Insight into ReVerie

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Insight into ReVerie autoclaved
CompositesBySimon FarrenPresented at US
Distributor Sector 111 11th April 2009
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History of Reverie

• Founded May 2000 by Simon Farren ex Lotus cars
  engineer on the management team for engineering
  the 340R into production realty.
• Company founded to offer affordable autoclaved
  composites to clients. We design and manufacture
  a range of quality parts for track days and
  professional race team consumers through
  worldwide dealers emphasising Lotus enhancing
  products.

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What is Carbon Fibre?

• Carbon fibre is a synthetic thread
  (poly-acrylo-nitrile, rayon or pitch) heated in
  an Argon atmosphere where carbonisation occurs.
• Carbonisation temperatures can be altered to
  produce different strengths and modulus of the
  carbon fibre.
• The very fine carbon threads are left as long
  fibres along the roll length (UD fibre) with
  strength in that axis only, or woven together to
  form a fabric cloth resulting multi-directional
  strength.
• Carbon fibre can be left dry or pre-impregnated
  with a thermo set resin to make it pre-preg.
• The cured resin gives the finished part its
  moulded shape, stiffness, rigidity and protection
  of stressed fibres.

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History Of Carbon Fiber

• First developed in 1958 by Dr. Roger Bacon in
  Cleveland, Ohio,fibres were manufactured by
  heating strands of Rayon until they carbonised.
  This process was inefficient. The resulting
  fibres contained approximately 20 carbon, which
  resulted in less strength and stiffness
  properties.
• Early in the 1960s, a process developed using
  poly-acrylo-nitrile, as a raw material. This
  produced a carbon fibre, which contained 55
  carbon, compared to 93-95 today.
• Early in 1969, Carr Reinforcements in
• England first wove a carbon fibre fabric.

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Why Composites?

• Carbon fibre is typically 3 X stronger than steel
  yet 4 X lighter.
• Its 7 X stronger than 6061 alloy and 2 X
  stronger than tensile modulus, with similar
  weight.
• Tensile modulus (stiffness) ranges from 230 Gpa
  to 441 Gpa and tensile strengths range from 3.5
  Gpa to 5.9 Gpa.
• The ultimate strength and the breaking strength
  are the same for carbon fibre. Steel yields
  prior to reaching its ultimate strength.
• There is no yield to carbon fibre, so parts can
  be repaired with lamination to the same shape
  easily.
• Kevlar has a yield strength 7 X higher than steel
  and about 4 X lighter than steel. Bullet proof
  vests are manufactured with it.

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Uses Of Composites

• Carbon fibres weight, stiffness and strength
  benefits make it more widely used in boat
• building, aerospace, motorsport and sporting
• equipment.
• Other fibers like Kevlar, Dyneema and fiber
  glass can be used solely or incorporated into
  laminates.
• Resin systems are selected to give the required
  toughness, temperature range protect the
  stressed fibres from damage.
• Modulus strengths of fibres, thickness and
  direction of fibres can be varied to give the
  properties required for the part.

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Autoclave Processing Pre-Pregs

• We extensively use thermo set epoxy pre-preg
  fibres at ReVerie. We process using one of two
  pressurised temperature computer controlled
  autoclaves, which are used by Formula One teams.
• The use of elevated pressure in the autoclave
  facilitates a high fibre volume fraction and low
  void content for maximum structural efficiency.

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Autoclave Processing Pre-Pregs

• The UD pre-preg fibre or woven cloth is hand cut
  or done by machine into the shapes and the
  orientation required for each ply of the
  component, which form the kit of parts.

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Autoclave Processing Pre-Pregs

• Each section of a ply is hand placed into the
  female mould or over the male mould in the
  orientations required by the drawing.

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Autoclave Processing Pre-Pregs

• Some components (due to under cuts or necessity
  to get a complex vacuum bag inside) require the
  moulds to be multi-pieced and overlapping joints
  in the pre-preg are often required.

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Autoclave Processing Pre-Pregs

• A mould tool, either male or female, is required
  to obtain a good surface finish on one side.
  Both a male and female compression tool is needed
  for a dual moulded surface.
• The tool has a release agent applied
• to its surface to avoid sticking.

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Autoclave Processing Pre-Pregs

• Once lay-up is complete, a layer of thin release
  film (approx 15 microns) is applied over the
  surface of the pre-preg, where the vacuum bag may
  make contact. This allows the breather layer or
  bag to release from the cured composite surfaces.

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Autoclave Processing Pre-Pregs

• A polyester breather fabric layer is then
  applied to the outside of the mould and where
  possible across the component surface. The
  purpose of this fabric is to allow a full vacuum
  path over the complete mould and component area.

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Autoclave Processing Pre-Pregs

• Vacuum bags are applied. They can be a single
  sheet sealed with tacky tape against the moulds
  outer perimeter on a simple male or female tool
  or a tubular envelope bag sealed at both ends to
  vacuum the complete perimeter of the mould tool.
  Any internal tubular bags or moulded latex
  bladders can be left out of one or both ends of
  the tubular bag. A vacuum breach fitting goes
  through the bag surface to allow air to be
  removed.

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Autoclave Processing Pre-Pregs

• The air is slowly sucked out by a very powerful
  vacuum pump down to 5 Torr. The pre-preg resin
  matrix layers are forced together onto the mould
  surface at nearly one atmosphere (14.7 psi
  approx). As the air is removed the vacuum bag is
  carefully manipulated to ensure it does not
  stretch too tightly over features.

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Autoclave Processing Pre-Pregs

• The component is under full vacuum, any internal
  tubes or bladders open to atmosphere will be
  exerting 14.7 psi pressure internally. The mould
  is now ready for its thermo set process either in
  an oven to cure at 14.7 psi or in an autoclave to
  cure at up to 100 psi. The greater the pressure
  the lower the void content and the higher the
  strength and greater surface finish.

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Autoclave Processing Pre-Pregs

• Once in the autoclave the vacuum bag is
  connected to a vacuum line, a steel wire
  reinforced line which will not collapse under
  pressure. Once the autoclave reaches 14.7 psi the
  vacuum circuit externally can be vented to
  atmosphere or left connected to remove volatiles.
  Most of our component pre-pregs cycle at
  temperature for 90 minutes at 120c.
• The pressure used depends on the quality of the
  mould and if the component is monolithic or
  features a core material such as foam or
  honeycomb.

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Autoclave Processing Pre-Pregs

• Once the cure has finished the mould and
  component are left to cool and then are removed.
  The bagging film is removed and the mould
  unbolted, if multi sectioned. The component is
  carefully released with plastic wedges. The
  component is now ready to be trimmed to size,
  secondary bonded and polished or sanded for
  paint.

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Product Design _at_ Reverie

• Identifying a market niche for a new product,
  either from customers, dealer feedback, demand
  or via our own research.
• Each product design is optimised for shape
  within constraints of packaging and aerodynamic
  performance and material selection by experience
  or where required mathematical analysis using
  either hand calculations or computerised FEA.
• Passionate about improvements

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Product Design _at_ Reverie

• Products are designed on CAD where packaging
  requirements and draft angles can be checked and
  amended before machining.
• Sometimes products are prototyped up and tested
  at low cost to prove design performance or shape
  (results factored into future design
  enhancements).

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Design to Production _at_ ReVerie

• Male patterns from foam or clay are either
  handmade or CNC machined from CAD data out of
  aluminium block or solid epoxy tooling slabs,
  which are bonded together to form the cubic
  block.

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Design to Production _at_ Reverie

• Once a male pattern is available, any split
  lines required for undercuts can be defined by
  removable weir walls at 90 to the surface
  featuring dowel location holes to ensure
  alignment. A mould tool can then be hand laid
  from the pattern with weirs in carbon fiber and
  autoclave cured . For low volume projects
  sometimes a high temperature GRP hand laminated
  tool is produced.
• Tools can also be machined direct from alloy.
• A layup drawing is then produced for the
  laminating shop.

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Recent Product Developments
Supercharged Rst-V6 550hp Evo Rear Wing,
Diffuser, Floor, Splitter
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Reverie In High End Motorsport
WRC WSB FIA GT AMLS
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Why Choose a Reverie Part

• Established reputation for high quality
• Excellent design and product testing
• Autoclaved manufacturing ensuring
• high fibre to resin ratio and very low
  voids
• Manufacturing controlled on-site
• Use the highest quality Cytec pre-preg materials
• Excellent customer service, technical data and
  help
• Chosen by some of the best engine builders and
  race teams
• Passionate about continuous and constant
  improvements and enhancements