ST.CROX ROD - catalog 2011.pdf - Katalogi - waldi47

To make the best rods in the business, St. Croix must partner with the best suppliers. We’re especially proud of our network of graphite material partners, all of whom

contribute to the exceptional performance, quality and value that define a St. Croix rod. This year, the 3M Company, a long-time St. Croix supply partner, will be

supplying their exciting new 3M ™ Matrix Resin to fuse the graphite in our highest performance SC V graphite rods. 3M’s remarkable new composite resin uses

nano-technology to significantly improve the strength and durability of graphite rods, and when used in conjunction with our other advanced materials and proprietary

design and manufacturing technologies, furthers our ability to build the best rods on earth.

A BRIEF BACKGROUND ON GRAPHITE:

3M ™ MATRIX RESIN

The fishing tackle industry uses graphite and carbon interchangeably.

Technically speaking, the correct term is “carbon.”

THE TECHNOLOGY THAT MAKES OUR RODS SO STRONG

IS INVISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE. AT LEAST UNTIL YOU SET THE HOOK.

A lot has changed since the introduction of the first graphite fishing rods back

in the mid-1970s. Designed largely by trial and error, early graphite rods were

inspired by the imagination, experience and talent of the rod designers – and

the availability of a steady stream of new and improved graphite fibers.

The 3M Company, the global leader in adhesive technology, recently

introduced a new breakthrough resin that uses nano-sized (ultra-microscopic)

spheres of silica as a homogeneous, non-abrasive filler between the carbon

fibers of a graphite rod blank, which results in a much stronger, more sensitive

finished product. We’ve named our formulation of this new resin NSi (Nano

Silica), and we’ll be using it to build all of our SC V graphite rods – plus a new

offshore saltwater series.

Graphite fiber, a bi-product of the space race, evolved quickly as aerospace

applications for this exciting new material expanded. Each generation of “new”

graphite was stronger and stiffer (e.g.,“higher modulus”) than previous

generations as the “space race” ratcheted graphite development into high gear.

Carbon fiber composite shows uniform

distribution of nano silica particles.

The “nano-silica” particles in 3M’s Matrix Resin are uniformly distributed and

densely packed in the resin that binds the individual graphite fibers, which

reinforces them during compression when the rod is flexed. This significantly increases the fibers’ compression

strength by resisting micro-buckling – for improved hoop and flex strength of the blank. The result is a

30% (or more) stronger blank without any change in the weight, action or power of the finished rod.

Rod makers took notice, and soon the space race created a “modulus race” in

the fishing rod industry. As each new high-modulus graphite fiber was

developed for aerospace, rod designers used it to create lighter, faster, more

responsive fishing rods.

In the past decade, everything changed. Graphite fibers are now available in

a huge selection of modulus and strength, and new high modulus / high strain

fibers deliver both increased stiffness and superior strength. St. Croix

currently uses five different graphite materials formulated to our exact

specifications to design and build over 30 different series of rods – one of the

largest in the industry.

The nano-silica filler also improves the resin’s adhesive bond between the carbon fibers, which increases the

internal shear strength of the rod blank while further improving the flex strength. Almost twice as hard as conventional

resins when fully cured, our tests reveal that rods manufactured with 3M’s new Matrix Resin show both an increase in

modulus for improved sensitivity, and a significant increase in fracture resistance and overall blank toughness.

Rod design has also evolved from the draftsman’s table to the computer, and

we now use sophisticated mathematical algorithms to design precise tapers for

each graphite material to achieve the exact performance characteristics we

want in our rods.

The end results are astonishing. Rods built with 3M ™ Matrix Resin are stronger, more durable and tougher – with sig-

nificantly improved hoop/flex strength and resistance to fracture. All without an increase in weight or a change in the

rod’s action or power.

Strength and fatigue testing being performed on the

Dynamic Analyzer. This machine is capable of

simulating over 15,000 hard hook sets in 24 hours.

RODS OFFERED IN 2011 WITH

THE NEW 3M ™ MATRIX RESIN

In 2011, the following St. Croix rod series

will be built with 3M ™ Matrix Resin:

.............................................................................................

“The new 3M ™ Matrix Resin has opened

the door for us to become more creative

in our rod blank designs.The strength

improvement we’ve seen in our labora-

tory is incredible, with a 30% average

increase in strength on existing products.

The new 3M ™ Matrix Resin has also

allowed us to push the limits of design in new rod series, like our new Legend ® Salt.

In that case, we were able to create substantially lighter, more sensitive saltwater rods

without compromising strength.” – Jason Brunner, St. Croix’s Director of Engineering.

...................................................................................................................................................................................................

Legend Elite ® fly, spinning and casting rods

Bank Robber ™ fly rods

Legend ® Salt offshore rods

LegendXtreme ® spinning and casting rods

...................................................................................

WHAT IS MODULUS?

Modulus is the physical measure of a material’s stiffness,

equal to the ratio of applied load (stress) to the resulting

deformation of a material (strain). A fiber with higher

modulus is harder to bend – and will snap back faster –

than a lower modulus fiber of the same weight. That

means a rod made of high-modulus graphite requires fewer

fibers to achieve the same stiffness as a rod made with

lower modulus graphite – so the higher modulus rod weighs

less and telegraphs vibrations with more sensitivity.

But higher modulus fibers also tend to be more brittle than

lower modulus fibers, so rod designers must find just the

right balance between stiffness and strength when working

with high-modulus graphite fibers.

ST. CROIX TECHNOLOGIES:

A superior resin does not automatically result in a superior fishing rod. But when combined with St. Croix’s state-of-the-art

computer-assisted rod design capabilities, our own proprietary design and manufacturing technologies, and over 60 years of

rod-making experience, the new 3M ™ Matrix Resin makes a great rod even better.

...................................................................................

KEY DESIGN FACTORS

Other factors that impact the strength, weight, sensitivity

and action of a rod include the type and amount of resin

used to bind the fibers together, the amount of prepreg

material used, the type of scrim used to create the sheet of

graphite fibers that will form the blank, the pattern used to

cut the sheet to its final dimensions, and the shape of the

mandrel used to roll the graphite sheet into a finished blank.

Rod action and weight are also impacted by the type and

placement of guides.

ADVANCED REINFORCING TECHNOLOGY ™

(ART ™ )

St. Croix’s Advanced Reinforcing Technology (ART) uses horizontally wrapped, high-strength carbon fibers on the inside of the hol-

low blanks to strengthen critical areas of our highest performance rods – without adding bulk or extra weight. (See page 6)

INTEGRATED POLY CURVE ®

(IPC ® ) TECHNOLOGY

St. Croix’s proprietary Integrated Poly Curve (IPC) Technology was another breakthrough in blank design because it allows us to design

rod tapers in continuous flowing curves instead of “step tapers” used previously. This results in smoother casting with no weak taper

transition points. The continuous-curve tapers also transmit vibrations more efficiently for noticeably enhanced sensitivity. (See page 6)

ST.CROX ROD - catalog 2011.pdf

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