First, What Are Composite Materials?
Composites are materials made from more than one material, which unlike alloy or paint, are ‘fused’ into one piece without being mixed. The advantage of composites is that they result in the best of each raw material. The matrix is often made from ‘opposites’ such as a tensile-resistant fibre and a compressive-strength polymer.
Modern composites are continually being improved and are used as better alternatives to traditional materials like steel and wood in vehicles, aircraft, ships, wind turbines, and high-tech machinery. Depending on the composition, these may offer benefits such as greater strength, fire resistance, lighter weight, corrosion resistance, and thermal insulation, helping engineers create more efficient, durable, and safer products.
In advanced manufacturing fields like aerospace, defense, electronics, and automotive industries, new techniques like additive manufacturing and novel composites present new challenges. Addressing these is key for safety, environmental friendliness, and performance. This article explores the role of worktop surface mats and cutting mats in enhancing efficiency, quality, and safety in composite manufacturing.
Challenges Of Composite Materials
Expense
- Material cost: Composites are often more expensive than traditional materials such as metal, timber, or concrete. However, they become cost-effective in many applications that benefit from the material benefits, like reduced weight or extra strength.
- Waste reduction: Due to high material and production costs, avoiding waste and mistakes is crucial.
- Damage protection: Working with advanced composites requires meticulous attention to prevent damage pre-cure. Specialised worktop surface mats, such as Rhino non-static ‘self-healing’ mats offer the ideal protective surface when deburring, de-moulding, and trimming. The variety of sizes and shore hardness’ lend themselves to electronic assembly lines, clean rooms, and advanced manufacturing. Rhino offers a range of these self-healing cutting mats with a variety of shore hardnesses and other specialist properties.
Staff Resource
- Cutting and laying up composites is labour-intensive and requires experienced, skilled workers. Finding and retaining such staff can be a challenge.
- Paying attention to your staff’s immediate workspace is a quick win for engagement and efficiency. Providing the correct tools and a clean, orderly workbench goes a long way towards maximising worker output and retention. When a worker feels safe and valued, they are more empowered and motivated.
Specialised Handling And Storage
- Carbon prepreg storage: Many prepregs require freezer storage and often have a working time of only a few days. The film adhesives and resins also have a limited shelf life, making stock control and rotation important.
- Using freezer-proof trays lined with a protective Rhino mat can help reduce flexural and impact damage when moving lay-ups and fibre cloth.
Cross-Contamination
- Cross-contamination is to be avoided in advanced composite carbon fibre manufacturing. Different resins and fibre reinforcements have an impact on the product’s final properties and performance. Consider segregated storage, dedicated work surfaces and tool changes for different materials.
- Colour-coding on tools and workbench mats can help identify which material are they used with.
- The work surface plays a critical role in composite fibre work. An easily cleanable, non-static, and scratch-free worktop void of cut marks and dents means less scope for trapped fibres and dust accumulation.
- Workbench surfaces made of fibrous materials, such as MDF, hardboard, or timber, can produce dust that contaminates composites during handling and lay-up. This necessitates the use of self-healing cutting mats designed to minimise cross-contamination with their easy-clean surface, devoid of knife cuts, cracks and ridges.
What’s the best surface for carbon fibre work?
Another advantage of using a surface mat is that it protects the component from impact damage, as steel-topped benches can be unforgiving to parts and tools that are dropped or knocked against the surface.
We’ve written previously about the advantages of Rhino cutting mats for advanced manufacturing, here we reveal the most popular types for carbon fibre from our range.
Rhino often recommends the Ultra-Seal Cutting Mat (6mm thick, shore hardness of 70) for handling composite fibre work and components on. The Rhino Heavy-Duty Mat (4.5mm, shore hardness of 50) is ideal for precision hand cutting of carbon fibre cloth, as it aids accurate knife cutting, and keeps blades sharper for longer. Both have great self-healing properties, giving them a long lifetime.
That said, the best mat for your situation could well be different, so give us a call to discuss your particular requirements and use scenario.
Maintaining the sharpness of cutting knives is crucial for safety, efficiency, and quality in the manufacturing/trimming process. A sharp knife glides through materials with minimal effort, increasing operator control and reducing the risk of accidents.
In Conclusion
Specialised mats offer protection against damage to composites and the tools used to shape and cut them. They also help prevent cross-contamination of fibres, while maintaining sharp blades and protecting tools, bench tops and staff. By prioritising safety, adhering to recommended surface protection, and employing the right cutting tools, manufacturers and their technicians can navigate the challenges of working with advanced composites successfully.
