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Solvay (Alpharetta, GA, US) launched FusePly, a product the company describes as a “breakthrough composite bonding technology,” at SAMPE Long Beach, 22-23 May 2018.

Solvay developed FusePly to enable the build of reliable, bonded composite parts using conventional manufacturing processes, through the creation of covalently bonded structures, thus offering the potential removing the need for abundant rivets and fasteners.  It reportedly addresses the manufacturing challenges faced by aircraft builders looking for improved performance, build rates and lightweighting.

Solvay contends that FusePly offers users a clear step-change in bonding performance and resulting benefits:

• Improved reliability: Through the creation of chemical bonds, it reportedly enables part manufacturers to have increased confidence in bonded structures.
• Higher part performance: Compared to mechanical fasteners, FusePly offers higher performance because drilling holes into fiber-reinforced structures introduces structural damage and creates stress concentrations that ultimately reduce the load capacity of the part.
• Lightweighting: The reduction and replacement of fasteners with FusePly bonding will substantially reduce the overall weight of the aircraft.
• Greater design freedom: Adhesives offer much greater design flexibility in terms of  manufacture and assembly at lower cost. FusePly, Solvay maintains, can easily be integrated into existing manufacturing processes as an upgrade for conventional surface preparation methods.