Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP)
We use Glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) for a wide variety of clients and products.
With our high precision CNC machine we can manufacture moulds to a high degree of accuracy. As a very flexible material it can be used for a huge number of applications with few restrictions on style and finish.
Glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), is a composite material or fibre-reinforced plastic made of a plastic reinforced by fine fibres made of glass. Like graphite-reinforced plastic, the composite material is commonly referred to by the name of its reinforcing fibres (fibreglass). The plastic is thermosetting, most often polyester or vinylester, but other plastics, like epoxy (GRE), are also used. The glass is mostly in the form of chopped strand mat (CSM), but woven fabrics are also used.
As with many other composite materials (such as reinforced concrete), the two materials act together, each overcoming the deficits of the other. Whereas the plastic resins are strong in compressive loading and relatively weak in tensile strength, the glass fibres are very strong in tension but have no strength against compression. By combining the two materials together, GRP becomes a material that resists well both compressive and tensile forces. The two materials may be used uniformly or the glass may be specifically placed in those portions of the structure that will experience tensile loads.
Fibre Glass manufacturing methods
GRP Traditional
Traditional method of hand-lay.
Resin is hand consolidated into the fiberglass reinforcement. With this process soft tooling is low-cost. Used in a wide range of applications from intricate parts to big industrial covers
GRP Spray
With this method the resin is sprayed from a gun with a top-mounted chopper, which throws the glass into the path of the resin and then onto the mould tool. Also consolidated by hand this is a much faster method of application, which is normally used on larger, less intricate components, such as air management systems for the automotive industry.
