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Benefits of ATL DuFLEX © panels The Spirited yachts are assembled from DuFLEX panels with balsa (structure) and honeycomb (furniture) cores. The DuFLEX panels are manufactured by ATL Composites in Australia, under strict environmental conditions. Similar although lighter ATL DuFLEX panels with Nomex cores and carbon skins, have been used with success for the construction of the bulkheads of Ellen MacArthur's B&Q/Castorama and Thomas Coville's Sodebo catamarans. The result is a far lighter, stiffer and flat-out tougher boat.
ATL Composites uses computer aided design and manufacture processes combined with computer numeric control (CNC) equipment to optimise and produce pre-fabricated DuFLEX kits. All parts required for the project are nested together within the panels to reduce wastage.
Naval architects and yacht designers specify sandwich, or cored, composite construction for much the same reason architects use I-beams: to increase stiffness with reduced weight. The core, in the sandwich laminate, acts in the same manner as the shear web in an I-beam by tying together the load-bearing skins. Permitting a lighter weight design, cored construction increases performance with a follow on effect for power and fuel requirements. Single-skin, or solid, fibreglass hulls are often built excessively thick to achieve the required stiffness. They also provide poor thermal insulation, sound deadening, resistance to vibration, and readily transmit engine noise. Developed to optimise structural weight and to precisely control lamination, DuFLEX Composite Panels minimise the time and expertise required to produce a high-tech composite structure. Time-consuming pré-preg laminating, infusion or heat curing steps normally required to fabricate high performance Epoxy boats are avoided, and material waste, labour and tooling are greatly reduced. The core and laminates are co-cured in a hot press, a method that consolidates the laminate under pressure, highly increasing the fibre volume and therefore the strength of the finished panel. The curing under high temperature allows an increase by 50% in the strength of the Epoxy matrix and of the finished panel. The fibre content is approximately 62% by weight with glass in the finished DuFLEX panel, compared to 15% by weight with spray-up and 25% with hand layup processes. Core, fibre orientation and ply schedules are based on design or engineering specifications to best meet weight targets, stress and impact loads, and other design parameters. For additional information, please see http://www.atlcomposites.com
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