National Composites Week – Coastal’s Deep Roots in the Space Program

National Composites Week is designed to introduce young people and others in the community to the composites industry, the career opportunities available, and demonstrate the contributions composites make to the local, national and global economy.  Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board, a high-density urethane tooling board used extensively in composites, including industries like aerospace, automotive and marine and in a variety of applications including molds and prototypes. 

We’ll be sharing various ways that Coastal supports composites throughout the week.

Today’s Topic: Coastal’s long history and roots in the space program

A young Chuck Miller started his work with urethane on the Saturn stage II rocket. It not only launched a rocket to the moon, but it eventually launched Coastal Enterprises.  The Space Program has informed many of the product innovations over the last 50 years, including Precision Board urethane tooling board and our line of companion products, which includes adhesives, primer, and textured surface coatings.  Read on to see where it all started and to learn a bit more about the deep history of Coastal Enterprises and NASA’s space program.

national composites week

Chuck Miller, President of Coastal Enterprises, was featured on the Composites World podcast last year. He discussed his background and involvement with the evolving world of composites and tooling from his time as a Manufacturing Engineer on the Saturn S-II, the second stage of the Saturn V Moon Launch Vehicle (fabricated by North American Aviation in Seal Beach, CA) through the founding of his company, Coastal Enterprises, and into what the future may hold for composites.  You can listen to the podcast as well as check out the blog post that Composites World did.

national composites week

Coastal Enterprises is a privately held company founded in 1973 by Mr. Chuck Miller, President, after his participation in the Saturn S-II Space Program at Rockwell International. The Saturn Launch Vehicle used polyurethane foam as its exterior fuel tank insulator, and it was at this time that his experience with this unique material began.

Products manufactured by Coastal Enterprises and sold internationally in 1973 were primarily for the machining industry. At the time, they were high density urethane blocks used to “proof” computer programs on numerically controlled milling machines. Ease in machining and lower cost made urethane the preferred choice over proofing on the actual steel used for the part being machined.

national composites week

Initial development of Precision Board began in early 1989. By redesigning the chemical formulation and manufacturing methods of our original machining product, Coastal Enterprises developed Precision Board High-Density Urethane Tooling Board with physical characteristics to meet the rigorous demands of aerospace tooling and the machining standards of today’s 5 axis milling machines alike.

This non-abrasive, easy to cut and easy to finish material continues to be used extensively by the aerospace industry to this day for everything from prototypes to composite layup tools.  After years of development and understanding of industry needs, Coastal now offers custom-bonded step-tools, a proprietary bonding process which results in bonded blocks made in near-net shape configurations with nearly imperceptible bond lines.  As we continue to grow, our material is now being used in a variety of industries, including aerospace, automotive, government, military and bio-renewables.

As the next generation of engineers and designers are now entering the composites industry, we are excited to see how they will use Precision Board Urethane Tooling Board to help move composites to the next level.

National Composites Week Schedule

Monday- Coastal’s School Donation Program
Tuesday- What is soft tooling and how has it changed the composites industry?
Wednesday- The benefits of Precision Board over other tooling boards
Thursday- The creation and benefits of Precision Board step-tools
Friday- Coastal’s long history and roots in the space program

A group of composites industry leaders has announced the creation and launch of the inaugural National Composites Week, Aug. 26-30, 2019. The goal of National Composites Week is to encourage manufacturers from throughout the composites manufacturing supply chain — raw material suppliers, convertors, designers, toolmakers, fabricators, educators, students — to celebrate and bring attention to the myriad ways that composite materials and composites manufacturing contribute to the products and structures that shape the American manufacturing landscape today.  More information is available HERE

National Composites Week was organized and launched by braiding specialist A&P Technology, global advanced composites company Hexcel and media partner CompositesWorld magazine.

Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board, a versatile, cost-effective and eco-friendly urethane material used extensively in the tooling industry.  It is a closed-cell, rigid, dimensionally-stable substrate that is ideal for use in a number of different tooling applications.

Request free samplesget a quote or sign up for weekly e-blasts packed with helpful information.

National Composites Week – Precision Board Step-Tools

National Composites Week is designed to introduce young people and others in the community to the composites industry, the career opportunities available, and demonstrate the contributions composites make to the local, national and global economy.  Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board, a high-density urethane tooling board used extensively in composites, including industries like aerospace, automotive and marine and in a variety of applications including molds and prototypes. 

We’ll be sharing various ways that Coastal supports composites throughout the week.

Today’s Topic: The creation and benefits of Precision Board step-tools

The aerospace and automotive industries have relied on Coastal Enterprises for years to provide custom-bonded Precision Board urethane tooling blocks for their unique composite layup tooling needs. From small and simple to large and complex, we offer fast turn around and competitive pricing on custom tooling board blocks. We can take the guesswork out of building your composite lay up tool. Working from a CAD drawing of your tool, we design and fabricate a custom block using Precision Board that is ready for machining. Virtually any shape, size or level of complexity, our bonding expertise will help you keep your project on schedule and on budget.

national composites week
We have the capability to bond very large or very small blocks depending on the application.  We can also fabricate anything from complex geometric shapes to basic shapes, based on specs provided by the client in the form of drawings or even a simple sketch.

Step-tools bonded in-house by Coastal have nearly imperceptible bond-lines with less chance of bond-line failure, less chance of bond-line shrinkage and / or print.

national composites week

Our large inventory of fully cured HDU blocks allows us to get your custom bonding project out the door fast!  Many clients choose our custom bonding service to reduce production time. Letting us bond your HDU project allows you to focus on the machining and final shaping.

national composites week

In tooling applications, we bond our blocks with EP-76, a two-part epoxy we make here at Coastal.  We add our PB Granules to the epoxy to match the density of the material being bonded, resulting in seamless bond-lines.  This also means the CNC operator doesn’t need to take harder bond-lines into consideration when machining Precision Board.

In our experience, if your tool is larger than can fit on a desk top, we can save you money bonding it in house at Coastal Enterprises.  Contact our technical sales department for help with a cost analysis to determine how much time and money you could potentially save by having us do the bonding for you.

Still have questions about our in-house custom-bonding?  Call us at 800-845-0745 to talk to our experienced technical staff, request a quote on a bonding project, or send us an email with your questions.

National Composites Week Schedule

Monday- Coastal’s School Donation Program
Tuesday- What is soft tooling and how has it changed the composites industry?
Wednesday- The benefits of Precision Board over other tooling boards
Thursday- The creation and benefits of Precision Board step-tools
Friday- Coastal’s long history and roots in the space program

A group of composites industry leaders has announced the creation and launch of the inaugural National Composites Week, Aug. 26-30, 2019. The goal of National Composites Week is to encourage manufacturers from throughout the composites manufacturing supply chain — raw material suppliers, convertors, designers, toolmakers, fabricators, educators, students — to celebrate and bring attention to the myriad ways that composite materials and composites manufacturing contribute to the products and structures that shape the American manufacturing landscape today.  More information is available HERE

National Composites Week was organized and launched by braiding specialist A&P Technology, global advanced composites company Hexcel and media partner CompositesWorld magazine.

Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board, a versatile, cost-effective and eco-friendly urethane material used extensively in the tooling industry.  It is a closed-cell, rigid, dimensionally-stable substrate that is ideal for use in a number of different tooling applications.

Request free samplesget a quote or sign up for weekly e-blasts packed with helpful information.

National Composites Week – Benefits of Precision Board Urethane Tooling

National Composites Week is designed to introduce young people and others in the community to the composites industry, the career opportunities available, and demonstrate the contributions composites make to the local, national and global economy.  Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board, a high-density urethane tooling board used extensively in composites, including industries like aerospace, automotive and marine and in a variety of applications including molds and prototypes. 

We’ll be sharing various ways that Coastal supports composites throughout the week.

Today’s Topic: The benefits of Precision Board over other tooling boards

Precision Board urethane tooling board is a high-quality tooling material available through our wide-spread distributor network.  When deciding which urethane tooling board to purchase, consider that Coastal Enterprises offers you benefits that you can’t get anywhere else…something we like to call “The Coastal Advantage”.

national composites week

The Coastal Advantage

  • 16 densities of Precision Board in high-temp and low-temp.
  • 8 sheet sizes ranging from 20″x60″ to 5’x10′.
  • Thickness ranging from 1/2″ to 24″ in ANY increment.
  • Fast turnaround of DAYS not weeks.
  • Custom-bonding of step-tools and blocks.
  • Free technical support.
  • Distributor network.
  • Protective packaging of your order.

Custom Bonded Blocks

We can deliver a custom-bonded block or step-tool in near-net shape to you, ready for machining upon delivery, saving you material and labor costs and maximizing your machining time.  Our large in-house inventory of Precision Board urethane tooling lets us get your tool out the door in days, not weeks.  Get a quote today!

New 25lb Density (PBLT-25/PBHT-25)

national composites week

Our brand new density – 25lb, is now available in both PBLT and PBHT versions. The new 25lb Precision Board tooling board can provide similar performance to our 30lb material, while proving cost-effective & light-weight.

PBLT-25 is great for composite master molds, short run thermaform tools, fixtures and more…and is available now.  Call us for pricing and availability.

8 Standard Sheet Sizes

With 8 standard sheets sizes ranging from 20″x60″ to 5’x10′, we offer more options for your tooling project than any other comparable company.  We offer thicknesses in ANY increment from 1/2″ up to 24″ and custom-cutting within these sheet sizes.

Customized Packaging

national composites week

Our Precision Board material is wrapped up safe and secure using multiple layers of protective packaging, including cover sheets made from Precision Board urethane.  Orders include before and after packaging photos and are delivered on pallets secured with metal bands.

Call 800-845-0745 to talk to our technical staff, request pricing on sheets of Precision Board urethane tooling, or get a quote on a custom-bonded step-tool.

National Composites Week Schedule

Monday- Coastal’s School Donation Program
Tuesday- What is soft tooling and how has it changed the composites industry?
Wednesday- The benefits of Precision Board over other tooling boards
Thursday- The creation and benefits of Precision Board step-tools
Friday- Coastal’s long history and roots in the space program

A group of composites industry leaders has announced the creation and launch of the inaugural National Composites Week, Aug. 26-30, 2019. The goal of National Composites Week is to encourage manufacturers from throughout the composites manufacturing supply chain — raw material suppliers, convertors, designers, toolmakers, fabricators, educators, students — to celebrate and bring attention to the myriad ways that composite materials and composites manufacturing contribute to the products and structures that shape the American manufacturing landscape today.  More information is available HERE

National Composites Week was organized and launched by braiding specialist A&P Technology, global advanced composites company Hexcel and media partner CompositesWorld magazine.

Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board, a versatile, cost-effective and eco-friendly urethane material used extensively in the tooling industry.  It is a closed-cell, rigid, dimensionally-stable substrate that is ideal for use in a number of different tooling applications.

Request free samplesget a quote or sign up for weekly e-blasts packed with helpful information.