Incat® Catamaran Expansion Joints

In 2014, Incat Australia approached Boss Polymer Technologies to assist them in the development a more economic and efficient expansion joint system for their range of light-weight aluminium catamarans.

At the time, Incat was purchasing a flame retardant, neoprene expansion joint and an array of moulded parts. These products required joining using a difficult and time consuming welding technique that required a high level of skill and equipment to perform. This led to higher manufacturing costs, longer lead times, increased waste and lower manufacturing control.

Working collaboratively with the engineers at Incat, the team at Boss presented a solution using alternative materials, welding technique and custom built machinery that is far simpler, easier, faster and less labour intensive to complete. This solution allowed Incat to use their own in-house labour, therefore providing greater control and streamlining the manufacturing process. This dramatically increased production speeds, lowered the installation time and therefore increase Incat’s profits.

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Key Facts

2014

Commenced

The team at Incat approached Boss Polymer to develop a more efficient and economical solution for expansion joints installation.

Percent

Incat produces approximately 60% of the world’s high speed ferries (with capacity over 750 tonnes).

70,000

Metres²

located near Hobart, Tasmania Incat’s factory facility incorporates 70,000 m² of undercover production halls.

A Smoother Journey for Passengers

Incat are a world renowned Australian shipbuilder known for producing optimal, lightweight ship solutions for ferry operators, special service providers and militaries. As a global leader, Incat are constantly seeking new opportunities to streamline their manufacturing process and increase the efficiency, performance and durability of the craft they produce.
In 2014, the team at Incat identified inefficiencies in the installation procedure of their expansion joints. These expansion joints are installed between the vessels’ internal cabin superstructure and the hull.

This internal cabin is where the vessels passengers reside during transportation. It is suspended and insulated within the hull using isolation mounts and expansion joints to absorb excess energy from waves during transportation. This is essential for ensuring a smoother journey for the passengers.

A Difficult Endless Seal

As the cabin superstructure is separated and suspended within the hull, a gap exists between the two structures. This gap is sealed with a continuous, flexible and water-tight expansion joint. This expansion joint must create an endless seal around the craft to ensure water cannot enter the internal structure of the vessel.

At the time, Incat was purchasing a flame retardant, neoprene expansion joint and an array of moulded parts which required hot vulcanisation at the joints. Vulcanisation is a difficult and time consuming joining process that requires a high level of skill and equipment to perform. As Incat did not have the in-house skills or equipment to complete this process, the supplier would send their own highly trained workers and expensive equipment to assist with every vessel they were building. This led to higher manufacturing costs, longer lead times and reduced control over the project. Incat approached Boss to develop a more efficient and economical solution.

Streamlined Solution

The team at Boss presented a solution using an alternative material, welding technique and custom built machinery that is far simpler, easier, faster and less labour intensive to complete.

The alternative welding solution presented was hot-plate fusion welding. This welding process involves attaching the two parts to be fused on opposite plates of a specialised press tool. A hot plate, with a shape that matches the parts to be welded, is then positioned between them. The opposing plates are moved into contact with the hot plate and held against it until both surfaces soften and melt. Once this is achieved, the hot plate is removed and the surfaces are quickly pressed together and held under light pressure until the weld joint cools and re-solidifies.

This process is far simpler and faster to complete than hot vulcanisation and does not require the same level of skill or expensive equipment. To allow Incat to complete this welding procedure in-house, Boss designed and built a customised welding machine. This machine could be quickly, easily and safely operated to provide a permanent joint that is as strong as the parent material. The machines simplistic design allowed Incat to complete the entire installation in-house using their own labour, reducing installation time, waste and cost.

Streamlined Production and Installation Sees Higher Profits

In order to adopt this improved welding technique, the material that was used to manufacture the expansion joint and moulded components needed to be changed. Previously, these components were manufactured using a flame-retardant Neoprene. Unfortunately this material is incapable of being hot plate fusion welded. The team at Boss decided that the best solution would be a customised Santoprene.

While Santoprene can be hot-plate fusion welded, it is not usually flame retardant. This was an issue, as one of Incat’s main specifications was for a flame retardant compound to be used. To develop a solution, Boss collaborated with a leading plastic and rubber compounding company. Together, a customised flame-retardant Santoprene was developed that was specifically designed for this application.

These modifications, coupled with the Boss designed machinery have allowed Incat to regain control of their manufacturing process. By using their own in-house labour, they were able to streamline the manufacturing process and dramatically increase production speeds, lower installation times and therefore increase profits.