When Tencom evaluates manufacturing options, the choice is always made with the customer in mind. Low cost, low weight, high strength, and versatility are of paramount importance to our customers.
Pultrusion is a technique that offers all these qualities and makes Tencom the top choice for customers with high-performance needs.
Similar to its sister process, extrusion, pultrusion is the process of passing material through a die to create a uniform product with a constant cross-section. Extrusion pushes material through a die, whereas pultrusion, as the name suggests, pulls the material through.
Pultrusion uses composites reinforced with long strands of fiber, such as carbon, Kevlar, or glass, and resin. Pultruded materials are lightweight and very strong, benefiting structurally from increased tensile strength due to the continuous length of reinforcing fibers.
Composite pultrusions are used in many applications, including leaf springs, guy wires, tool handles, and xylophone keys. Extrusion is common for aluminum and thermoplastics. Pultrusion, on the other hand, offers the advantageous material properties of composites.
These properties include corrosion resistance, low weight, ultra-fine fabrication tolerances, and excellent resistance to electrical conductivity, thermal range, and moisture absorption.
When placed side by side, how do they stack up? Continuous filament composite rods that are pultruded can be on the order of 3x the tensile strength of all temper extruded 6063 aluminum.
Because of the low density of fiberglass-polyester composite, about 1.9g/cc, customers will see a strength-weight ratio that is far superior to metallic products that are often as much as 5x heavier.
Lower-cost than injection molding and compression molding; stronger, lighter, and more versatile than extruded products; pultrusion offers a cost advantage that is tough to beat.
That is why Tencom made the switch years ago and continues to believe that the pultrusion process delivers the superior product its customers are looking for.
