Bulker mats consist of a lofty layer of synthetic fiber embedded with microspheres. Used as a saturated core material, bulker mats can build laminate thickness quickly with reduced resin and glass usage, thereby saving weight and labor. Moreover, VOC emissions are also reduced. The print blocking capabilities of bulker mats assist manufacturers in obtaining high quality surface finishes.
Alcan Baltek has a range of bulker mats from two sources.
- Lantor Soric®, a product specially designed for the use in closed molding (resin infusion) processes. Soric® is both a resin transfer medium and a core material.
- Lantor Coremat®, a random oriented, non-continuous polyester non-woven fabric and microspheres for greater conformability.
Lantor Soric® |
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- Soric® is an exclusive material specially developed for closed molding processes. It can be used as both an interlaminar infusion media and a core material.
- Soric® is the outcome of a 10-year development process, manufactured in a special process that creates a honeycomb pattern on the carrier sheet. This pattern allows rapid infusion of resin with an even flow front.
- The material is pressure stable with less than 10% thickness loss at full vacuum or 1 atm positive pressure.
- Soric® will absorb significantly less resin than other infusion media materials and can result in an overall weight saving of up to 35% compared to all glass laminates.
- It is also conformable to complex shapes. It can be used in areas where the kerfs of solid cut and scrimmed core materials would open up and fill with large amounts of resin when infused.
- Soric® is compatible with all types of resins and can be used in conjunction with other solid core materials. It is compatible with all kinds of manufacturing processes including, Vacuum infusion, RTM, press molding, pre-pregs, filament winding and pultrusion.
- Two styles of Soric® are available:
- Soric® SF has smaller honeycomb cells for greater conformability and higher quality surface finish.
- Soric® XF with larger cells and channels for increased resin flow.
- Soric® is not meant for use as a print-blocker in hand lay-up applications.
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Lantor Coremat® |
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- Coremat® is a microsphere filled, random laid, chopped fiber polyester fabric with excellent conformability, which is used as a laminate bulking and print-control mat.
- Laminate thickness can be quickly increased with reduced resin usage (an average of 20%) resulting in overall weight savings of 18 to 30% compared with an all-glass lay up.
- Gel coat appearance is enhanced through the print blocking abilities of Coremat®, which also provides high impact damage tolerance with twice the insulation value of all-glass laminates.
- Labor saving with faster laminate thickness building and reduced VOC emissions are also realized with Coremat®. Coremat® can be used where other core materials must be deleted to segregate from fasteners, cut-outs and through-hole fittings. It will provide a high degree of screw holding capability.
- Three styles of Coremat® are available:
- Coremat® XX/XW are two different widths of the original Coremat® product with a styrene-soluble binder and a microsphere loading of 45 to 50% by volume.
- Combi-Coremat® is Coremat° XX material with dry layer of 1.5 oz/ft2 CSM attached to one side, eliminating the need for the separate application of CSM before laying up the Coremat®.
- Coremat® XM has a hexagonal structure with a higher microsphere loading of up to 55%. It shows improved conformability with lower resin usage. Its unique configuration shows virtually no thickness variance across a roll, producing closer laminate tolerances. It is also available 0mm thick.
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