SBIR Phase II: Advanced Manufacturing of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene and Metal Hybrid Structures for Bicycle Spokes

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是用更强更轻的合成材料取代钢铁。这项技术的滩头市场是高性能自行车辐条市场，这是一个1.8亿美元的全球市场。该技术的潜在好处超出了循环，因为聚合物与金属界面还有其他潜在应用。电缆组件用于各种各样的应用和行业，例如工业、航空航天、建筑和消费品。合成电缆组件端接方面的进展将能够创造更高强度重量比的电缆，从而提高运输应用的效率，并提高基于张力的系统的安全性。具有特殊社会效益的一个应用是轮椅轮子，其重量减轻增加了身体残疾者的便携性。对高性能聚合物的封端技术的投资也将有助于弥合聚合物研究与工业之间的差距，帮助社会从学术界的聚合物科学发展中受益。最后，生产低成本绳索终端的能力将提高美国制造业的竞争力，因为大部分大批量生产都外包给了低成本的劳动力市场。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目将开发用于自行车辐条的超高分子量聚乙烯（UHMWPE）和金属混合结构的先进制造工艺。UHMWPE的强度重量比是钢的15倍，但由于难以制造与金属的高强度粘合，因此无法在许多应用中使用。本研究的主要目的是自动化的不锈钢棒内的中空腔的编织纤维的插入和粘合，并自动创建的眼孔拼接。这些操作需要在有限的空间中精细地操纵光纤，并且通常手动执行。相反，我们将开发新的自动机械，以创建这些债券，检查最终产品，并验证100%的过程中检查的强度。本研究的另一个目的是开发编织UHMWPE纤维的黑色表面涂层工艺。为了实现这一目标，我们将确定一种表面预处理程序，以增加UHMWPE非极性骨架的功能，开发涂层化学，并创建与我们的制造工艺集成的在线涂层系统。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the replacement of steel with synthetic materials that are stronger and lighter. The beachhead market for this technology is the performance bicycle spoke market, which is a $180M global market. The potential benefits of this technology go beyond cycling because the polymer-to-metal interface has other potential applications. Cable assemblies are used in a wide variety of applications and industries such as industrial, aerospace, construction, and consumer goods. Advances in the termination of synthetic cable assemblies will enable the creation of higher strength-to-weight ratio cables and thereby increase efficiencies in transportation applications and improve the safety of tension based systems. An application of particular societal benefit is wheelchair wheels, where weight reduction increases portability for those with physical disabilities. Investment in termination technologies for high performance polymers will also help bridge the gap between polymer research and industry, helping society benefit from developments in polymer science occurring in academia. Finally, the ability to produce low-cost rope terminations will increase US manufacturing competitiveness because the majority of high-volume production is outsourced to low-cost labor markets.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop an advanced manufacturing process for ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and metal hybrid structures for bicycle spokes. UHMWPE has a strength-to-weight ratio of fifteen times that of steel, but it cannot be utilized in many applications because of the difficulty in manufacturing high-strength bonds to metal. The primary objectives of this research are to automate the insertion and bonding of stainless steel rods inside the hollow cavity of braided fibers, and to automate the creation of eye splices. These operations require delicate manipulation of fibers in a confined space, and are typically performed manually. Instead, we will develop novel automatic machinery that will create these bonds, inspect the final product, and validate the strength with 100% in-process inspection. Another objective of this research is to develop a black surface coating process for braided UHMWPE fibers. To achieve this, we will identify a surface pretreatment procedure to add functionality to the non-polar backbone of UHMWPE, develop the coating chemistry, and create an in-line coating system that integrates with our manufacturing process.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.