Hello we’re wanting to make a more “green kiteboard” and get a little ways away from our pvc cores, so we have been looking into Bamboo Cores but cannot find any information on where and what type that works best for surfboards/kiteboards. We also have been talking to Mike Campbell at Resin X and were also wondering if anyone has any experience with working with the Resin X Epoxy.
Our kiteboard we have designed is designed to be used 1/4 core with 3 carbon stringers, with carbon layer, S-Glass with a eco-friendly topsheet as a prototype, test show all good in solidworks but everyone knows test data and field data are two different comparisons also hopeing to keep the weight down but going to hard I think to match the weight of the pvc cores, any info and help will be taken in with open eyes and ears.
We expect to spend a little extra on the green materials and plan to use every single piece of excess to help cut our carbon footprint.
There are a couple different schools of thought on this, but the one I like is getting away from thinking of boards as being disposable. Focus on building good boards that last and which will not require frequent replacement. One dirty board that lasts is better for the environment than 2 slightly cleaner boards that don’t. For the most part the materials arguments seem to be more image than substance.
If you want to make a “green” board (“greener” is a better term as no board is green), it’s best to stay away from carbon fiber. If you have carbon in your board it is the antithesis of green. The manufacturing process for carbon fiber is extremely energy intensive. Here are just two steps in the manufacturing process. Heating thing up to 5000 degrees fahrenheit requires humongous amounts of energy and believe me they are not using solar power!
Stabilizing
4 Before the fibers are carbonized, they need to be chemically altered to convert their linear atomic bonding to a more thermally stable ladder bonding. This is accomplished by heating the fibers in air to about 390-590° F (200-300° C) for 30-120 minutes. This causes the fibers to pick up oxygen molecules from the air and rearrange their atomic bonding pattern. The stabilizing chemical reactions are complex and involve several steps, some of which occur simultaneously. They also generate their own heat, which must be controlled to avoid overheating the fibers. Commercially, the stabilization process uses a variety of equipment and techniques. In some processes, the fibers are drawn through a series of heated chambers. In others, the fibers pass over hot rollers and through beds of loose materials held in suspension by a flow of hot air. Some processes use heated air mixed with certain gases that chemically accelerate the stabilization.
Carbonizing
5 Once the fibers are stabilized, they are heated to a temperature of about 1,830-5,500° F (1,000-3,000° C) for several minutes in a furnace filled with a gas mixture that does not contain oxygen. The lack of oxygen prevents the fibers from burning in the very high temperatures. The gas pressure inside the furnace is kept higher than the outside air pressure and the points where the fibers enter and exit the furnace are sealed to keep oxygen from entering. As the fibers are heated, they begin to lose their non-carbon atoms, plus a few carbon atoms, in the form of various gases including water vapor, ammonia, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, nitrogen, and others. As the non-carbon atoms are expelled, the remaining carbon atoms form tightly bonded carbon crystals that are aligned more or less parallel to the long axis of the fiber. In some processes, two furnaces operating at two different temperatures are used to better control the rate de heating during carbonization.