Lightweight Aluminum Composite Lifting Technologies

MetPreg is an aluminum metal matrix composite that will prove to be an excellent fit to provide for ultra-lightweight, field ready hydraulic lifts and portable jacks. MetPreg is comprised of continuous alumina fibers within a pure aluminum matrix. By reinforcing the aluminum matrix with the fibers, a material with the strength of steel but the weight of aluminum is achieved. The feedstock to manufacture equipment is produced in the form of a tape. Touchstone produces the fiber reinforced aluminum (FRA) composite tape by using a low-cost, scalable pultrusion method that is analogous to polymer composite processing. The final pultruded form is achieved through the use of a die that can be tailored to the desired cross-section of the finished part.á Once the fibers pass through the die, the FRA tape is cooled and spooled up. It should be noted that since this is a metal matrix composite, there are no special storage conditions necessary for the material and there is no shelf-life associated with the material, unlike polymer matrix composites.ááTouchstone can then use the MetPreg tape as a feedstock in the filament winding process, allowing for cylindrical fiber reinforced metal matrix composite parts to be made. With this method, the MetPreg tape can be placed in patterns consisting of a helical pattern, a hoop pattern, or a pattern using both helical and hoop. This can allow for parts of various cylindrical and bottle geometries to be fabricated. As with the pultrusion process, no post-processing is needed for the filament wound FRA part to be used, which allows for it to be immediately machined to final design. The current work envelope for this process is set up to be able to produce parts with inner diameters of 1 inch to 21 inches with a maximum length of 60 inches, however, the process was designed to be scalable to whatever end user size is needed. This process also allows for the FRA tape to be wrapped around other materials to improve strength and other properties. The resultant FRA products are able to be machined to final shape and can include threads, bolt holes, and other attachment points. The high strength and lightweight properties of the tape are maintained in the cylindrical form, and high welding and machining capabilities of MetPreg allow for the manufacture of complex structures.