Experiment § Solvent filling soil for composite materials
When the composite material prepreg is heated and cured, it is inevitable that resin will be lost and defects will occur on the surface (figure 1 on the left). When this phenomenon occurs, one of the methods used to repair the surface and fill in the defects is to fill the soil (the second picture on the left). There are many types of soil replenishment, including one-component thermal baking type, two-component room temperature curing type, solvent type, etc., and their processing conditions, properties, and formulas are all different. Take the solvent filling soil replenishment as an example. Its three major components include liquid solvent, solid resin, and powder inorganic filler. The solvent makes the filling soil present a paste-like and smearable operability. The resin forms the base material for soil filling, and provides drying and adhesion characteristics, and at the same time fixes the inorganic filler. The powdery inorganic filler in the filling soil determines the processing properties of the filling soil and grinding. The advantage of solvent filling soil is that after coating, the solvent will evaporate in a short period of time to dry the filling soil, quickly fill up the defects, and enter the polishing step (the third picture on the left). Fill the soil and polish it until it is leveled, and then spray the primer and topcoat to complete the painting process (figure 4 on the left). Disadvantages of solvent filling soil: Because it has not been baked at high temperature, there is a lack of chemical bonding between the fill soil and the composite material, so the fill soil may fall off under strong impact. Because of this concern, solvent filling soil is mostly used to fill small areas and small pinholes. For large areas, it is better to choose one-component or two-component filling soil made of epoxy resin. The material of replenishing soil may sound traditional, but the performance requirements are changing with each passing day, and it takes a lot of knowledge to do it well. The next time you see a glamorous composite product, don't forget the filling soil that fills in the defect pinholes!
——Author： Ms. Hui-Fang, Lai
Activity § Our Environmental Laboratory
Chemical factories need many different types of instruments and equipment, such as viscometers, hardness meters, hydrometers, tensile machines, etc. This equipment provide the most basic data and are used for macro judgments. But to know the detailed data such as reaction rate, heat resistance temperature, expansion coefficient, dielectric constant, etc., you need thermal analysis equipment, such as DSC, TGA, TMA, DEA, etc. The instruments mentioned above can analyze the physical properties of materials, but the chemical properties of materials such as functional group analysis, molecular weight, identification of various components, these details must rely on spectral analysis and chromatographic analysis. These instruments are for example FTIR, GPC, GC-Mass, etc. In theory, products developed by sophisticated analysis have considerable reliability. But when customers actually use it, how durable is it after years of sun and rain? How stable is it after a severe temperature difference? These situations need to be evaluated based on the results of environmental acceleration experiments. Everwide Chemical has an environmental laboratory, currently, there are three thermal shock machines, four constant temperature and humidity machines, one ultraviolet aging test machine, and one salt spray test machine. These devices can quickly provide the results of environmental testing, allowing customers to obtain the greatest degree of certainty in the product development stage, and strive for the highest quality.
Knowledge § What is the current maximum temperature that epoxy resin can withstand?
For the epoxy resin amine curing agent system, using TGDDM resin and DDS curing agent, the temperature that can tolerate is about 220~230℃. The epoxy resin acid anhydride curing agent system uses DGEBA resin and BTDA curing agent, and the tolerable temperature is about 230~250℃. The above two systems are common choices for epoxy resins in the aerospace field. Due to the high processing temperature, the post-curing reaction needs to be carried out at 220℃/5hrs, so it is relatively rare in general epoxy resin applications.
Living § Devilish training camp
I remember three years ago when I received the Everwide Chemical Interview Notice, a "training schedule" was attached to the letter. After reading the plan, I think this should be like a one-year "devil training camp." This year, I have been learning slowly, from preparing materials, filling, packaging, labeling, and delivering products to the shipping area. Sometimes I also go to the scene to support. Although the same work only increases the amount, the knowledge involved is different. In addition, I still have some time to study in the library and the company prepares epoxy-related books for us. In the evening, there are senior sisters who help us counsel knowledge points to help us become more familiar with the epoxy resin field. Are these only? No, we are often sent to the Everwide Garden to clean up the environment, such as trimming flowers and trees, picking up garbage, pulling up weeds, etc., all of which are very common. During the training year, people often asked me: Do you think such a training course is reasonable? My thought at the time was: Since I choose a training plan, I have to accept it, so I didn't think about whether it was reasonable. Looking back now, "that year" was actually very worthwhile. This kind of course arrangement helped me and my colleagues in various departments to get to know each other more quickly. We learned from each other and accelerated our familiarity with the work content, and the feelings between colleagues became quite harmonious. Because we have to go to various departments to support the work of our colleagues, the adaptation period for the company environment is relatively shortened. In addition, there are arrangements for various education and training courses, which are really helpful for me in the future to enter the laboratory for research and development work. As for the activities of organizing the Everwide’s flower garden, it is really a good way to relax and settle my thoughts. Regarding the question of "Are the training courses reasonable?" It really depends on which angle we think about!
─Author: Ms. Zhen-Ru, Liao, the first phase of R&D training
News § 2012 Taipei International Electronics Industry Technology Exhibition, don’t forget it starting on Tuesday!
The 2012 Taipei International Electronics Industry Technology Exhibition will be grandly exhibited in the Nangang Exhibition Hall of the World Trade Center tomorrow. The figure on the left is a live scene of Everwide’s colleagues loading the exhibits onto the truck on October 5. When you receive the e-newsletter today, we are setting up the exhibition venue! We are ready, let's meet in the Nangang Pavilion of the World Trade Center! Exhibition time: 2012.10.09~11 (Tuesday to Thursday), 9:00~17:00; 2012.10.12 (Friday), 9:00~16:00. Everwide Chemical's booth number: I1016
