SP to showcase engineering and expertise at Monaco Boat Show 2008

23 September 2008, Isle of Wight, UK - SP, the marine business of Gurit, has announced that it will be exhibiting a selection of its marine composite products and engineering solutions at this year’s Monaco Boat Show.

Taking place at Port Hercules, Monaco from Wednesday 24 to Saturday 27 September 2008, SP will be exhibiting its renowned composite technologies alongside other international leaders in yachting technology at Stand QS67, Stand Darse Sud tent.

As the reliable technology partner in the super yacht market, SP offers boatbuilders a complete composite solution that combines SP’s industry-leading composite technologies and in-house engineering expertise.  An integral element of some of the most exciting and innovative boats on the water today, SP offers a complete partnership to designers, project managers and boatyards to maximise the potential of their boat designs.

SP will be displaying a complete range of  Corecell™ structural foam materials as well as providing additional information on a variety of products which include T-Paste 70-1 tooling paste for marine plugs, Ampreg 21 Epoxy Wet Laminate System, Spabond adhesives, SP540 PB high performance modified epoxy adhesive, SPRINT® and the PRIME™ 20LV infusion system. SP engineers will also be available on the stand to answer questions and enquiries. The Monaco Show will also be the first chance to obtain the latest copy of ADVANTAGE, SP’s in-house magazine, which contains details of a number of the latest boat building projects the company have been involved in along with technical articles focussing on SP products and engineering techniques.

About SP Products

Corecell™ A / Corecell™ T Foam

Corecell™ A Foam has been specifically designed for hulls and other dynamically loaded structures. Extreme resistance to impact, slamming and fatigue make it the safest core available. Superior styling, excellent styrene and heat resistance properties set it apart from the other ductile core materials.

For super structures, decks and interiors SP has created Corecell™T Foam, ideal for use with prepregs and liquid infusion processes where high resin temperatures are common. Corecell™T Foam offers stability, outstanding chemical resistance and has the advantage of being suitable for any manufacturing process common to PVC and balsa cores. A smooth finish makes it ideal for use on both racing boats and super yachts where style and performance are a vital necessity.

Tooling Paste for Marine Plugs

T-Paste 70-1 can be used with a range of mixing machines and has been formulated to give excellent application and CNC machining properties.  The product gives a high quality surface finish, which significantly reduces the finishing times for large patterns and direct moulds. The high toughness and excellent adhesion of T-Paste 70-1 to High Density Expanded Polystyrene (HD EPS) make this product ideal for customers and sub-contract tooling companies who require a cost effective and robust solution for pattern/mould production.

T-Paste 70-1 is complemented by the unique T-Paste 70-1 repair product,  which provides a seamless repair and same performance for patterns produced using T-Paste 70-1 - ensuring that the repairs are not visible on the pattern surface and will not print on the mould surface.

Spabond Adhesives

SP540 PB is a high performance modified epoxy adhesive designed for bonding large production boats. The adhesive is formulated to bond polyester and are easy to use, have increased working times and consistently provide a high strength and durable bond to a variety of substrates in the production environment.

Epoxy Wet Laminate Systems

Ampreg 21 has been optimised for the manufacture of large composite structures using hand layup, and vacuum bagging techniques.

The relatively low initial mixed viscosity of Ampreg 21 allows easy wetout of heavyweight reinforcements and has been formulated to offer a good Health and Safety product.

Ampreg 21 has been designed to give excellent mechanical and thermal properties from both ambient temperature cures, and moderate temperature postcures (50°C). The system is available with a range of hardener speeds, from Fast to Extra Slow.

Prepreg Materials

SE84 is a toughened system, and offers excellent mechanical properties on a wide variety of reinforcing fabrics and fibres. With its high compressive strength it is widely used in large heavily loaded components, such as yacht hulls and spars. SE84LV is an exceptionally versatile hot-melt, epoxy prepreg - it can be cured at temperatures as low as 80oC, or it can be used for faster moulding of components at 120oC. This is achieved with an extremely good outlife of up to 56 days at 21°C.

SPRINT® Materials

SPRINT® is one of the unique composite technologies developed by SP. Not just a product range but a whole philosophy, it encompasses the way the composite materials are manufactured and processed. The result is a patent-approved, award-winning product range, which offers exceptional finishing and performance properties.

SPRINT® materials consist of a layer of fibre reinforcement either side of a precast, precatalysed resin film, with a light tack film on one face. Unlike conventional prepregs, SPRINT® fibres remain dry and unimpregnated by the resin until the curing process. This gives SPRINT® materials their outstanding breathability, and achieves autoclave quality laminates from vacuum bag processing.

PRIME™ 20LV Infusion System

PRIME™ 20LV is the next generation of PRIME™ 20 epoxy infusion system, which is specifically designed for use in a variety of resin infusion processes including RTM (resin transfer moulding), SCRIMP™ and RIFT (resin infusion under flexible tooling). With a longer working time and reduced viscosity resin it is ideal for infusing large parts with complex reinforcements in operation.

It maintains the exceptionally low exotherm characteristic, which allows thick sections to be manufactured without risk of premature gelation due to the heat of exothermic reaction which also helps to extend the life of mould tools.

Extensive tests at SP have shown that PRIME™ 20LV with Slow and Extra Slow Hardeners provide an excellent bond to vinylester resins. This permits production boat builders to use existing polyester gelcoat products with high performance epoxy infusion systems.

Gurit Engineering

SP’s expertise in the production boat market can often be overlooked in favour of the high profile racing boats which utilise their products and extensive engineering knowledge. It comes as no surprise that SP’s materials and engineering know how has been integral in the development of production boats. With materials to suit every type of build and budget SP are able to supply products and engineering expertise to the production end of the market in a cost effective and well supported manner.