Reliable adhesion on snow

Skis should be reliable and to be used for a long time in spirit of sustainability. Given the different environmental conditions during use, transport and storage, skis must be robust against moisture and temperature fluctuations and at the same time offer stability against mechanical stress. The use of Pontacol multilayer films between the different material layers of a ski, especially between Titanal or other aluminum alloys and epoxy resins, creates a reliable connection and drastically reduces the scrap rate in production.

Composites

Intense development in sports equipment such as skis but also in other areas of daily living are in process. The goal is often to save material and weight, improve performance or increase comfort. Constructions such as multi-material laminates, which combine the properties of different materials such as metal, wood and plastic, are increasingly being used. In addition to the advantages of combining properties, these multi-material laminates, which are widely used in ski construction, bring with them challenges in form of different thermal expansion coefficients and different polarities. Added to this are the fluctuating weather conditions to which skis are exposed through use, transport and storage. This can result in  layer separation between aluminum belts and epoxy resin.

Advantages of Pontacol multilayer films in ski construction

The delamination problem of the inherently different materials can be solved by Pontacol multilayer films.  

• The different layers of these multilayer films mean that metals and plastics can be bonded together without any special surface pretreatment.  
• Reliable interlaminar adhesion is achieved when the aluminum sheets are pre-laminated with the Pontacol multilayer adhesive film. The laminated aluminum sheets can be handled in the same way as unlaminated sheets. All further work steps can be carried out as usual to produce the multi-material laminates in a ski press.  
• Pontacol adhesive films protect the surface of the aluminum from oxidation, dirt or damage. 

The properties of the thermoplastic multilayer adhesive films show additional advantages: 

• They are highly elastic and can minimize the inter-facial tension between aluminum and plastics or glass fiber reinforced epoxy resins.  
• Their toughness and longevity can withstand multiple climatic changes.

Conclusion

Thermoplastic multilayer adhesive films can be used to achieve lasting adhesion between different materials, such as those used in ski construction. The thermoplastic adhesive film in the composite material absorbs material stresses of different thermal expansion coefficients due to its viscoelastic behavior. The good surface wetting over the entire surface prevents moisture from infiltrating both at the edges and at the holes that were subsequently placed for the bindings.
The use of the thermoplastic multilayer adhesive film delivers better results than the current industry standard and leads to significantly reduced scrap rates in the production of skis and a longer lasting life of the sports equipment. In addition, the Pontacol solution provides advantages in the ski manufacturing process, as there is no need for time-consuming sanding and cleaning of the surfaces, and the coated sheets can be stored for months without changing their properties.

At the end of a ski’s life cycle, it is possible to melt the thermoplastic material again and thus delaminate the different materials at correspondingly high temperatures, to which a ski is not exposed during its life. A further contribution to sustainability by separately recycling aluminum and the other materials.