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SATURATION MACHINE
Assembly and Operation Instructions

For improved construction quality and increased production rate on the site, QuakeWrap™ fabrics must be saturated using the Saturation Machine shown below. The machine is shipped in a metallic container that is supported on four casters. Allowance has also been made for the container to be lifted with a fork-lift. To facilitate shipping, the upper portion of the machine that supports the dry fabric is removed and stored in the lower portion.

This sheet discusses the assembly, operation, and calibration of the Saturation Machine.

The machine can be rented from QuakeWrap for the duration of the project.

ASSEMBLY

  1. Remove the top portion of the frame [1] which during shipment is placed in the drip-tray [2]..
  2. Place the top portion of the frame [1] as shown and line up and tighten the four bolts [3]..
  3. Insert the end of the take-up reel [4] onto the fittings and engage the pin [5] to secure the take-up reel.
  4. Insert and secure the lever [6] with the provided bolt.
  5. The above steps can be followed in reverse order to disassemble the machine. In addition, to keep the wheels straight, the two bars [7] must be attached as shown before placing the machine in the container.

OPERATION

  1. Place the fabric role onto the feed reel and engage the cones [8] to secure the fabric. Note that the cones must be placed in a loose position to allow rotation of the fabric role.
  2. Pass the fabric over the two rollers [9] and under the counter [10] in through the gap between the two main cylinders [11]. Turn the lever [6] to pull the fabric in between the two main cylinders. Adjust the gap between the two main cylinders [11] using the two turn-screws [12] on both ends of the machine so that the fabric cannot freely slide between the two main cylinders.
  3. Place a plastic sheet or tarp above the drip-tray [2] to catch spilled epoxy.
  4. Place the Teflon dams [13] on both ends of the fabric by squeezing the spring-loaded bars attached to the Teflon dams and anchoring them under the center bar [14]. This will prevent the unnecessary spread of the epoxy. Note that the dam faces in the right direction so that its bottom surface is in full contact with both cylinders.
  5. Pour the epoxy in the trough between the two main cylinders [11] and turn the lever [6] to pull the fabric in between the two main cylinders.
  6. Grab the end of the fabric and wrap it around the take-up reel [4]. If the fabric end is not fully saturated, add a small amount of epoxy to it to help it grip the take-up reel.
  7. Turn the lever [6] until the fabric is fully wrapped around the take-up reel [4].
  8. If necessary, adjust the gap between the two main cylinders [11] using the two turn-screws [12] to achieve full fabric saturation without excessive epoxy on the fabric.
  9. Turn the lever [6] until the desired length of fabric is saturated. Note: you can measure the length of the fabric that has been saturated with the counter [10].
  10. Cut the fabric with a pair of scissors.
  11. Remove the take-up reel [4] with the saturated fabric wrapped around it and carry it to the structure where the fabric can be unrolled and bonded to the surface that has been covered with tack coat.

CALIBRATION OF THE GAP SIZE

The size of the gap between the two main cylinders [11] directly affects the resin content of the saturated fabric. In order to achieve a resin content of approximately 50% by volume, the following procedure should be carried out:

  1. Start with a gap size approximately equal to the thickness of the dry fabric.
  2. Select a piece of a fabric approximately 1-foot wide by 3-foot long and measure its dry weight in grams.
  3. Saturate the fabric by running it through the Saturation Machine.
  4. Measure the weight of the saturated fabric in grams. A small portable scale covered with a thin sheet of protective plastic can be used for this purpose.
  5. Subtract the weight of the dry fabric from that of the saturated fabric. The result will be the weight of the resin in the composite.
  6. Divide weight of dry fabric by 1.80; call this number VF.
  7. Divide weight of resin by 1.13; call this number VR.
  8. The objective is to get these two values (i.e. VF and VR) as close as possible..
  9. Take the difference between these two numbers and divide it by the sum of the two numbers. Multiply the result by 100 to obtain the percentage error. The error should be less than 5%. If not, continue with the following step.
  10. If VF is greater than VR, increase the size of the gap. Otherwise, reduce the gap size and repeat the above steps 1 through 9 until the error is less than 5%.