PAM-RTM, SIMULATION SOFTWARE FOR RESIN INJECTION AND INFUSION ON FIBROUS REINFORCEMENTS

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PAM-RTM, SIMULATION SOFTWARE FOR RESIN INJECTION AND INFUSION ON FIBROUS REINFORCEMENTS
11 January 2006 - ESI Group

For the first time, Poncin Yachts is using to its advantage the technology provided by the ESI Group's PAM-RTM software, a simulation software program for manufacturing composites by injection. Thanks to a technological partnership with specialists in composite materials and the use of engineering applied to industrial systems, Poncin Yachts has defined a method of production never seen before in the field of water sports.

Indeed, Poncin Yachts, a newcomer to the French boating and sailing industry, is developing and producing a modern range of 9-to-15-metre-long sailing boats using high-performance and computer-controlled tooling organized around an innovative industrial manufacturing process: resin transfer molding and vacuum infusion for making composite hulls and decks.

The ESI Group's PAM-RTM software has made it possible to design and develop new tooling for composite materials production lines using "closed mold" technology. This innovative technique enables parts of an enhanced quality and a very shiny final appearance to be obtained. The combined use of resin transfer molding and vacuum infusion guarantees an excellent degree of homogeneousness of the resin in all the compartments of the mold for greater rigidity and a constant weight. All the parameters are managed by automated controllers connected to sensors which provide continuous monitoring of temperatures, pressures, volumes, etc.

The "closed molds" also offer a supreme advantage as regards respect for environmental and human protection owing to the manufacturing principle, which lends itself to high-level automation. The resin is injected under vacuum, enabling it to avoid any contact with harmful or noxious products. The emanations from harmful volatile organic compounds are contained and dealt with at a later time, thereby allowing a reduction in the emanation rate estimated at between 5 and 10 PPM, that is two times less than the requirements of the future European standard which will be applied as from 2007. This production tool is today considered to be the best available in Europe for its performance.

In the words of Patrick de Luca, Head of Composite Materials Solutions with the ESI Group: "With PAM-RTM, Poncin Yachts is henceforth able to anticipate potential manufacturing problems which could not previously be simulated when voluminous parts were being designed."

Poncin Yachts has invested more than 17 million euros in its modern factory spread over an area of 10,000 m2, recruited more than 170 people since the beginning of the project, and set up a production and quality control model hitherto found only in the automobile and aeronautics industries. This model, the only one of its kind, makes it possible to reduce costs and development lead times as well as optimize industrial capacities by operating around the clock.

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About: ESI Group
ESI Group is the world leading software editor for the numerical simulation of prototype and manufacturing process engineering in applied mechanics. The key to ESI Group's success is the use of realistic material physics, providing "as good as real" virtual solutions, in order to replace the lengthy trial and error processes on real prototypes.

ESI Group has developed an entire suite of coherent industry-oriented applications to realistically simulate a product's behavior during testing, to fine tune the manufacturing processes in synergy with the desired product performance, and to evaluate the environment's impact on product usage. ESI Group's product portfolio, which has been industrially validated and combined in multi-trade value chains, represents a unique collaborative, virtual engineering solution, known as the Virtual Try-Out Space (VTOS), enabling a continuous improvement on the virtual prototype.

By drastically reducing costs and development lead times, VTOS solutions offer major competitive advantages by progressively eliminating the need for physical prototypes.

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