Carbon and Related Fibers & Fabrics
High-performance fibers including Carbon, Kevlar, e/s-Glass, UHMWPE, and proprietary fibers are used singly or in combination to yield the optimal balance of extreme strength-to-weight, stiffness/flexibility, toughness, durability, etc. for your product.
The variety of yarns, fabrics and weaves further increases the range of possibilities. A variety of proprietary pigmentation and weave technologies also provides for unique attractive finish options where useful. Thermoset / Thermoplastic Matrix
The matrix material gives the composite product it’s form and determines many other properties, and strongly influences the fabrication process and working temperature range of the products.
We focus on high-performance epoxies, epoxies, urethanes, proprietary formulations, and some engineering thermoplastics to yield the highest properties. Structural Core Materials
Structural foams are cellular engineering-grade plastics with high strength, high toughness, and light weight.
Structural cores, when properly designed and fabricated, can multiply the stiffness of composite parts while only adding a trivial amount to the weight. High-performance core materials that we apply to the products include Nomex honeycomb, and a range of structural foam chemistries including SAN, PU, PET, PVC and others to achieve top performance. The exceptional properties of these materials come with significant fabricating and machining challenges – we have the extensive experience required to reliably and effectively design and manufacture complex components from these materials. Auxiliary Materials
Composite Products sometimes require components of other materials, such as for inserts, mounting points, aesthetics, interfaces, or other functions.
Engineering plastics, while sharing the “plastic” name with commodity plastics, have extreme properties that put them in entirely different performance classes; our experience with these includes polycarbonates, UHMWPE, POM, PTFE, PEEK, and more. Engineering adhesives are another key part of our toolkit. Similar to the engineering plastics, they are in an entirely different class than even the best commercial-grade adhesives, and can often form the strongest possible bonds – much stronger than other fasteners. Some can sustain stresses exceeding thousands of PSI of pull, impact, vibration and never yield; others allow us to create assemblies that can withstand harsh high-vibration environments yet be disassembled after an event. These help solve many challenging problems. Metallic components of steel, aluminum, titanium, etc. can extend the capabilities of the product. For complex shapes we have external fabrication capabilities and sourcing, as well as basic fabrication capabilities in-house. When the beauty of the carbon fiber surfaces is key to the application, we have exclusive access to and experience with an exclusive set coatings used by some of the finest auto-makers in the world to highlight their carbon parts – we can really make it shine. Of course, when the product requires coatings for other capabilities such as dampening, anti-wear, etc., there are other coatings tuned for these characteristics. Process Materials
After the design, fiber, matrix, core and auxiliary materials, the process puts it all together and is the final determinant of the product.
Extreme capability process materials can be key to making a product work, and we utilize the whole range – from inexpensive materials that ‘just work’ for prototyping, to exotic materials that are the key to unique processes requirements. We also use a unique high-performance low-CTE tooling board material that allows us to create superior molds critical to precision composite products. ApplicationsMotorsportsThe company was founded producing winning racecar components for professional level competition and sport, track and street use.
Carbon and Aramid composites are ideal for motorsport applications ranging from Formula 1, where they are almost ubiquitous, down through amateur competition, performance, and show car use. Not only is the light weight and high strength key to competitive results, it also adds the beautiful carbon aesthetics. Military
Military applications obviously demand not only new levels of performance but also capabilities to withstand wide ranges of harsh use (abuse) environments. Composites and our R&D capabilities excel in creating components and products to meet these demands.
Prime Composites components have seen use in undersea, land, and air applications, and we have several products under development for these applications. UAV and Radio Control
In UAV applications, power is always limited and every gram of mass kept airborne reduces payload, range, and maneuverability. Achieving the required functionality with a minimum of weight is essential, and Prime’s composite design capabilities excel at this.
Prime Composites has experience designing and building components and airframes for multiple projects, including for innovative record-breaking unmanned aerial vehicles. Similarly, land-based RC applications can also be weight critical, especially for competition. Prime has several successful projects and products for recreational and competition RC Vehicles Sports
Sport competition demands the best of competitors and their equipment. Light weight and strength is key to winning results, as every gram carried reduces the competitor’s acceleration and control of the equipment. We’ve designed several products in this area, including the successful Aero Lacrosse Falcon Lacrosse shaft, which was introduced as the lightest competition shaft on the market.
ArchitecturalWhile carbon fiber composites are best known for their high strength-weight, they can also be fabricated into much more highly complex curved geometries than more traditional materials. Add to this the unique look of a clear deep fabric surface finish, and the result can be truly beautiful.
We’ve delivered several architectural works taking advantage of these unique characteristics. The first was a set of flowing work surfaces for the welcoming area of a racing/conference facility. The unique highly curved designs in the main entrance reflect the curves on a racetrack and are also very functional in the main welcome area. The clear finish and carbon weave reflects the use of carbon on competition cars. A recent piece was a bartop based around an antique car restoration. The front panels of a ‘57 Cadillac form the shell and outer part of the bar, and our curved carbon and glass work floats above the top forming the bar surface. |
Phone866-700-2002
Delivery/Post: Prime Composites LLC 98 Franklin Street Ext. Suite One Derry, NH 03038 |
