Ashland introduces XO tooling concept at the Composites Europe show in Düsseldorf, Germany

Ashland introduces XO tooling concept at the Composites Europe show in Düsseldorf, Germany

What do recreational boats, windmill blades and swimming pools have in common? More than you might think, as visitors to the Ashland Performance Materials booth at next month's Composites Europe show in Düsseldorf, Germany will find out. All three of these products are made out of fiberglass reinforced plastics (FRP) - a composite material consisting of fiber glass and resins. FRP composites are lightweight, waterproof, weather-resistant and extremely durable, making them ideal for these applications.

In addition, they all need to be built using an FRP mold. Making the mold, or the tool as it is also called, can be tricky. It must be perfect in order to cast a boat hull or a windmill blade that is completely free of imperfections. Even tiny defects in the tool can compromise the structural strength of the molded FRP component. Applying the right combination of high quality resins and gelcoats to the fiberglass is especially crucial during the tooling process.

At the Composites Europe show, taking place in Düsseldorf, Germany, October 9 - 11, Ashland Performance Materials, a commercial unit of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), will present its proprietary XO tooling concept, comprising three premium Ashland gelcoat and resin products ideally formulated to make high-quality tooling easy and efficient. To build a mold, you first need a perfectly polished version of the shape that you want to cast, such as a boat hull. This shape is made out of a material that is weaker than the final boat hull needs to be, but strong enough to serve as a stencil for the mold. In order to make the tool for a boat hull, between 0.5-1 millimeter of gelcoat is applied as the first layer, which provides strength and a glossy finish. Ashland's Maxguard™ GT is a premium, high-strength tooling gelcoat based on epoxy vinyl ester, guaranteeing a hard and glossy tool finish. Its supreme mechanical and chemical resistance ensures a perfectly smooth finish of the mold - essential for the casting of flawless products. In addition, it increases the useful life of the tool, making it possible to cast many perfect products in the same mold.

The second step in tooling is to apply an extremely strong 1-2 millimeter skin coat resin to bond with the gelcoat to form a laminate. This resin's function is to strengthen the gelcoat and to ensure it does not crack. Ashland's AME™ 6000 T-35 skin coat is a special epoxy vinyl ester based resin with exceptionally low shrinkage. The skin coat resin with its low viscosity and high mechanical strength gives an initial layer free of cavities and provides the ideal support base for the tooling gelcoat.

The final step in the mold-making process is the tooling resin, which gives the tool its final structure. Most tooling resins are polyester resins that generally have a tendency to shrink more than the gelcoat and skin coat laminate to which they bond. As the mold needs to be perfect time and again, the smallest deformations can ruin it, making it critical that resin shrinkage be eliminated or minimized in order to keep the tool surface smooth. Ashland's tooling concept has the answer to this problem as well. AROPOL™ XO is a unique tooling resin based on Ashland's proven low-profile technology, which gives the final tool a superior surface profile with close to perfect dimensional stability. The low-viscosity and good-curing characteristics of AROPOL XO tooling resin make it easy to apply and easy to achieve good final laminate properties.

"Our three step XO tooling concept, consisting of Ashland's Maxguard GT tooling gelcoat, AME 6000 T-35 skin coat and Aropol XO tooling resin is unique in its class," explained Magnus Johansson, senior brand manager, Ashland Performance Materials, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). "The three products are tuned to work together in order to achieve a great tooling finish. Our proven technology eliminates tooling resin shrinkage and solves a major challenge that our customers face in the tooling area."

All three products of the Ashland XO tooling concept are available in both spray and brush applications.

For more information about the Ashland XO tooling concept and other Ashland gelcoat and resin products, visit us at the Composites Europe Show in Düsseldorf, hall 8a, booth B39.

Ashland Performance Materials is the global leader in unsaturated polyester resins and vinyl ester resins. In addition, it provides customers with leading technologies in gelcoats, pressure-sensitive and structural adhesives, coatings and elastomers.

In more than 100 countries, the people of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) provide the specialty chemicals, technologies and insights to help customers create new and improved products for today and sustainable solutions for tomorrow. Our chemistry is at work every day in a wide variety of markets and applications, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, tissue and towel, and water treatment. Visit www.ashland.com to see the innovations we offer through our four commercial units - Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Ashland Water Technologies, Ashland Performance Materials and Ashland Consumer Markets.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Jennifer Knoblach
+31 10 497-5529
jknoblach@ashland.com