Airbond, which is a UK-based fiber splicing company, has reportedly won the Queen’s Award for Innovation for its new splicing technology. This is the second Queen’s Award the company has achieved, having won another for innovation in 2013.
In the past, splicing carbon or glass fibers with compressed air can turn them to dust as they were so brittle, even though strong longitudinally.
Airbond says that its machines can, for the first time, spliced modern composite materials due to a control of the air with new accessories. The technology involves keeping the splicing units hidden and protected inside a sturdy molded shell, making them much more durable. The outer shells are inexpensive, so that they can be viewed as consumables if covered with resin while the splicers themselves remain pristine.
‘Splicing is a mature technology which had stagnated for decades,’ said Graham Waters, MD of Airbond. ’We have catapulted it into the 21st century. Get it wrong and you will waste a lot of product, transforming fibers into dust. However, we have invested heavily in R& D to get it right, and we are really pleased at the recognition of this second Queen’s Award for Innovation.
The Queen’s Award is a program for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation or sustainable development.
This story uses material from Airbond, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
