Bindatex (Egerton, United Kingdom), described as a leading U.K. provider of specialist process and cutting services, was recently awarded an Innovate UK grant of almost £100,000 (approximately $133,000) from the Sustainable Innovation Fund. Innovate UK is the United Kingdom's innovation agency, a non-departmental public body operating at arm’s length from the government.
The purpose of the grant is to support a critical six-month research and development (R&D) project to further develop and upscale their 1-mm wide slitting capability for next-generation composite parts manufacturing technology. The company describes itself as a world leader in the precision slitting of carbon fiber to widths as narrow as 1 mm.
According to Bindatex, the funding will support extensive R&D and testing efforts of bespoke technology to enable it to produce thermoplastic slit tape in volumes that meet the future growth demands of lightweight aircraft manufacturers and other key transport applications. The funding will be pivotal in allowing the group to maintain its position at the forefront of technical slitting to support companies who are developing their digital composites printing solutions.
“I cannot stress how beneficial this grant from Innovate UK is to the continuing growth of Bindatex,” says Chris Lever, Bindatex’s managing director. “It’s going to allow us to carry out research that would not otherwise be possible at the current time due to the impact of COVID.”
“The past seven months have not been easy,” Lever adds. “However, we have continued to invest in key initiatives, including our Industry 4.0 data capture system. This investment has helped us to adapt to different markets, whilst still maintaining the high level of service and fast turnaround times our customers rightly expect. This Innovate UK funding will give us an even greater capability and open up more potential markets, making us a much more resilient U.K. enterprise, as a result.”
One of their objectives is to increase the yields of ultra-narrow slitting and reduce any in-process waste being sent to landfill, since this is not currently sustainable at increased volumes. As manufacturing capability is ramped up, the group’s goal is to identify how this waste can be recycled and reused for other processes.
“There is strong demand right now for digital composite printing to replace small metallic parts on aircraft, cars, rail, and possibly medical technology, too,” Lever says. “The market potential is huge.”
In all, Innovate UK is investing up to £191 million ($254.1 million) to fund single and collaborative research and development projects over the next two years. The aim of these competitions is to help all sectors of the United Kingdom rebuild after the effects of COVID-19.