Acl Processing Equipment

Advanced Composites Lab houses state-of-the-art for processing such as fully automatic compression press, vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM), and prepreg calendaring machine; and specialized nanoparticle dispersion equipment such as a sonicator, high shear mixer, three roll mill, ball mill, and centrifugal planetary mixer.

Wabash, Inc. Fully Automatic Hydraulic Compression Press Model G30H-18-C

Wabash Hydraulic Compression Press used for making compression molding of        composites, plastics, and rubber parts. The hydraulic system produces faster closing and opening speeds, making it ideal for use with many of today's advanced molding compounds.

Specification:              Clamp Force- 0 to 30 ton

         Size of platens- 18”×18”

         Max. Temperature – 500^oF

Mini-Jector, Inc. Tabletop Plastics Injection Molding Machine, Model 55 (4 oz)

This is small injection molding machine mainly used for instructional purposes and to produce dogbone plastics specimens for tension testing. 

Specification:              Clamping Force- 11.75 tons

         Max. Operating temperature- 700^o F

         Shot Capacity- 1 oz/cycle

Thermo Electron Corporation, Single screw extruder, Model: Haake PolyLab OS Rheodrive 4 

Common applications of such a device are for extrusion of thermoplastic compounds on a variety of constant cross sections such as cylindrical or thin films. Rhelogical testing and characterization of such materials is the primary purpose of this machine. Two different screws and  two different extruding dies (1 & 3 mm) are available. This machine is equipped with a metering feeder for variable rate stock input into the melt chamber.

Specification:              Max. speed- 250 rpm

         Max. torque- 160 Nm

         Max. operating temperature- 450 ^oC. 

Thermo Electron Corporation, Twin screw extruder, Model: Process 11

The compact co-rotating 11mm twin screw extruder is designed with a unique monocoque housing that is suitable for compounding thermoplastic polymers. In addition to its water cooled primary feed port it contains 3 multifunction barrel ports for additional feeding and venting. Its barrel is separated into 8 sections to facilitate temperature profiles. 

Specifications:            Throughput: 2.5kg/h

                                    Barrel Length: 40L/D

Conair, SL2.5 - SlimLine Series Desiccant Dryer 

SlimLineTM dryers use a continuous supply of clean, dehumidified compressed air at 100 psi {6.9 bar} to dry material. The standard dryer produces a dewpoint of O°F {-18°C} which is sufficient for most drying applications. Units are capable of delivering nominal throughput rates ranging from 0.25 {0.11} to more than 50 lb/hour {23 kg/hour}.

Specifications:            Drying Temperature: 38° - 177°C

                                    Hopper volume ft3 {L}: 0.125 {4}

The following are Commercial Off-the-shelf 3D Printers that will be used to print test samples of the newly developed thermoplastics nanocomposites. 

Lulzbot 3 D Printers (Commercial Off-the-shelf) – 3 printers

The Lulzbot 3D printer are integrated with automatic bed leveling systems, all metal LulzBot v2 Hot Ends, and heated PEI print surfaces. Perfect for both large and small objects, the heated PEI build surface keeps your 3D printed objects in place when hot and releases when cool. It is also compatible with a large variety of different materials. 

Specifications:            Top Print Speed: 200 mm/sec

                                    Layer Thickness with 0.5 mm nozzle: 0.050 mm to 0.5 mm

                                    Print Area: 280 mm x 280 mm x 250 mm

1. One printer dedicated to high-temperature materials such as PEEK and PEKK
2. One printer dedicated to Magnetic Field Assisted Additive Manufacturing-MFAAM
3. One printers dedicated to general materials 

Stereolithography SLA Printer mUVe 3D LCD 2K Pro 

The mUVe 3D 2K Pro is an LCD-based Open-source, table-top stereolithography printer package. It utilizes a high-output LED array with a parallel lens system bringing the strongest UV delivery possible on a 5.5” output. Open electronics and Rasberry Pi 3 main system running nanoDLP make it customizable and upgradeable. Hence, it is perfect to work with almost all custom resins. 

Specifications: Printing Dimensions: 121mm x 68 mm x 200 mm @47.25 microns X/Y

Layer Thickness: 0.05mm-0.3mm

Exposure Time: ≥2.5s/layer

Z-Axis: 12mm Ball Screw

Clay Printer 

VormVrij® Company’s LUTUM® 4M is an open form, 3-axis benchtop printer with an auger-fed nozzle, the only dedicated 3D clay printer with a stable and variable output, quick cartridge change, Hiwin mechanics, plus Igus chainlink and data cables that are built from heavy 4 mm thick powder coated steel parts for maximum print stability.

Specifications: Build volume: 25 x 25 x 40 cm. 

Extruders: 18/10 Stainless Steel Screw and Nylon barrel 

Printing volume: 250x250x400mm LWH 

Nozzle diameter: 3mm standard 

Layer resolution: min 0.5mm - max 3mm 

Max speed: 150mm / s with accelerated velocity printing. 

Materials: earthenware, stoneware, refractory clays etc. 

These sites have additional info: https://vormvrij.nl/lutum/products/lutum-4m/ ; https://vormvrij.nl/download/datasheets/datasheet-LUTUM-4M.pdf ; 

https://www.voxelmatters.com/vorm-vrij-launches-new-lutum-m-series-clay-3d-printers/ 

Dispersion of Nanoparticles: The following equipment is used for the dispersion of nanoparticles such as nano clay, nanographene (NGP), and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in polymer resins. 

Sonics and Materials, Inc., Sonicator, Model: Model: VCX 750

This device is an ultrasonic processer used to exfoliate and disperse nano-particles within a liquid polymer. It can output up to 750 W of power, at a maximum vibrational frequency of 20 kHz. It is possible to process volumes of liquid from 250 mL up to 1 L. 

THINKY, Japan, Planetary centrifugal mixer (with vacuum), Model: ARV-310

The primary use of this device is to mix initiated resin at atmospheric pressure or under vacuum pressures. The unit can operate from 200-2000 RPM, and can achieve vacuum pressure of 5 torr.

EXAKT 50i Three Roll Mill, Aluminum Oxide and Chrome Plated Hardened Steel Rollers 

The EXAKT 50 I is a small batch producer with small three roll mill frame offers the ability to disperse a wide variety of products. This unit has specific controls for energy input and output to achieve homogeneous particle sizes and distributions in the matrix. 

Specifications:            Throughput: 0.02-7 liters/hour

                                    Roller length: 150mm

                                    Motor Power:  0.15 kW 

IKA® Labor Pilot 2000/4 Shear Mixer(DR configuration)

The LABOR-PILOT is designed for solid-liquid mixing, homogenizing, emulsifying, suspending and wet milling. It is suitable for wide range of applications, particularly in the chemical, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, plastics, colours and food industries; with six interchangeable modules. This device is a mechanical mixing device used primarily to disperse nano-particles within a liquid polymer. The machine can operate at 3160-13750 rpm, at a maximum product temperature of 120 °C. Machine specifications cite an output of 350 liters/h product output. In-hopper secondary mixing is also possible with IKA RW20 mixer with digital control.

Specifications:            Flow Rate (max.): 300I/h

                                    Tip Speed: 23.5 m/s

                                    Motor Power: 1.5 kW