Aimplas, the Spanish Technological Institute for Plastics (Valencia; www.aimplas.es), has reached the mid-point of the European “Coaline” project to develop a profile manufacturing method utilising pultrusion for applications in the building and automotive industries. Following completion of the project, it will be possible to carry out the manufacturing process in one step, including the application of the primer or paint, which will be applied inside the mould.

The process under development allows a reduction in labour in production and in the number of steps in the process, including sanding and painting or primer application. At this mid-point of the project, which began in September 2013 and lasts 42 months, Aimplas has completed the experimental stage where microwave absorbers and gelcoats are added to resins. In all the cases a reduction in curing time of more than 50 % was achieved.

Nora Lardiés, principal project researcher, says: “The pultrusion manufacturing process is a continuous system where a glass fibre reinforcement impregnated with resin at one end of a closed and heated mould is introduced. The resin cures inside the mould so by the other end the profile comes off perfectly cured. In Coaline we expect to coat the profile inside the mould, in other words, to apply the paint inside the mould so we will save time and we will not be emitting solid particles from sanding or VOCs from the paint and the primer. It will be a cheaper, cleaner and more effective process.”

The industrial application of the project is progressing with the two partners of the consortium, construction company Acciona (Alcobendas, Madrid / Spain; www.acciona.com), which will use the profiles obtained by the new production method, such as stiffening beams in the building sector, and electric vehicle manufacturer Alkè (Padova / Italy; www.alke.com) that will apply them in the structure of electric cars. Both companies will act as final users of the new technology. In the biopolymers field, Spain´s Aimplas recently developed a single-stage synthesis process to enable the bio-based materials to compete with traditional plastics (see Plasteurope.com of 24.07.2015).