High strength paste
September 1st 2006

Cascade Aerospace of British Columbia is a leading aircraft maintenance company with a reputation for fast, durable repairs on a variety of aircraft components.

The company uses a low density, bromine-free, flame retardant epoxy syntactic paste from Huntsman Advanced Materials Epocast 1633-A41/B for the high strength reinforcement of fasteners installed in overhead baggage lockers and other honeycomb core parts.

Cascade made the switch to the epoxy syntactic paste in response to the latest environmental standards governing the formulations used in flame-retardant epoxies. The product has a compressive strength of 45MPA.

As part of its refurbishment programme on overhead lockers, Cascade reinforces honeycomb core at points that will be used to mount the locket in the aircraft.

Using a manual dispensing gun, a technician fills a pre-drilled hole covered with an insert tab with Epocast 1633 epoxy resin and hardener. Syntactic paste is added until the material flows from the other side of the tab, indicating the cavity is full and the reinforcement complete. The paste sets quickly at room temperature.

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