North Sails expands 3D sail technology

by North Sails on 28 Apr 2006 North Sails has announced the start of production of its new 3Dr line of sails made from its new rotary mould manufacturing facility located in Oakville, Ontario.

Sail production from the facility will add another 30% to the volume of that already produced from the 3DL plant in Minden, Nevada, but, more importantly, will be optimized for production of 3D moulded mainsails, jibs, and genoas for boats under 35 feet.

'Having 3Dr in production will significantly contribute to our capacity for 3-dimensional moulded sails,' said Tom Whidden, President of North Marine Group. 'Along with improvements in Minden and two new moulds under construction in Sri Lanka, we’re poised to meet the strong demand we’ve had for our 3D products.'

The rotary mould apparatus has been five years in development and refinement, and represents a highly innovative and efficient method of creating moulded laminate sails. In one continuous process, 3Dr first combines film, fibre, and scrim materials over a 3-dimensional moulded shape, then bonds all three using heat, vacuum pressure, and proprietary adhesives.

Because the three-metre diameter drum rotates during the process, the mould surface is adjusted continuously to conform to the sail’s designed shape using 2,200 computer-controlled pistons located inside the drum.

By combining shaping and fabrication into one process, the time taken to mould the sail is reduced significantly. Moreover, because upwind sails are roughly triangular in shape and can therefore be nested together, two sails can be made simultaneously in one rotation run of the assembly. Currently 3Dr is capable of producing sails with foot dimensions of 6.7 meters, and currently up to 15,000 deniers per inch.

An example of 3Dr’s output potential can be seen in the mere one hour taken for the apparatus to mould two mainsails for a 25-foot keelboat – this is a fraction of the time needed using any other sail moulding process.

'It’s been a long haul and a sizeable investment for North Sails, although finally, this amazing machine is producing sails each and every week,' says Jay Hansen, Vice President of North Marine Group. 'The 3Dr mould will produce smaller sails at about ten times the rate of the 3DL moulds. This will allow us to increase sail production capacity for larger sails on the 3DL moulds.'
The new range of 3Dr sails will be available in Australia through North Sails lofts in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

For more information and photos of 3Dr, take a virtual 3-dimensional tour on North Sails' website at http://na.northsails.com/3D/.

Contact: Julian Plante, North Sails Australia, 02 9997 5966, julian@au.northsails.com