The same applies for companies that manufacture composite products. Whether you’re producing parts and components for aerospace, automotive, energy, sporting goods, or any other industry, the workforce challenges affecting other companies are likely affecting yours.
One of the key functions of composite part production is compression. Often handled manually, labor issues mean you might be in need of a way to automate compression. Fortunately, you don’t need to look for a more effective solution — customized heat shrink tape can be developed for your unique application and automation requirements.
Go custom — and never look back: Learn how Dunstone can support your unique application with a fully customized solution.
Two Examples in Which Dunstone’s Customized Heat Shrink Tape Helped
While Dunstone offers a variety of readily available Hi-Shrink Tape solutions, our niche is developing and providing customized heat shrink tape for unique situations to ensure our clients are able to become more efficient in their production — while also saving on material costs where possible. Below are two recent scenarios where our customizable heat shrink tape helped to streamline processes and automate compression on key parts.
- Solving a High Changeover Problem — A company manufacturing composite parts was experiencing a high rate of shrink tape changeover due to constantly having to switch out rolls. They’d been buying the tape they needed in a certain length, but production times would suffer each time the roll ended and while a new roll was swapped in. Dunstone developed a 4,000-meter roll of Hi-Shrink Tape — significantly longer than the standard length. This simple customizable heat shrink tape solution dramatically reduced changeover times and also helped the company save on material costs due to being able to purchase more tape upfront.
- Automating Compression on Lengthy Parts — A European company was looking to make a complex composite part with carbon fiber that required a ¼” wide 220R. Because these wrappings would be on a large part with several complexities, a narrow tape width and traverse pack solution would be needed along with automation equipment to provide the best compaction solution. Dunstone was able to provide Hi-Shrink Tape for use with automated tape winding equipment to streamline the application of the tape and maintain consistent over-wrapping and wrap tension. This helped the company create a reliable, high-performing carbon fiber part without the need for multiple changeovers and wasted time.
Go deeper: The production challenges of today have led many companies to reconsider the tools they’re using for part production. Learn why it’s always a good time to revisit your shrink tape and tubing solutions.
Let’s Create a Customized Heat Shrink Tape Solution for Your Application
With decades of experience in shrink tape and tubing applications, Dunstone has developed a full portfolio of solutions designed to maximize compaction results during the curing cycle. While many of our Hi-Shrink Tapes come in standard roll lengths of 100 yards, we are fully capable of producing rollings of significantly greater length — even longer than the 4,000-meter roll mentioned above.
If your application requires a long length of continuous tape (applying tape laterally along the length of a composite part), we can supply our tapes on wider rolls in which the tape is over-wrapped along the length of the core. Simply feed the tape into an appropriate winding mechanism and enjoy a consistent application along the length of your composite part.
For instances where hand-taping is preferred or more beneficial, we can provide flat-packs (think a standard roll of tape where the material is fully wrapped around itself) for use by production teams. Whereas winding mechanisms will produce a consistent application, hand-taping can be more inconsistent. Ensure your team understands how to apply the tape with the recommendations outlined here.
The best first step is connecting with our team to discuss your application and goals. If we have a solution ready to go from our product inventory, we’ll be happy to send a complimentary sample to you for testing in your environment. But, if a customized heat shrink tape solution is needed, we’ll gather all of your requirements and develop a material that will give you the results you need. Get in touch with us here to get started!