument by Blackbird Guitars. The object is so handy and light that some visitor of the exhibition had stolen the instrument two hours before the show’s closing.
Strong Bcomp partnerships
Bcomp partner 3A Composites exhibited Bcomp’s balsa-flax ski core –bCore™ D200 – the world’s lightest wood ski core with a density of 190 kg/m3. Thanks to its extremely low weight and great performance on snow, the bCore™ D200 has generated a lot of buzz in the winter sports industry, leading to Bcomp customers winning the prestigious ISPO Award three years in a row.
Another partner displayed Bcomp’s ampliTex™ light fabrics, showing their unique combination of optical perfection and outstanding performance on a skate board deck.
Just before the opening of the worldwide biggest composite show, Sicomin entered a partnership with Bcomp for the distribution of the ampliTex™ range in France. Sicomin is a specialist for resin systems and has a deep composite knowledge. Bcomp is very proud to cooperate with this company.
