British Yacht Manufacturer

‘We’re going to need a bigger boat!’

Background

Based in the UK, a world-renowned luxury yacht manufacturer, operating in 119 countries, employing 3,200 people, with shipyards covering a combined area of over 1.1 million square feet.

One of Composite Integration’s oldest, and most pioneering clients, with a relationship that spans back to 2007. Back then, the boat industry was still hand-laying glass fibre composite hulls. Princess bucked the convention by asking one simple question:

“Why can’t we use a machine to inject the resin?”

Working collaboratively with their Princess team, we successfully completed the world’s first ever Direct Infusion project, producing a 42ft luxury yacht hull in 2008.

Challenge

Our client built a team to deliver Direct Infusion across the business, gradually building larger boats with our CIJECT equipment, processes and support.

In 2016, their team approached us with their biggest challenge yet.

Our client asked:

  • Can we use Direct Infusion to manufacture a 140ft yacht hull?
  • Can we develop a CIJECT machine to deliver a very high flow-rate of vinyl ester resin?
  • Can we maintain pressure controls within a 50 millibars tolerance?
  • Can we fully automate the process, delivering 8,000 kilos of resin into the part tooling?

Solution

Working closely with the their Team, our CI experts:

  • Reviewed the 140ft hull’s design and project requirements.
  • Scoped an optimised, automated Direct Infusion process to deliver to the scale, structural integrity and quality needed.
  • Developed a new gear-pump machine, the CIJECT 5.
  • Specified ancillary pressure sensors and catch-pots to service the process.
  • Installed and trialed the system.
  • Analysed the test data to optimise performance.
  • Trained our client’s staff, equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to continue the process independently.
  • Supported the team with on-going maintenance and support.

Results

Our client has successfully:

  • Used Direct Infusion to commercially produce one of the largest composite luxury yacht hulls in the world.
  • Maintained an efficient production schedule through the system, delivering a very high flow-rate of vinyl ester resin at up to 30 kilos per minute.
  • Maintained production quality, delivering 8,000 kilos of resin per mould.

“With CIJECT machines now central to our manufacturing process, we’ve opened up new possibilities for component design, and have embraced a more creative approach with our new product range.”