ENABLING HYDRAULICS FOR ROBOTICS AND PROSTHETICS WITH LIGHTWEIGHT COMPOSITE DIAPHRAGM ACCUMULATORS
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Contact Steelhead Composites
Marisa Veni Sundy, Director of Business Development
Phone: +1-720-524-3360 / Email: msundy@steelheadcomposites.com
STEELHEAD WINDS FIRST RECYCLED COPV. COLLABORATION WITH VARTEGA AND MICHELMAN
Golden, CO –Steelhead Composites in partnership with Vartega Inc., is excited to debut the first composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV) manufactured from continuous recycled carbon fiber tow at the 2017 SAMPE from May 22-25 in Seattle, Washington. Representatives from Steelhead will be available for questions as well as . Andrew Maxey, President of Vartega Inc., to discuss the technology on a panel.
Steelhead Composites fabricated a type 3 COPV using only recycled continuous carbon fiber tow supplied by Vartega Inc. The fiber was recycled with Vartega Inc’s proprietary process, and was sized by Michelman. This collaboration marks the first time that waste continuous tow carbon fiber towpreg has been reclaimed, recycled, and put back into the original manufacturing process. Recycled carbon fiber has been relegated to secondary products as chopped fiber or filler to date, but this important milestone sets a new precedent for the future of continuous carbon fiber tows.
TEAM WORK
“This project was an excellent demonstration of both the utility of recycled carbon fiber in end-use products and the value of industry cooperation when bridging technical hurdles. Michelman and Steelhead’s expertise were invaluable, and we are excited about expanding these relationships as scale-up and optimization continue.” – Sean Kline, Vartega Inc Vice President of Engineering
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
“The project team took this vessel from concept to reality in just a few short months. I am extremely proud of everyone involved for their hard work and diligence to bring this all together. We will now take this success and go bigger. We’re planning a scale-up of our recycling process that should allow us to wind a much larger vessel in the not-too-distant future.” – Andrew Maxey, Vartega Inc President
PROCESSING
“The recycled fiber From Vartega processed very well with the sizing from Michelman. It was handled just like any other dry fiber would be in a traditional wet winding set up, and there were no issues with fraying or splitting. This recycled fiber could have been virgin tow from the manufacturer.” Jake Schrader, Steelhead Product Development Specialist
About SAMPE
SAMPE Seattle is the only technical conference and exhibition exclusively dedicated to advanced materials and processes. Over 250 exhibiting companies showcase their products and solutions during this event. Furthermore, the technical conference features the latest technologies and research advancements in the industry.
Professionals from throughout the advanced materials and processes industry attend SAMPE Seattle to find new solutions, learn about the technology that will shape future projects, and engage in meaningful face-to-face networking opportunities. Plan to attend SAMPE Seattle and get inspired by new ideas, technologies, and products.
About Steelhead Composites
Steelhead Composites is a world class advanced manufacturing company, based in the heart of Golden, Colorado (USA). Steelhead is dedicated to the design and manufacturing of specialty lightweight hydraulic components and composite pressure vessels to be used for weight-sensitive energy and fuel storage applications. Our specialties include lightweight bladder, diaphragm and piston accumulators, mobile CNG fuel storage and transport, gas bottles, aluminum liners and accessories. We also offer a full array of technical services in vessel design, metal spinforming, filament winding, prototyping and testing of high pressure vessels. For more information, visit www.steelheadcomposites.com To book an appointment, contact Marisa Veni Sundy.
Contact Steelhead Composites
Marisa Veni Sundy, Director of Business Development
Phone: +1-720-524-3360
Email: msundy@steelheadcomposites.com
About Vartega Inc
Vartega Inc is a recycler of advanced materials – specifically strong and lightweight carbon fiber – used in the aerospace, automotive, wind energy, and sporting goods industries. Founded in July 2014, Vartega has developed patent pending recycling technology to address the 15,000 metric tons of carbon fiber waste that is being landfilled and incinerated every year. Vartega’s technology uses a low energy chemistry-based process to free carbon fiber filaments for use in carbon fiber nonwoven fabrics, yarns, thermoplastic pellets, and 3D printing filaments. Materials utilizing Vartega’s low-cost recycled carbon fiber can be used to lightweight automobiles resulting in improved fuel economy and reduced emissions. For more information, visit www.vartega.com.
About Michelman
Michelman is a global developer and manufacturer of environmentally friendly advanced materials for industry, offering solutions for the coatings, printing & packaging and industrial manufacturing markets. The company’s surface additives and polymeric binders are used by leading manufacturers around the world to enhance performance attributes and add value in applications including wood and floor care products, metal and industrial coatings, paints, varnishes, inks, fibers and composites. Michelman is also well-known as an innovator in the development of barrier and functional coatings, as well as digital printing press primers that are used in the production of consumer and industrial packaging and paper products, labels, and commercially printed materials. Michelman serves its customers with production facilities in North America, Europe and Asia, product development and technical service centers in several major global markets, and a worldwide team of highly trained business development personnel. For more information, visit www.michelman.com
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POWERMAX RECEIVES CE CERTIFICATION
The CE Mark is internationally recognized as a standard for safety and quality. In Q1, Steelhead Composites received certification under the European Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) 97/23/EC for the PowerMax series of composite pressure vessels. Keeping in line with Steelhead’s core values of safety and customer satisfaction, the PowerMax series was subject to a rigorous certification program in which the design and performance of the vessels were verified by an approved Notified Body of the European Union. Upon completion of the evaluation period, Steelhead was presented with the proper CE certifications to allow for serial production of the vessels under the PED.
All vessel lengths in the PowerMax series can be ordered specifying compliance to the PED, allowing Steelhead to better meet the needs of international customers and distributors. Steelhead Composites maintains a Quality Management System certified to ISO 9001:2008. For further inquiries, please contact Steelhead Composites.
FILAMENT WINDING
Steelhead Composites is a leader in filament wound pressure vessel manufacture and design and we have the expertise to manufacture pressure vessels to your specifications. We fabricate our carbon fiber pressure vessels with a sophisticated four-axis filament winder. Our filament winding machine can wind three vessels simultaneously, and can place up to 235 feet per second of either tow-preg or wet fiber. We can handle vessels up to 30 inches outside diameter and 10 feet long. Our advanced software allows us to design complex fiber patterns for COPV’s of almost any shape, including asymmetric features and curves.
Steelhead Composites has a proven track record in contract manufacturing. One design contract for a customer was a durable, light-weight pressure vessel that saved significant weight over the all-metal alternative. We designed and fabricated the liner and the composite overwrap. Another manufacturing project Steelhead Composites completed was wet-winding of a customer’s brand new carbon fiber tank design. The customer had a short deadline, and we helped them iterate on a tight schedule to meet their project goals.
We invite you to let us build your COPV’s. Steelhead Composites can design a pressure vessel from scratch fit your design envelope, or we can manufacture a COPV to your exacting specifications. We can assist in material selection, pattern design, and fabrication methods. Steelhead Composites can fabricate one-off vessels or a run of one thousand. We look forward to manufacturing your next pressure vessel!
By: Jake Schrader
CUSTOM METAL SPINFORMING
Steelhead Composites can design and fabricate Aluminum liners using a spin forming method customized to meet your needs. Spinforming is a hot forming process that rotates a metal tube around its central axis (similar to a lathe), softens the material by adding adequate heat, and then forms the material to its final shape by taking a series of passes with a forming roller. One of the primary advantages of spinforming is that domes can be formed onto a tube to create an entirely seamless part. Unlike welded construction, closed ended seamless liners when used in a composite pressure vessels can withstand repeated exposure to high stresses. Another advantage is the low tooling cost relative to other metal forming processes, placing spinforming at the top of the list as a way to prototype and manufacture your next design.
Steelhead Composites’ CNC-controlled spinformer, combined with our in-house machining and inspection capabilities, allow fast turnaround times for prototypes and short production runs. Our custom spinformer, built by MJC Engineering, can spinform liners with outer diameters ranging from 4 in (10 cm) up to 16 in (41 cm), and lengths from 15 in (38 cm) up to 110 in (2.8 m).
The machine has 3 independent, hydraulically-actuated, CNC-controlled axes of motion that provide precise, repeatable dome forming and necking, using either oscillator type motion or x-y spinning.
Our engineering department is ready to assist you at any point in the process by combining our knowledge in pressure vessel design with our advanced manufacturing capabilities. These capabilities include computer aided design (CAD), state-of-the-art finite element analysis (FEA), and custom computer aided manufacturing (CAM) software. Our design process includes 3-D solid modeling of the finished liner, which can then be analyzed to predict stresses on the material during forming, as well as stresses on the material for a given end application. Upon approval of the design, our custom CAM software generates the spinforming roller paths to create first articles. The final shape of the spinformed liner is confirmed with our in-house portable coordinate measuring machine (CMM) before starting prototyping or production.
Contact Steelhead Composites today to discuss your metal spinforming needs!
By: Mike Stewart, Production Engineer
ADVANCED INDUSTRIES GRANT
The first round of grantees of the Advanced Industries Accelerator Grant Program was announced on Friday and Steelhead is proud to be included among the companies chosen. The Advanced Industries Grant was awarded for both Proof-of-Concept and Early Stage Capital and Retention Grants to support key industries. “The growth in advanced industries in Colorado is adding jobs and having statewide impact on our economy,” Hickenlooper said. “Today’s grant announcement demonstrates the state’s continued support of innovation and growth in these sectors.” Steelhead was one of the many clean-tech companies to be awarded this honor and is excited to be a part of the growing clean-tech industry in Colorado. For more information please visit the Office of Economic Development’s Webpage.
ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED COMPANY
GOLDEN, Colorado – Steelhead Composites, a provider of lightweight, high pressure accumulators, CNG tanks, cylinder engineering, design and manufacturing for alternative fuel vehicles or weight restricted industrial applications, is now an ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company.
Andrew Coors, CEO of Steelhead Composites states, “The recent ISO designation is another sign of Steelhead’s commitment to quality, safety, overall manufacturing and design excellence. This designation ensures customers will receive the highest level of quality lightweight, high-pressure hydraulic accumulators and fuel storage cylinders.”
Steelhead Composites, located in Golden, Colorado USA houses state-of-the-art equipment and highly trained engineering and manufacturing staff. Products made in the USA coupled with ISO 9001:2008 certification ensures high standards in quality and reliable products.
ISO 9001:2008 is an international quality standard that uses a process approach for developing, implementing and improving the effectiveness of a quality management program for manufacturing companies. Officials said that ISO standards ensure that products are safe and reliable and exhibit good quality.
Key components of ISO 9001:2008 include customer satisfaction and establishing processes for continuous improvement. The certification also mandates periodic audits by ISO registrars to ensure that the company is in compliance with ISO 9001:2008 requirements.
“Steelhead Composites is proud to receive this certification as it continues to reinforce our corporate culture, which highlights quality and reputation,” said Coors, CEO. “This ISO designation strengthens our commitment to building innovative and quality products that provide value to our customers.”
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