CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/620463
JANUARY 2016 28 CompositesWorld INSIDE MANUFACTURING Clear Carbon, we could tell there was tremendous rigidity in the freestanding structure." Sponberg is very pleased with the fnal outcome, noting "the whole project went so smoothly and according to plan, and the shiny carbon surfaces you see as you walk up and down the stairs are exactly what the customer wanted and what we knew Clear Carbon could produce." In fact, the surfaces are so pristine, they create the illusion of a secondary piece made and applied to the stairs. In the image of the stairs ftted with step veneers (Fig. 2), the visible carbon fber exemplifes the fawless mirror fnish achieved over the entire expanse of the spar's visible surface. "Tis was a very complicated but successful project for us," says Dunham. "It stretched us technically, but in the end we achieved our goal: a structural work of art." CW senior editor Ginger Gardiner has an engineering/materials background and has accrued more than 20 years in the composites industry. ginger@compositesworld.com landing were bonded to the wedges, again using the PRO-SET 176 adhesive. Te narrower fxturing tower was removed and the staircase was reinserted into the rotisserie fxture, which now served as a shipping fxture to transport the fnished structure by road to East Coast Interiors (North Dartmouth, MA, US), a producer of high-quality yacht and jet aircraft inte- riors, where white oak veneers were applied to the stair treads and risers (see the result in Fig. 2, p. 27). Te stairway was scheduled to receive its glass sides and white oak rails during installation at the customer's residence in January. Why use CFRP stairs if they were going to be covered with wood? "We knew early on in the engineering process that the design was stifness-critical," says naval architect and composites structure liaison Sponberg. "We imagined the worst-case scenario of a person (≈84 kg) on every stair during a party and wanted less than 3.2 mm of defection in each stair. Even with the staircase simply bolted to the shop foor and to the steel pipe scafolding at Read this article online | short.gardnerweb.com/Staircase WHERE ART MEETS TECHNOLOGY 1.800.776.3329 www.chromaflo.com Chromaflo's technical experts know that each component of a formula can impact final color and appearance. Our custom approach involves careful analysis of your system requirements to create pigment dispersions that produce desired appearance and consistent performance. The final result is our customer's success. THE DISTINCTION IS A CUSTOM APPROACH TO COLOR AND APPEARANCE.