Resin spray
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Marketed by C.T. (London) Ltd, the Venus resin spray system is operated hydraulically to meter the resin and a catalyst to a spray gun. The catalyst and resin are mixed by injecting the catalyst into the stream of resin behind the nozzle. The proportion of catalyst in the mix can be varied between 0.75 per cent and 1.25 per cent or between 1.75 per cent and 2.25 per cent by adjusting a pivot. The mixture is then forced hydraulically through a shaped orifice and propelled forward in a controlled fan of droplets.
In the standard unit the de
livery hoses are enclosed in a boom, which takes the weight of the gun and lets the operator work one-handed. Glass-fibre roving is fed along the boom to a chopper unit mounted on top of the spray gun, and the chopped fibre is fed down into the resin/catalyst spray.
The equipment is claimed to have a number of advantages over conventional plant. The system is airless, in that air is only used to drive the pumps and chopper motor; the spray can be confined to provide a definite pattern, with no overspray. A skilled operator can normally maintain a weight tolerance within 2 per cent, say the makers.
Because fume generation is low, there is no need for a spray booth or elaborate ventilation systems. Spraying and roiling can take place in the ,same area. There is no water condensation and the air included in the material as it cures is reduced. Air consumption of the gun and chopper is about 10 cu ft /min.
The gun boom is pillar-mounted on a low mobile base platform which carries the drum of resin, drum and catalyst pumps, accumulators and mix controls. It also incorporates a tank of solvent, which is fed under pressure to the gun. Pushing the trigger forward automatically flushes the gun and cleans the system internally.
Marketed by: C.T. (London) Ltd, 3 Hobart Place, London, SW1.