SICOMIN’S GREEN EPOXY USED TO MANUFACTURE ARCHER CORK COMPOSITE SKATEBOARD, WINNER OF THE JEC ASIA 2014 INNOVATION AWARD
Sicomin has collaborated with Archer Cork Skateboards to provide a dynamic direction in environmentally responsible composite technologies.
Archer Cork Skateboards is an Australian company committed to producing products that have been assembled in the most eco-friendly and sustainable way possible.
Their boards utilise a combination of cork bark sheets for the main laminate, flax fibres to add torsional strength and stiffness, and Sicomin’s Greenpoxy 56 resin to bond all the elements together.
Over 50% of Greenpoxy 56’s molecular structure is derived from plant and vegetable matter, making the product an advanced, environmentally enhanced, clear and waterproof system that delivers a tough and hard wearing laminate surface.
Simon Heading, Composite Technician and Archer’s Founder and Designer explains, “Sicomin’s Greenpoxy displays one of the highest contents of bio-based ingredients available and really compliments the other sustainable resources used.
The combination of the product’s formula and the materials selected for construction, means the cork board displays an extraordinary reduction in vibration and a higher impact resistance”.
The flexibility of the cork combines perfectly with the flax reinforcement, which also has similar characteristics. The flax fibres are used for strength and then orientated to adjust the flex and feel of each board making it a really smooth ride for the skater.
The boards are produced by laying the dry, raw fabrics into a mould which are then vacuum infused using Sicomin’s Greenpoxy 56. This method provides the added environmental benefit of greatly reducing the amount of VOC’s exposed to the atmosphere.
Archer is keen to dismiss the myth that eco-friendly products result in a compromise in performance. On the contrary, their cork skateboard has been test-marketed by various professional skateboard manufacturers who have been very impressed with its performance.
This feedback is underpinned by the innovative features that the product can offer to the skateboarding industry, both in terms of excellent technical performance and sustainable credentials.
