British luxury yacht maker Sunseeker chose Hexcel's HiMax Dot Pattern Adhesive (DPA) fabric for resin infusion of its new high-performance cruiser.
The British Sunseeker is a well-deserved market leader in the field of luxury yachts, known as the "Rolls-Royce at Sea". It has branches in more than 30 countries around the world.
The Predator 50 is the first Sunseeker yacht built with Hexcel's new composite technology.
Hexcel has developed HiMax DPA technology to add even more value to its multi-axis reinforcement material family. In order to facilitate the laying of multiple fabrics in preparation for infusion, the DPA reinforcement is pre-reinforced. Designed to provide the best level of tack while minimizing additional weight, they eliminate the need for spray adhesives, reducing the risk of inconsistent applications, contamination and overweight. DPA fabrics have a controlled level of adhesive that is applied on the entire fabric in the form of dots by the machine and weighs only 3g / sqm.
HiMax DPA (dot pattern adhesive) is a new product released by Hexcel at the 2019 Paris Composites Exhibition (JEC). The reinforcement is a pre-stitched non-curl fabric (NCF), which can be used with a variety of fabrics for easier stacking.
Sunseeker, a long-term customer of Hexcel, has implemented a series of HiMax fabrics in the Predator 50, including four-axis and 0/45 biaxial, with a dot pattern adhesive on one or both sides of the fabric. The company has experienced significant benefits such as reduced laying time, the convenience of treating fabrics without the use of spray adhesives, and Hexcel's constant fabric quality.
Chris Wright, Sunseeker's Predator 50 project manager, said: "We are constantly focusing on what our customers expect of his or her ship, meeting or exceeding expectations. Quality is important to us, but so is repeatability and manufacturing efficiency, so we can provide superior Value. With HiMax ™ DPA materials, we know we are achieving consistently high standards and we provide employees with a cleaner and safer working environment. "
Garth Thomas, Sales Engineer, Hexcel Marine, concludes: "HiMax DPA products can be used in a variety of marine applications. The non-curl structure of this series, the option to integrate different infusion cores, and the availability of multi-layer fabrics help reduce time to market. We The new composite technology has proven successful; more than 50% of Hexcel marine fabrics are now equipped with DPA reinforcements. "