We would just like to let all our customers know that during these difficult times, AG remains committed to providing the same high level of service and quick delivery of product that our customers have come to expect. At this time, all our branches remain open and you can be assured that we are still fabricating and dispatching goods as per usual.

During this time, AG has stepped up its hygiene and social distancing practices which includes the use of hand sanitizer stations, regularly sanitizing touch points and training our cleaning staff in Covid-19 specific cleaning requirements. We are also increasing the use of video conferencing and telephone conversations in place of traditional face to face meetings and making sure that all our staff maintain a physical separation of at least 1.5 metres where possible.

We would also like to stress to the outside community and external sales people that visitation to our premise is only possible at this time for pre-arranged meetings.

We are committed to playing our continual part in the fight to end this disease and return to normal, but in the meantime we can assure you that we will be monitoring the situation and taking any steps necessary to prevent the spread. Unfortunately it looks like many of these measures may need to be in place for the foreseeable future.

Thank you for your understanding during this difficult time, if you have any specific questions regarding this matter, feel free to give any of our locations a call.

Fibreglass-based cloth’s are by far the most popular choice when it comes to high temperature woven insulation fabrics. They offer good insulation performance for an economic price when compared to many of the other materials on the market. They also have good mechanical strength and chemical resistance and are often offered in a range of different grades. If however, you are after a fiberglass-based insulation material that will outperform these standard grades of fibreglass, then you should be using Blue Vertex Treated Fibreglass Cloth. Read on to find out why.

What is Vertex High Temperature Insulation Cloth?

In short, Vertex is a variant of fiberglass cloth that gets its name from the Vertex treatment. ‘Vertex’ is the suppliers trade name for the high temperature Vermiculite coating which is applied in a special proprietary process. The effect of the coating is to act like armor and disperse any heat evenly across the surface of the fabric, not through it. This results in a drastic improvement to the flame resistance, temperature resistance and strength of the material, as shown in the comparison table below. Because the base fabric is an e-grade fiberglass material, Vertex cloth also retains the good electrical insulation properties and chemical resistance that fiberglass cloth is known for.

In what applications is Vertex Cloth most suitable?

Vertex will perform very well in any application that currently uses fiberglass cloth for insulation however it excels in applications where the cloth is likely to come into direct contact with flame, molten metal, welding spatter or slag. Examples of these include welding blankets, drop cloths, heat and flame resistant curtains, heat shields, thermal jackets and high temperature lagging. Below you can see a Thermal Insulation Sleeve manufactured using Vertex Cloth.

Vertex cloth is also used for creating heat and flame-resistant expansion joints in many foundry and furnace applications and marine applications. It can also be used for gasketing and filtration purposes.

A Fibreglass Cloth with Superior Abrasion Resistance

Not only does the Vertex coating improve the thermal properties of the cloth, it also improves the mechanical strength, meaning Vertex is a great option for applications in which abrasion is a concern. The vermiculite coating also helps to prevent fraying on the edges of the material.

If Vertex sounds like it might be right for you application and you want to find out more, you can head over to the product page or contact us today and one of our helpful sales assistants will be more than happy to assist.

This month, we have expanded our range of Class 2 High Visibility Reflective Tape and now carry Grade 2803 Polyester Tape with a 75mm diagonal chevron. Also known as Tiger Tape or Candy Stripe Tape, it is suitable for use on vehicles, marker plates, signs and route markers to aid with clear visual identification and marking of hazards. class 2 reflective tape, 2803 is manufactured from a colored polyester material with a strong adhesive backing. It utilizes glass bead technology to provide outstanding visibility and reflection designed to last a minimum of 7 years. It is also waterproof and UV stable, meaning it is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.

Class 2 Reflective Tape has a large range of applications, it’s used on:

• Cars, Trucks, Van’s, Ute’s, Tractors, Trailers and Delivery Vehicles.
• Parking Signs, Road Signs, Safety Signs and Guide Signs.
• Machinery including mining equipment and earth-moving equipment.
• Traffic Cones, Poles and Bollards.
• Many more applications.

Left and Right Hand Striped Reflective Tape for Vehicles

Our new 2803 Grade reflective tape has been designed to meet Australian Design Rule 45/01, the standard which covers light and light signaling devices on vehicles and also conforms to AS/NSZ 1906.1:2007. It is available with either a left-hand or right-hand diagonal chevron, so it can be applied to both sides of a vehicle such as in the picture below.

Tips for Applying Reflective Tape

It is important to note that the most important part of applying an adhesive tape is surface preparation. For a stronger bond, it is generally a requirement that a surface be clean and free from any dirt, dust, oil or grime. Our range of aerosol cleaners such as will be able to help with this. You will then need to consider the what the surface material (what it’s made of). This is very important as some low surface energy surfaces may need to be primed with Weicon Contact Primer to enable adhesion.

Once the surface is ready for application, simply peel off the liner and apply the tape to the surface, the aggressive adhesive should work on both bare or painted surfaces as long as they are clean and dry.

Custom Widths Available

Thats right, AG operates full service tape conversion facilities which means you can order your reflective tape in whatever width you require up to the log roll width of 1220mm! Standard roll length is 45.7m per roll.

If you are looking for an adhesive that you can rely on for high strength bonding then you should give Weicon RK-1300 Structural Adhesive a try. It’s a two part acrylic glue that can be used for creating ultra-high strength bonds between a range of different materials including metal, wood, ceramic, glass, stone and most plastics.

RK-1300 has excellent impact, sheer and peel resistance  and is quick and easy to use (watch the video to find out how). Once applied, RK-1300 reaches handling strength in just 6 minutes so if you need to form high strength bonds quickly, this is your solution.

But what good is simply telling you that it creates strong bonds, we’d rather show you. Which is why we put together this short video. We don’t want to tell you exactly how much he weighs, but those of you who know our Sydney Sales Manager Tim know that he’s a big man. Will a bond made with RK-1300 hold his weight? Watch the video to find out.

RK-1300 is just one adhesive from our huge range of adhesives and sealants. For other types, you can check out the range here. For more information, including technical and safety data, head over to the product page or contact us direct.

When we found out one of the highest-selling products from our Weicon line was none other than Epoxy Resin Putty, we became curious to know what our customers were using it for. After all, there are so many uses for this universal repair epoxy. It can be used to repair, fix, seal, patch, anchor, mould and balance. However it was the last one, ‘balancing’ that kept popping up when we spoke with many of our customers and we must say the feedback we have received about the product for this application has been overwhelmingly positive.

So what is balancing? It has to do with electric motors.

Inside all electric motors is what’s known as a rotor. This is the part that rotates due to the interaction between the windings and the magnetic fields. A rotor can become unbalanced from either fixed (non-symmetrical design or manufacture) or variable sources (shifting or distortion during use). Unbalance in an electric motors is a problem as it generally causes vibration, wear and tear on the bearings and inefficient operation, which means it needs to be fixed, fast! The process undertaken to rectify the problem is known as dynamic balancing.

Balancing Electric Motors with a Hard-Setting, Kneadable Repair Compound

To balance a rotor, Electric Motor Rewinders require a hard-setting epoxy that will bond well to whichever part of the rotor needs to be balanced. This is why they use Weicon Epoxy Resin Putty. It’s a kneadable repair compound that bonds well to most materials including metal, glass, wood, rubber, ceramics, concrete and most plastics and sets very hard (87 Shore D).

To perform the operation, the motor is placed on a balancing machine and rotated with a belt or end drive. The balancing machine is then able to generate a report, telling you how much weight to add and where. To apply the correct amount of weight to the right place, rewinders apply an epoxy compound.

There are several reasons Motor Repairers choose to use Weicon Epoxy Resin Putty over other products. First of all, it’s simple to use. All you need to do is prepare it for use is measure and cut off equal amounts of the two parts (A & B), then thoroughly knead them together. You don’t need to use the whole kit either and can add or subtract while it’s still curing.

Our customers have also made mention of the fact that they really appreciate part’s A & B being coloured differently (blue and yellow) so they don’t get confused which one to use. This is also beneficial as they can tell when the compound is properly mixed because it turns a uniform green colour when ready for use.

They also love the cure time. Epoxy resin putty reaches mechanical strength in just two hours and full cure in 3 hours, which is quicker than many epoxy compounds on the market. It also bonds well to most materials and does this before achieving a fully cured state to make the whole process faster.

Once cured, it is able to be milled, drilled, filed or machined and resists attack from fuels, oils, sale water, most acids and lye.

What else can Weicon Epoxy Resin Putty be used for?

Besides balancing electric motors, this universal repair compound can be used for a whole range of other applications. Some of these include:

♦  Repair and Sealing of Pipes and Tanks.
♦  Sealing off lockout tagout locks permanently.
♦  Repairing of shafts, bearings, pumps and casings.
♦  Making patterns, moulds and samples.

Epoxy Resin Putty has a minimum shelf life of 18 months, meaning it is perfect to keep on hand in case of an unexpected or emergency situation. It is available in 100gm, 400gm and 800gm Kits. For further inquiries, pricing, or to place and order, contact us now!