SBIR Phase II: Advanced Manufacturing of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene and Metal Hybrid Structures for Bicycle Spokes

SBIR 第二阶段：自行车辐条超高分子量聚乙烯和金属混合结构的先进制造

• 批准号: 1951193
• 负责人: Charles Spanjers
• 金额: $ 75万
• 依托单位: BERD LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-05-01 至 2024-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1951193&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Advanced; Manufacturing

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the replacement of steel with synthetic materials that are stronger and lighter. The beachhead market for this technology is the performance bicycle spoke market, which is a $180M global market. The potential benefits of this technology go beyond cycling because the polymer-to-metal interface has other potential applications. Cable assemblies are used in a wide variety of applications and industries such as industrial, aerospace, construction, and consumer goods. Advances in the termination of synthetic cable assemblies will enable the creation of higher strength-to-weight ratio cables and thereby increase efficiencies in transportation applications and improve the safety of tension based systems. An application of particular societal benefit is wheelchair wheels, where weight reduction increases portability for those with physical disabilities. Investment in termination technologies for high performance polymers will also help bridge the gap between polymer research and industry, helping society benefit from developments in polymer science occurring in academia. Finally, the ability to produce low-cost rope terminations will increase US manufacturing competitiveness because the majority of high-volume production is outsourced to low-cost labor markets.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop an advanced manufacturing process for ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and metal hybrid structures for bicycle spokes. UHMWPE has a strength-to-weight ratio of fifteen times that of steel, but it cannot be utilized in many applications because of the difficulty in manufacturing high-strength bonds to metal. The primary objectives of this research are to automate the insertion and bonding of stainless steel rods inside the hollow cavity of braided fibers, and to automate the creation of eye splices. These operations require delicate manipulation of fibers in a confined space, and are typically performed manually. Instead, we will develop novel automatic machinery that will create these bonds, inspect the final product, and validate the strength with 100% in-process inspection. Another objective of this research is to develop a black surface coating process for braided UHMWPE fibers. To achieve this, we will identify a surface pretreatment procedure to add functionality to the non-polar backbone of UHMWPE, develop the coating chemistry, and create an in-line coating system that integrates with our manufacturing process.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）II期项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是用钢替代钢的合成材料更强，更轻。这项技术的Beachhead市场是性能自行车辐条市场，该市场是1.8亿美元的全球市场。这项技术的潜在优势远远超出了骑自行车，因为聚合物到金属界面具有其他潜在的应用。电缆组件用于多种应用和工业，例如工业，航空航天，建筑和消费品。终止合成电缆组件的进步将使创建更高的强度重量比电缆，从而提高运输应用的效率并提高基于张力的系统的安全性。轮椅轮毂的应用是特定社会利益的应用，其中减轻体重会增加身体残障人士的可移植性。对高性能聚合物的终止技术的投资还将有助于弥合聚合物研究与工业之间的差距，从而帮助社会受益于学术界发生的聚合物科学发展。最后，生产低成本绳索终止的能力将提高美国的制造竞争力，因为大多数高容量生产都将外包到低成本的劳动力市场。这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）II期项目将为超高分子重量聚乙烯（UHMWPE）和金属杂交结构的超高分子重量聚集的高级制造工艺开发。 UHMWPE的强度重量比钢的强度与重量的比率为15倍，但是由于难以生产高强度键与金属，因此无法在许多应用中使用。这项研究的主要目标是自动化不锈钢杆在编织纤维的空心腔内的插入和键合，并自动化眼接头的创建。这些操作需要在狭窄的空间中微妙地操纵纤维，并且通常是手动执行的。取而代之的是，我们将开发新型的自动机械，这些机械将创建这些债券，检查最终产品，并通过100％的过程检查来验证强度。这项研究的另一个目的是为编织的UHMWPE纤维开发黑色表面涂层过程。为了实现这一目标，我们将确定一种表面预处理程序，以在UHMWPE的非极性骨架上添加功能，开发涂料化学，并创建一个与我们的制造过程集成的在线涂料系统。该奖项反映了NSF的法规任务，并认为通过基金会的知识优点和广泛的critia criter scritia criter criter criter criter criter criter criter critia criter criter criter criter criter criter criter criter criter criter criter critia criter critia criteria criter criter critia criteria criter criter criti critia ays奖项。