Ex-Core Production Process
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How does it work?
This is the section to read through carefully if you want to know more detail about EX-CORE®, its processes, its functionality and its specifications.
This is a step-by-step guide to how Ex-Core components are made, once the design has been finalised and tooling has been created.
It is also a potential guideline to initially understanding whether your business operations could benefit from Ex-Core’s technology, processes and efficiencies.
Layup
Any expert in CFRP would look at this step in the EX-CORE® process and find it very familiar, because it is.
The initial layup of pre-preg carbon fibres works in exactly the same way with Ex-Core as it does with an autoclave or oven component.
It needs hands-on expertise to lay the fibres in the pre-engineered directions and, for exposed carbon-fibre components, in matching alignment for the aesthetic wow factor.
From the CNC cutting of the refrigerated materials to the FRP layering, this section is familiar, with less wasted materials.
The closed mould means there is no need for vacuum bags, breather cloth or peel ply.
Mixing
The secret material at the heart of EX-CORE® is mixed on a just-in-time basis to ensure its consistency, temperature and properties remain precisely within Ex-Core’s approved range.
The mixing station has been developed by Ex-Core and is custom made for the preparation of the syntactic Ex-Core foam material.
Ex-Core specifies the exact weight of material to be mixed, and also specifies the mixing time for the optimum Ex-Core performance.
Application
Once mixed, the EX-CORE® syntactic self-expanding foam can be applied by expertly trained personnel, or even spread evenly by an automated system.
The goal is an even spread of Ex-Core foam material inside the layed-up carbon sheets in the mould, and the material is also surprisingly forgiving and malleable to work with in this regard.
Closure
Once the foam has been distributed, the EX-CORE® tooling is closed and the rest of the process is unlike anything else in the CFRP industry.
The curing process is then initiated and controlled via proprietary software, written in-house at Ex-Core, that manages every second of the cure with help from integrated pressure and temperature sensors built in to the tooling.
Curing
Using far less energy than traditional methods, the proprietary EX-CORE® software controls the tool’s self-heating cartridges. The system is clever enough to heat different segments of the tool to different temperatures, optimizing the heat transfer to the component.
The tool has integrated temperature and pressure sensors to manage the entire process, ensuring a strong cure and an even, controlled expansion of the Ex-Core fibres.
Demolding
The EX-CORE® software doesn’t just control the cure, but the cool-down process as well, and it will not release the mould’s locks until the pre-programmed temperature has been achieved.
There are huge advantages to be gained with Ex-Core demoulding, because our components require very little post-cure sanding, polishing or refining adjustments, and there are no vacuum bags, breather cloth or peel ply to dispose of.
You simply remove the completed component, and go.