Watch the Century Ballistics Video (Windows Media Player)

Armor Composition

The next historic innovation in armor is underway. Current state-of-the-art body armor is formed from a ceramic layer adhered to a polymer composite. The outer ceramic layer fragments an incoming round, distributing its energy over a wide area. The composite layer is extremely tough and captures the fragmented projectile through controlled deformation and effective energy absorption.

Producing armor plates to reliably stop a projectile requires an optimal balance of weight, toughness, and extremely consistent material properties. This can only be achieved with extremely well controlled materials processing. Current manufacturing methods limit quality, consistency and cost effectiveness of mass production.

RingExtruder Materials Processing

Century, Incorporated is fostering the next innovation in materials processing for composite armor by developing advanced materials processing technologies that enable improvements to both the ceramic and polymer layers. The core advancement lies in the advanced mixing technologies from the innovative 12-screw RingExtruder.

The RingExtruder is a revolutionary development in compounding technologies, consisting of a fixed ring of 12 co-rotating extruder shafts. Because pelletized raw materials are fed into the feed hopper at a precise ratio, the RingExtruder provides the mixing qualities of a batch system without the inconsistencies inherent to a discontinuous operation. The RingExtruder is a continuous mixer capable of producing composite material at 150 lbs per hour--perfectly mixed, perfectly metered, and absolutely consistent.

Armor Improvement with the RingExtruder

To strengthen the composite layer of armor, the RingExtruder’s advanced mixing brings together fibers, ceramic particles, and binder(s). Through stretching (elongational mixing), rather than shear, the RingExtruder brings these materials together to form a composite that is tougher, lighter, and less costly than current technologies.

This scanning electronic microscope image demonstrates the high quality product of the RingExtruder. Three key materials are visible: fibers, particles, and binder. By more effectively coating the fibers than current methods of production, the RingExtruder enables reduced percentage of costly binder material, making body armor production more economical.

Move Forward With Century

At Century, we take the state-of-the-art one step further. We work with our manufacturing partners to improve upon their existing materials. As our innovations are leveraged, the result will be lighter armor that can improve mobility over current designs will enhance battlefield performance. We provide the innovation, develop the processing methods for the RingExtruder, and deliver the entire package to our manufacturing partners. With our RingExtruder, we can produce plates for testing and development. Our engineering partners even provide ballistics testing of plates to document the performance of the advanced polymers and ceramics.

Watch the Century Ballistics Video (Windows Media Player)

Contact us to become part of the next historic innovation in battlefield protection by partnering with Century, Incorporated to discuss how their technologies can improve your materials, your manufacturing productivity, and your bottom line.