Kelvin Hughes has led the marine industry with its innovative radar navigation products for more than 50 years. The company recently sought to simplify the mechanical structure of its antennas and reduce the number of components used in their manufacture. As a result of this exercise, engineers at Kelvin Hughes considered using adhesives in place of traditional fixing methods such as nuts, bolts and rivets, in order to save costs.
Using Huntsman's Araldite adhesives as part of the new manufacturing process has led to a dramatic reduction in production time, and made the newly developed antennas more cost effective to manufacture.
In order to focus the microwave signals at speed through the antennas, the use of specialised materials is crucial to the new design. Three Araldite products were selected by the engineering team, based on their versatility, in-situ bonding capability and quick setting characteristics. Araldite 2021, 2027 and 5090 were used to bond components ranging from aluminium and polystyrene to PVC. According to Mike Scourer, head of sensors at Kelvin Hughes, the impact of these adhesives on the company's manufacturing processes has been significant. Moreover, the Araldite products have proven to be 100% reliable with no returns to date since the start of the project.