In the last decade of the 20th century, the sporting goods market has greatly benefited the advanced composites market. Carbon fiber fishing rods were launched into the market with great fanfare-and began to sell. Golf shafts and tennis rackets are also not to be ignored. Driven by the increasingly popular cycling sports such as the Tour de France, carbon fiber bicycles have developed from professional competitions to bicycle lanes and streets. In the 1990s and 21st century, materials And manufacturing methods have witnessed countless innovations.
The application of lightweight high-performance materials in sports equipment is increasing. According to a market report released by the market research company Lucintel (Ivan, Texas, USA) in early 2019, the global sporting goods industry's use of composite materials continues to grow. The annual growth rate of composite materials will reach 3.2%. Many product industries are facing huge opportunities for development, including surfboards, snowboards and snowboards, bicycles, rackets, golf clubs, hockey sticks and fishing rods. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are expected to remain the largest market segment during the forecast period, and glass fiber composites will also show modest growth.
Bicycles are still the most high-profile market for composite materials. In 2019, Arevo (Milpitas, California, USA) released the world's first 3D printed carbon fiber one-piece bicycle frame at Eurobike 2019 (Europe Bike Show 2019) in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The company also produces 3D printed thermoplastic rims. Bicycle parts are produced through the company's "Arevo DNA" technology, which is an additive manufacturing (AM) process with a patented software algorithm that is said to enable generative design techniques for free movement in "true 3D" construction Robot and direct energy. Almost non-porous structure for optimized anisotropic composite material deposition. Arevo said the process shortened the design and final manufacturing of the bicycle frame from 18 months to a few days, thereby significantly reducing production costs. It is said that there are other benefits, including the ability to continuously and mass-produce AM-made composite parts, automation, and localized "on-demand" manufacturing and customization capabilities.
As CW reported, the challenge facing the bicycle manufacturing industry is the lack of strict carbon fiber composite bicycle frame design and manufacturing standards. The lack of standards and supervision may have led to product quality failures, and may have caused casualties due to the failure of the composite material structure. There is no legally binding structural safety standard that can circumvent the limitations of the common cyclist loads and environmental conditions (braking, impact loads, fatigue, vibration, material aging or degradation, material wear and abrasion) of high-performance composite bicycles. In addition, the existing ASTM D-30 test standard has not been approved by ASTM F-08 Bicycle Committee.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO, Zurich, Switzerland) released the ISO 4210 standard (the latest standard for bicycle manufacturing) in nine parts in 2014 and 2015. ISO 4210 is "developed in response to the needs of all parts of the world. Its purpose is to ensure that bicycles that comply with this international standard are as safe as possible in practice. The scope is limited to safety considerations, and the standardization of components is specifically avoided."
Having said that, many bicycle manufacturers take safety very seriously. HIA Velo (Little Rock, Arkansas, USA) is a good example. It combines composite materials to make its products more durable. HIA Velo partnered with Innegra Technologies (Greenville, South Carolina, USA) to incorporate Innegra S high modulus polypropylene fabric (which is sized to be compatible with epoxy resin) into various areas of the Alfa bicycle frame to improve the frame Durability. Similarly, bicycle rims (wheels) produced by Derby Rims LLC (San Anselmo, California, USA) combine carbon fiber and high molecular weight polypropylene (HMWPP) for higher toughness.
In water sports equipment, ecological responsibility and sustainability have always been the focus of attention, and many manufacturers are using natural or recycled fibers and biocomposites. Cobra International (Chonburi, Thailand) is a good example. The company is known for its sustainable technologies and products. Its CocoMat coconut fiber technology and bio-based surfboard meet the highest ECOBOARD standard set by Sustainable Surf, and have obtained ECOBOARD Gold certification.
Sustainable Surf is a non-profit charitable organization based in California that develops the availability of more sustainable surfboards and encourages individuals to adopt the marine lifestyle as their surfing lifestyle.
The increasing trend of personalized customization and the desire of high-end manufacturers to meet the individual needs of athletes have opened the door to 3D printing. For example, Krone (Dallas, Texas, USA) is using this process to produce high-end golf clubs. Faced with the strict limitations of club size and weight, and the increasing demand for golfers to improve golfer performance (pitch, loft, speed and rotation), "feel" and balance, company founder Mark Kronenberg Get in touch with CRP Group (Modena, Italy), who has many years of 3D printing experience in Formula 1 (World Formula One Championship) racing. CRP Group companies include CRP Technology, which produces additive manufacturing materials and technologies, and CRP Meccanica, which has high-precision CNC machining experience.
The three companies jointly developed KD-1, a composite hitting head composed of an additively manufactured body that uses selective laser sintering (SLS) and uses sinterable carbon fiber / polyamide powder Windform SP; Ti6A14V titanium impact surface, CNC machining from billet material, then sandblasting and cleaning; and brass counterweight, also CNC machining and sandblasting. The lattice geometry of the hollow body can be printed within a few hours to optimize its stiffness, while carbon fiber / polyamide has high ductility and impact absorption. The machined titanium surface is attached and bonded to the body. The four Helicoil inserts on the body opposite the face accept fasteners with brass weights. Krone believes that the combination of the AM process and the CNC can reduce the contact labor required by traditional composite screwdriver heads made of prepreg, and the tolerances of the produced parts are smaller than the tolerances of cast and forged metal parts without the need for time and effort Secondary processing.