Sunseeker, the renowned British luxury motor yacht manufacturer and a long-standing customer of Hexcel, has implemented Hexcel’s Himax Dot Pattern Adhesive (DPA) technology for the resin infusion of Predator 50, its new performance cruiser. The Predator 50 is the first of Sunseeker yachts to be built with Hexcel’s novel composite technology.

Hexcel has developed the Himax DPA technology to add further value to its range of multiaxial reinforcements. The DPA reinforcements come pre-tacked for ease of laying up multiple fabrics in preparation for infusion. Designed to provide the optimal level of tack whilst minimising additional weight, they eliminate the need for a spray adhesive, which reduces the risk of inconsistent application, contamination and excess weight. The DPA fabrics have a controlled level of adhesive applied by machine in dots across the whole fabric, weighing just 3g /sqm, said Sunseeker in a press release.

Sunseeker has implemented a range of Himax fabrics in the Predator 50 including quadaxials and 0/45 biaxials, with the dot pattern adhesive on one or both sides of the fabric. The company has experienced significant benefits such as reduced lay-up time, the ease of handling the fabrics without a spray adhesive and the constant fabric quality from Hexcel.

“Our focus is always on the customer,” said Chris Wright, Predator 50 project manager at Sunseeker. “We are continually looking at what the customer wants from his or her boat, and meeting or exceeding expectations. Quality is important to us, but so is repeatability and manufacturing efficiency so we can offer excellent value. With Himax DPA materials we know we are achieving a consistently high standard of build, and we are providing a cleaner and safer working environment for our staff.”

“The Himax DPA products can be used in a wide variety of marine applications. The non-crimp construction of the range, the option to integrate different infusion cores and the availability of multi-stack fabrics help reduce the time to market. Our novel composites technology has proven to be successful; over 50 per cent of Hexcel’s marine fabrics are now supplied with DPA reinforcements,” said Garth Thomas, Hexcel sales engineer for the marine sector.

Hexcel Corporation is a leading advanced composites company. It develops, manufactures and markets lightweight, high-performance structural materials including carbon fibres, specialty reinforcements, prepregs and other fibre-reinforced matrix materials, honeycomb, adhesives, engineered core and composite structures for use in commercial aerospace, space and defense and industrial applications. (PC)