Carver Non-Woven to operate new plant

Carver Non-Woven Technologies LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of custom compression molder and compounder, R3 Composites, Inc. is set to  begin operating its new manufacturing facility in the US on July 1, 2016. By July 15, the plant will be in full commercial production of high-quality, single- and multi-material non-woven products for both R3 and the broader North American composites industry. The new plant is situated on an 18-acre/7.3-hectare site in a building that is 165,000 square feet/15,329 square meters in size, providing plenty of room to expand should demand for the new products grow.
 
Carver is unique in how it approaches many aspects of the design and production of non-wovens.  First, unusual for the non-wovens industry, the company's complete production line is fully automated ― from initial debaling, fiber opening, blending, and carding, all the way through to finished packaging. As a result, Carver is able to produce non-wovens with low-variance weight (density) as well as superior dimensional stability and mechanical properties. This leads to non-wovens that are more consistent and mechanically more efficient (meaning a lower density non-woven can be used in a given composite part without sacrificing tolerances or mass). This, in turn, can have the follow-on benefits of reducing both cost and mass of finished applications in either thermoset or thermoplastic composites. Furthermore, Carver uses up to three different opening processes during initial fiber handling, which leads to better, more open fibers and more consistent fiber length (owing to less fiber damage) as well as a more homogeneous fiber architecture in the finished composite part.

The Carver team also works with a broad range of fiber types, including E-glass fiber, bast natural fiber (e.g. tossa jute and others), carbon fiber, basalt fiber, and thermoplastic fiber including virgin and 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide (PA, also called nylon), polypropylene (PP), polylactic acid (PLA), as well as high-density and low-density polyethylene (HDPE and LDPE).

Carver also is one of the first to offer carbon fiber needled non-wovens in a multitude of blends at considerably lower costs than with conventional wrap-and-resonate processes. During non-wovens production, the fleece mats are typically coated with thermoset binder resins, including an acrylic/latex binder, which itself confers unique properties including specific colorants when the mats are subsequently impregnated with thermoset resins prior to forming. Carver's dual-web configuration enables the company to formulate products using different binder types, including the novel option to combine two different resin formulations in a single-fiber architecture.

The diversity of available fiber types helps Carver offer both single- as well as multi-fiber and layered (hybrid) mats thanks to the company's specially designed production line. That system is capable of simultaneously running up to six different fiber types, all of which can be commingled either in a single layer, or in a structure featuring up to three different fiber types each on top and bottom sides of the non-woven mat. For greater design flexibility, these hybrid fiber combinations may be the same or different areal weight depending on customer requirements.      

As it ramps up production starting in July 2016, Carver Non-Woven Technologies LLC is set to establish itself as a leader in the manufacture of structural, lightweight, and recyclable non-woven technologies for the automotive, recreational vehicle (RV), building/construction, and office-furniture markets.