Memmert pushes the Triathlon World Elite

The bike company ‘Radsport Ibert’ is using the ‘UF160plus’ for the tempering and hardening of high-end carbon components.

The bike company ‘Radsport Ibert’ has been using the Memmert drying oven ‘UF160plus’ for many years now. They use it for the tempering and hardening of high-end carbon components used in road racing. What’s more, this process takes places in the Memmert drying oven under vacuum conditions. This is made possible by the addition of customer-specific entry ports in the side of the appliance. Hoses connected to an external vacuum pump are fed through these entry ports and connected to a pouch in the inside of the oven which can then be vacuumised.

Memmert supports the manufacturing process

Lasse Ibert is 37 years old and an ambitious triathlete. In 2016, he started bike fitting, i.e. the ergonomic customisation of bikes in line with cyclists’ needs. The high level of customer satisfaction and positive mouth-to-mouth propaganda led to a continuous increase in orders – indeed, demand grew to such a level that Mr Ibert began with the manufacture and sale of top-quality custom-made carbon components and accessories. His customer base ranges from amateurs to Olympic cyclists, Ironman winners and Ironman world champions.

We paid Lasse Ibert a visit and were allowed to watch while carbon arm pads for professional triathletes were being made.

The complicated manufacturing process is the result of a fascinating combination of technology and craftsmanship. The material used is a pre-impregnated out-of-autoclave carbon. The process involves a series of individual steps:
1.       Preparation of the mould
2.       Initial lamination process
3.       Preparation of the vacuum pouch and vacuum process
4.       Second lamination process
5.       Vacuum process
6.       Third lamination process
7.       Vacuum process
8.       Precision tempering and hardening in two steps in the Memmert drying oven under vacuum conditions
8.1.: Tempering process: The carbon resin liquifies when kept at 70°C for 5 hours
8.2.: The resin hardens when kept at 105°C for 2 hours and, in combination with the carbon fibres, forms a very lightweight yet extremely resilient composite material.

An exact adherence to the temperature specifications is imperative if an homogenous, high-gloss carbon surface without any ‘pinholes’ is to be achieved, i.e.  tiny dimples or indentations.

The top features of the UF160 plus Series

The production process is extremely complex, requiring exact temperature control even over the course of a number of hours. The Memmert high-precision drying oven UF160plus is the ideal appliance when it comes to meeting the demands of this application. It is a true premium product which, thanks to its unique quality characteristics, more than fulfils all tolerance requirements. The main advantages and unique product features are:

Individual and intuitive programming of temperature programmes with temperature progressions and automatic power on / off function (no physical presence required)
Programming of temperature progressions with time intervals
Best manufacturing quality in the world
Extremely easy to use via display and ‘touch, turn & go’ control dial
160-litre drying chamber operable with a 220V household power supply
Individual positioning of entry ports in the drying oven – in this case for connection to the vacuum pump.