Ricerca e Sviluppo Produzione resine Servizio clienti Servizio tecnico

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2 Structure Delta-Tech Spa Ricerca e Sviluppo Produzione resine Servizio clienti Servizio tecnico Delta-Preg Spa Uninominale (25% dell energia di processo fornita dall impianto fotovoltaico) Vendite e Marketing Produzione di pre-preg in solvente e hot-melt 2/22

3 Company Delta-Tech was founded in 1999 with the mission of providing materials and technological support to the composite industry. Products: Delta-Tech, through its subsidiary Delta-Preg, produces pre-preg made of carbon fiber, glass, aramid and other special fibers. Mainly products are epoxy-based, but they also provide pre-preg with cyano-ester resins. Pre-pregs are produced through solvent and hot-melt processes. Market: The target market is the automotive industry, which accounts for 50% of turnover. The other half of the turnover is very diverse and cuts across all sectors of the composite. Export: Delta-Tech begins by focusing on the Italian market, then the export share has been growing, reaching 0% of the turnover. 3/22

4 SIMS Semi-Impregnated Micro-Sandwich Prepregs A novel low-cost composites solution, having fast curing properties and improved toughness behaviour /22

5 The product SIMS is specifically indicated for the production of composite components, intended to absorb high impact energies. The properties of "Fast Curing" of thermosetting epoxy matrix allows the application of SIMS in all the transport sectors (automotive, railway, aerospace, etc.). SIMS can be available in FST configuration (Fire, Smoke,Toxicity), for the production of components having those requirements (e.g. interiors, seating, etc.) SIMS can be supplied with various types of reinforcement carbon fibers, glass, etc.. - depending of the application. 5/22

6 Premise The growth of advanced composites in the manufacture of automotive bodywork components is limited by a number of factors such as labour-intensive lay-up, trimming and finishing processes, long processing times, and high raw material costs. Delta-Tech has developed a range of prepreg materials that reduce the cutting and trimming work while improving impact behavior and other safety aspects. Another issue related to the use of composite materials in automotive bodywork components is their poor ability to dissipate impact energy. Solid panels that have the required flexural stiffness to remain stable in the presence of aerodynamic forces often exhibit stiff and elastic behaviour in case of an impact. If the impact is against a human body, it may cause serious personal injuries. 6/22

7 SIMS concept (Patent pending) A number of different micro-sandwich panels were fabricated, using glass fabric prepreg and non-woven needle-punched PET fleece, either pre-impregnated and dry, within an investigation program addressed to the development of low-cost laminates for automotive applications. Among all different panel configurations tested, a number of panels, containing different levels of dry fibre within the non-woven sandwich core thickness, showed very interesting results. In particular, these panels showed outstanding impact strength combined with low maximum force, which makes them good candidates for the fabrication of automotive external panels, or composite laminates for personal protection. 7/22

8 SIMS concept (Patent pending) The following picture shows a typical cross-sectional SIMS structure 1 Fabric reinforced epoxy prepreg 3 2 PET non-woven 1 Fabric reinforced epoxy prepreg 3 Dry fleece 3 Impregnated fleece 8/22

9 SIMS concept (Patent pending) Thin sandwich structures, containing long fibre composite skins and low-cost fleece core have been widely used in the past, both in automotive and sporting good applications including helmet and footwear, although very little literature exists on this subject. In comparison to traditional sandwich structures, these kind of panels are normally thinner and can be easier to manufacture. In previously reported examples, the non-woven fleece was meant to be completely wetted and bonded by the matrix. Although substantial porosity often remained within the fleece, in all cases fibres were all wetted and bonded by the matrix, in order to obtain the desired stiffness. 9/22

10 SIMS Ball Drop Impact Performance The advantage of SIMS over conventional micro-sandwich structu res with impregnated fleece core is well illustrated by comparing the results of drop ball impact tests carried out on SIMS laminates and an equivalent laminate where the fleece core is fully impregnated by the matrix. The next diagram shows a typical force profile versus time during an impact test. The comparative results are reported in the next table. Here SIMS A and SIMS B stand for different degrees of fleece impregnation, A being lower than B. The impact energy dissipated by the fully-impregnated panel could not be measured as it was lower than the minimum energy detectable by the testing machine. The most striking difference was noticed for the maximum impact force, which is less than half for the SIMS panels than for the other one. 10/22

11 SIMS Ball drop Impact Performance Indicative force profile versus time during an impact test SIMS behaviour (Low Impregnated No-Woven) Fully Impregnated No-Woven 11/22

12 SIMS Ball Drop Impact Performance Comparative Drop Ball Test Results Sims A = Low Impregnated Non-Woven Sims B = Medium Impregnated Non-Woven 12/22

13 SIMS Izod Impact (notched) Performance Carbon fiber e glass fiber SIMS configurations, as shown below, have been Izod impacted (notched). 13/22

14 SIMS Izod Impact (notched) Performance Before testing, batches of samples of carbon and glass SIMS, in stacking 1 and 2, were conditioned with 10 cycles of freezing/heating (by80%ru.), following the diagram below. 1/22

15 SIMS Izod Impact (notched) Performance Test Results Summary Carbon Fabric SIMS KJ/M2 Glass Fabric SIMS KJ/M2 1C = Carbon stacking 1, not conditioned. 1CT= Carbon stacking 1, conditioned. 2C=Carbon stacking 2, not conditioned. 2CT=Carbon stacking 2, conditioned. 1V = Glass stacking 1, not conditioned. 1VT= Glass stacking 1, conditioned. 2V=Glass stacking 2, not conditioned. 2VT=Glass stacking 2, conditioned. 15/22

16 SIMS Izod Impact (notched) Performance Test Results Summary Fracture analysis was performed under the optical microscope in order to evaluate the mode and/or quality of fractures; several representative samples of carbon and glass SIMS, in staking 1&2, conditioned and not condizioned, were selected and observed. The microscope analysis of the fracture surfaces showed a greater tendency to delamination of the composite carbon-based SIMS than glass-based SIMS. The corresponding micrographs are shown in the next pages. 16/22

17 SIMS Izod Impact (notched) Performance Not conditioned Test Results Summary Conditioned Glass SIMS-Stacking 1 Glass SIMS-Stacking 1 Glass SIMS-Stacking 2 Glass SIMS-Stacking 2 17/22

18 SIMS Izod Impact (notched) Performance Not conditioned Test Results Summary Conditioned Glass Carbon SIMS-Stacking 1 1 Carbon SIMS-Stacking 1 Carbon SIMS-Stacking 2 Carbon SIMS-Stacking 2 18/22

19 NET SHAPE COMPONENTS WITH ROUND EDGE DIRECTLY OFF THE MOLD The fabrication of composite parts is often associated with edge trimming and finishing, after the cure process. This implies additional work which is normally done in a separate room, equipped with an efficient dust filtration system. The trimming process also leaves exposed cut fibers on the edge, where infiltration by environmental agents may occur, with detri-mental effects on laminate properties. Another critical factor with trimmed composite components can be the presence of sharp edges. These might cause personal injury and, on certain specific applications, they are prohibited by law. 19/22

20 A new technology developed by Delta-Tech now makes it possible manufacturing components in open moulds with no need for subsequent cutting and trimming, by forming a round edge directly in the mould The Kordo system, developed by Delta-Tech, offers a practical solution to all the three forementioned inconveniences. Kordo is made of a stripe of pliable prepreg (1), wrapped around a braid (2) in such a way to be easily placed around th part contour, with the round braid shape pointing outwards and the folded prepreg strip pointing inwards to be incorporated within the laminate plies (3). 5 3 A little dam () should be built in the mold (5) in order to define the exact part contour. A well shaped round edge, according to automotive safety regulations, can be obtained by using a rubber caul-pad (6) around the edge. The caul-pad should be kept in place by creating a positioning groove (7) in the tool, at about 10 mm distance from the part edge. The caul-pad can be easily made with curable rubber and stiffened with a ply of carbon or glass prepreg fabric within the section. 20/22

21 Kordo can be made of different fibres such as carbon or glass, and is available in different thicknesses. The typical edge diameter is 5 mm or 3 mm. Kordo is impre-gnated with matrix systems that are designed to match with the wide range of Delta-Preg prepreg systems, specifically addressed to the automotive market. The following pictures show a typical application for the bodywork components of a high-performance sportcar. The edges of the car-bon fibre bodywork panels for this modern and aggressive car design comply with the safety regulations thanks to a continuous 5 mm-thick edge made out of Kordo. Edge cutting and trimming has been eliminated as well, for considerably reduced labour. As a further advantage, the thick edge surrounding all the body panels significantly contributes to part stiffness and dimensional stability. 21/22

22 Many thanks for your kind attention 22/22