Polyworx’s Arjen Koorevaar extols the virtues of infusion. If you’re still in doubt, he says, talk to some infusion materials and equipment suppliers…

Go on, switch to infusion. Even hiding inside your factory, there is no way to ignore the message. Infusion is a wonderful technology that makes it possible to build high-quality boats at a low cost. Listen to what the industry has to tell you. There are demonstrations at boat shows, seminars, road tours, and presentations at every conference. It seems everyone is talking about it and many are already using it for small parts.

However, despite all this, only a few companies worldwide are actually using infusion for large structures like hulls and decks. And the majority of those will only tackle large parts piece by piece. The Holy Grail when it comes to infusion is the magical ‘one shot’ approach, considered too difficult by many and too risky by most.

Alas, infusion is still perceived as a new technology and new technology tends to be approached with caution. Government funding can help, but experimentation requires time and money. For some, this is a challenge. For most, it is a reason to wait until there is sufficient proof that it works.

But infusion is not new. The first patents date from the 1950s and the principle is simple: create a vacuum and suck in the resin. What could be easier? Quality is not an issue — all the problems were solved more than 10 years ago, and it is all well documented in the SCRIMP patents. Similar results can be obtained with core infusion, which is prior technology and can be used with no restrictions. This raises another question: why are there only a few companies licensing SCRIMP and why is there so much effort spent to develop infusion technology to circumvent the patent? The idea behind this must be that the cost is the issue; that companies cannot or are not willing to pay for a SCRIMP licence. But that would mean that here in Europe where the patent does not apply, we should be far ahead of the USA. Alas, that is not the case.

Sure, locally you can see large differences in the acceptance and use of infusion technology. Here in the Netherlands there are many small yards that construct hulls using infusion techniques. Are the materials cheaper here? No. Is it because of emission regulations? Sure, that has played a part. But it is not the whole story. We are part of the European Union, so the same rules apply to all countries in the EU. The only difference between countries is the speed at which they translate European guidelines into local laws. Is it because they are close to a company that has the necessary software for simulation of the infusion process? For me, it is tempting to believe so, but it’s simply not true. Most of our software licences are sold outside the Netherlands, and the same is true for the consultancy work that I have done.

What has had a big impact in the Netherlands was a large government-funded project, carried out by my former TNO colleagues in 1998. A lot of companies participated, most of them just watched and for two yards infusion technology was implemented. One of those was Conyplex, which infused its Contest C55 sailing yacht. In my opinion, the most important result of this project was that a local materials distributor, Gouda Composieten (now Brands), got the infusion bug and assembled a range of equipment and materials to supply the customer with everything needed. For some clever boatbuilders this was enough: they copied what they had seen, did some tests, acquired the materials and infused a part. The atmosphere that had been created resulted in a lot of openness: tricks were shared, new materials were tried and proved to work better, and infusion strategies were simply copied. That total absence of secrecy and protection led to a lot of advancement in infusion.

Cost is not a real obstacle. Sure, cheaper consumables will help. But what the industry needs is knowledge. While consultants like me can do their bit, and emission regulations put pressure on boatbuilders, the real driving force should be the distributors, the people that spend most of their time on the road. And infusion is just one technology to be mastered. Composites processing is shifting from the classical trial-and-error environment to an industrial process that requires a higher level of technology and for which the necessary knowledge comes via the suppliers of equipment and materials.

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