Peschiera Borromeo, Italy – Cannon Legos is launching an in-line vacuum degassing systems for the production of large composite components using vacuum infusion, resin transfer moulding and pultrusion. It is compatible with polyurethanes.
The fully automatic system has a compact design and footprint. The company said its high output should greatly reduce the vacuum infusion processing time for large composite structural parts.
“We started developing this technology based on the requirements for the wind energy market,” said Davide Bertinat, product manager at Cannon Legos. “As the sector moves to ever larger wind blades for bigger power generation, there is a strong demand for greater outputs without compromising performances and costs.”
The technology behind the machine builds on the company’s experience in the oil & gas sector, he said. “This was adapted and customised for resin degassing and, after a period of testing and adjusting, we achieved the desired high in-line output, while maintaining a small footprint.”
Existing degassing technologies are generally operated in batches off-line, leading to low throughput and long processing times, and those that are compatible with in-line processing have limited output. The new system can process a 1m3 IBC in less than 10 minutes, it said, and can replace several existing modules.
The company said that it is already seeing interest from major manufacturers of wind turbines. It also has potential in other production processes where the presence of air or gas bubbles in chemicals must be minimised, including those making structural parts for the automotive industry, applications in aerospace, and battery trays.
