Sports and recreation have always been quick to advance technology and streamline design to exceed consumer expectations. Carbon fiber is often synonymous with sports – and glass-fiber provides an excellent cost-performance ratio and offers many of the advantages of carbon.

GFRP Composite Advantages for Sports & Recreation

By using the technology of pultrusion, adjusting resin formulations, or adding a special finish, we are able to push the limits of what is possible, including:

  • increasing flexural and fatigue resistance
  • adjusting the modulus of elasticity
  • increasing creep resistance.

 

Examples of Composite Development Projects in Sports

Trampolines

For the world’s safest trampoline, the GFRP composite profile has grooves ground into the surface and a polypropylene ball over-molded to create a connection socket. We customized the finishing technology to mold the ball, thus improving pull-off strength by 20 times. 

Snowmobiles

A highly customized GFRP rod forms the structural support of the snowmobile tread. In addition, a specialized fine end-bevel provides a safety edge for the track system to protect the track, and stop it from tearing apart the tread from the inside when in use. 

Americas Cup

America’s Cup boat builders and teams called on the expertise of our Composite Materials Research Centre to test the boat hull samples to ensure a full resin matrix cure for strong, resilient hulls. You can see more of the work we did with America’s Cup Challengers, here.

Windsurfer Battens

In 1983, we collaborated with some of New Zealand’s leading sailors to develop the ideal shape of sail battens. This elongated hexagonal shape became the standard for pultruded sail battens around the world.

Kites

We collaborated with New Zealand’s leading kite maker to develop rods for a range of high-performance kites.

Interested in a Composite Solution or an R&D Development Partner? 

If you have a project that could benefit from a customized composite solution, get in touch.