North Thin Ply Technology (NTPT) has supplied its fiber reinforced composite materials for the new Richard Mille RM 27-02 Rafael Nadal watch.
The ultralight and unbreakable case has been made of Thin Ply Technology (TPT) carbon and quartz fiber prepreg materials.
NTPT developed a prepreg and laminate material known as TPT Quartz, composed of hundreds of layers of quartz filaments sequenced on top of each other. Quartz fibers are exceptionally resistant to high temperatures and are characterized by extreme strength and transparency to electromagnetic waves. NTPT also developed a unique white, UV resistant matrix resin material.
For the Richard Mille RM 27-02 Rafael Nadal watch, NTPT started by producing rolls of UD prepreg tapes of carbon and quartz. These UD Tapes were then transformed into preforms with the assistance of NTPT’s Automated Tape Laydown (ATL) machine. The TPT Carbon and TPT Quartz preforms were then carefully stacked to create a black and white block and finally machined to create the parts for the watch. The bezel and solid case back in TPT Carbon/TPT Quartz are attached to the unibody baseplate, a part that has been machined from a separate 100% TPT Carbon block.
This story is reprinted from material from NTPT, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
