By Jürgen Hanel, Manager of Business Unit Technical Textiles, A. Monforts Textilmaschinen
New coating technology with resins for lightweight construction composites is introduced by A. Monforts Textilmaschinen featuring magnetic roller coating.
Responding to the demand by the coating segment for composites and technical textile finishing, A. Monforts Textilmaschinen has, following its recent acquisition of ‘know how’ from coating specialist Timatec, introduced its complete coating range as a single source for new and innovative one-stop solutions; including magnetic roller coating.
Single sourced solutions include sophisticated lightweight construction using innovative textile-based coated materials in the automotive and aerospace industries.
New coating technology is now available for lightweight construction (composites) featuring magnetic roller coating, knife coating and screen printing with epoxy resins, phenolic resins, organic silicones and other reactive resins. Base materials for coatings include glass fibre fabrics, glass fibre cores and mixed cores from glass and carbon as well as mineral fibres.
Fabrics with natural fibres from linen, cotton and nettle, plus nonwovens-based on glass, carbon and natural fibres are also widely used.
Calenders can be supplied to control the resin penetration to the fibre core. Several calenders in a row ensure good surface precision inside such a coating line. Calendars can be heated and without the need for high pressure to provide extremely high surface quality.
The ‘Montex Allround’ system permits lines to operate for a variety of coatings, powder scattering units and calenders at different positions in front and after the dryer.
When used with the ‘Allround’ system’s powder scattering unit, a thermoplastic powder can be added to the already coated thermosetting resin to produce a hybrid matrix; meeting a new trend in lightweight materials – mainly in demand for the automotive industry.
Monforts can also provide Ex-proof ranges for solvent-based coatings and for high temperature processes up to 320º such as, for example, PTFE sintering.
Other lightweight materials, for example, TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) matrix systems, which can only be applied by solvent or by hot melt, offer excellent resistance against acids, bases and organic solvents. They also ensure flexibility under cold conditions.
They can however only be applied in enclosed compartments or require protective work wear.
The Montex Allround concept is the only available system for textile coating which provides an enclosed system. The technician does not have to enter the ex-proof compartment. So no protective work wear is necessary.
All Monforts coating systems feature simple and user-friendly PLC techniques with on-screen visualisation for all operating modes. Recipe management for different coating processes are integrated in to the proven Qualitex control system of the Montexstenter.
Monforts provides a worldwide distribution network for service and sales of all its coating systems, offering proven technology in the market place.