Efficient Conveyance with Composites
Mar-Bal, a leader in thermoset composites, engineers and produces transportation composite materials for original equipment manufacturers in the transportation industry. These materials increase efficiencies, reduce fuel costs, and provide design flexibility and durability to the end products.
The transportation industry is a broad category that includes the many ways people and goods are transported. By land, sea, or air, and from automotive, to maritime, to rail and trucking, transportation composite materials allow people and things to move faster and with less maintenance over time.
Transportation Applications
Mar-Bal customizes thermoset composite solutions across sectors of the transportation industry to deliver the exact material needed for specific applications. Thermoset composites are used in applications suited to the specific travel method. Some of the more common applications for major transportation categories are listed below.
Aerospace
- Wing assemblies
- Helicopter rotor blades
- Propellers
- Rudders
- Seats
- Tail fins
- Instrument enclosures
Automotive
- Air deflectors and spoilers
- Bumpers and bumper beams
- Cylinder head (e.g. valve, rocker, cam) covers
- Frames for windows/sunroofs
- Headlamp housings for forward-facing headlamps
- Heat shields (e.g. engine, transmission)
Marine
- Bearings
- Hatch covers
- Exhausts
- Topside structures
- Radomes
Rail and Light Rail
- Braking systems
- Bumpers
- Canopies and insulators
- Contactors
- Cross ties
- Doors
- Interior components
- Third-rail housings
Trucking
- Air deflectors and spoilers
- Bumpers and bumper beams
- Cylinder head (e.g. valve, rocker, cam) covers
- Headlamp housings for forward-facing headlamps
- Heat shields (engine, transmission)
- Interior components and accessories
- Scuff bands
- Sidewall and floor liners
Common Properties Propel Composites Use
The transportation industry faces regulatory and cost challenges. As more regulations govern fuel efficiency and environmental factors, the sectors within this industry are finding new ways to reduce costs and meet stringent environmental requirements. One of the most popular is the replacement of heavier materials with composites.
Composite transportation materials have the ability to deliver performance and meet the demands of efficiency. Transportation components utilizing thermoset composites offer:
- Lighter weight to decrease fuel efficiency
- Tensile strength for lighter-weight durability
- Dimensional and enhanced stability for lasting performance
- Corrosion resistance for deterioration-free operation
- Combination of multiple parts into one part for less maintenance
- Sound baffling for a less noisy operating environment
- Design flexibility for use in complex shapes
Composites Meet the Need for Innovation
Mar-Bal continually engineers innovative composite solutions to customize and produce the optimum thermoset components for transportation components. The margins in many transportation segments are small and pressure to operate efficiently is driven by cost concerns, environmental regulations, and the desire to continue to operate with aging conveyances.
The advancements in material science and technology enable composites to continue to meet the demands of the transportation industry. Chemical and engineering solutions are expected to continue to deliver lighter, longer-lasting thermoset composites for use within this industry.
Composite experts are also working to ensure compliance with current and predicted legislation which will continue to govern many transportation segments within the industry. Materials science and composite technology are advancing rapidly, and new formulations address the ever-growing concern for high performance. Lightness, ease of production, durability, and strength enable composites to play an ongoing and vital role in transportation applications.
Mar-Bal’s commitment to the advancement of thermoset components will meet the changing demands of the transportation industry now and in the future. When you work with Mar-Bal, you get innovative composites engineered for your application.
