COBRA INTERNATIONAL TO SHOWCASE LATEST COMPOSITE SUCCESS STORIES AND PROCESS TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS AT JEC CONNECT 2021
24th May 2021
Cobra International, the leading manufacturer of advanced composite components for the watersports, automotive, industrial, marine and luxury accessories sectors, will present some of the company’s most recent composite application collaborations and process technology developments at the upcoming JEC Connect 2021 online event.
Covering a broad spectrum of composite markets, Cobra will showcase new automotive and watersport developments including the latest in electric surfboard technology, a recently commissioned prepreg compression moulding production expansion and the latest collaboration with BMW seeing carbon fibre parts supplied as factory options on the S 1000 RR superbike.
Large-Scale Manufacturing Platform for Radinn JetBoards
COBRA recently announced its collaboration with Radinn to mass produce its new range of electric powered surfboards. As some of the fastest jetboards on the market, each with market leading battery technology and high-performance water jets, the new Radinn boards provide a truly exhilarating experience.
Using Radinn’s existing board technology, COBRA led the technical development of a new construction process using a lower density EPS foam core and moulded glassfibre skins, as well as providing a large-scale manufacturing platform. The new lighter weight construction, perfected by COBRA over many years, provided weight savings of around 25% whilst maintaining the durability required by riders.
New Prepreg Compression Line
COBRA has also recently announced the commissioning of a new prepreg compression moulding production line. Now complete, and with series production of parts underway, the new production capacity delivers prepreg carbon parts with a final surface finish straight from the mould tool.
Though COBRA has produced prepreg parts for several decades at its 100,000m2 manufacturing facility, most previous production has been via autoclave or vacuum bag processing. With COBRA’s strategy targeting higher volume applications, a faster production process is required. Developed during the second half of 2020, COBRA’s new compression moulding line is currently producing monolithic carbon fibre wing and mast components for leading foil brands including Phantom Windsurfing and MFC.
M Carbon Parts for the BMW S 1000 RR
Cobra Advanced Composites (CAC), Cobra’s Automotive division, supplies BMW with a 9-piece set of M Carbon parts, allowing owners to customize their S 1000 RR, lightweighting the bike even further and adding a clear carbon finishing touch to this stunning motorcycle.
The M Carbon options include front fender, rear wheel cover, chain guard, upper side fairings, airbox cover, pinion cover and tank trims. The autoclave cured, epoxy carbon fibre prepreg parts, replace less weight-optimised injection molded parts. The complete assemblies are produced inhouse at CAC in carbon prepreg mould tools made from CNC machined aluminium masters. This composite tooling approach ensures excellent dimensional stability for the complex geometry finished parts.
Mass Production for ARE Tahiti
Also on display will be COBRA’s recent collaboration with leading outrigger canoe brand ARE Tahiti to mass produce its new OC-1 canoe, 'Mana'. The Mana features a closed deck on which the paddler sits on top of the hull and is available in two models; a hybrid version weighing 12kg and the PRO model – a weight optimized, ultra-light, full carbon version that weighs as little as 9kg.
A precise master model formed the basis of the mass production tooling and two sets of composite hull tooling were taken from this master plug, allowing a build rate of up to 50 OC-1 canoes per month.
The COBRA team will be available on the 1st and 2nd June for video calls throughout the duration of JEC Composites Connect 2021 to discuss all latest developments for watersports, automotive, architectural, industrial and electronics.
