Oct 22 2015
Hexcel will be exhibiting at CAMX in Dallas, TX on Oct. 27-29 in booth U74 to promote the latest composite innovations for aerospace, automotive, recreational equipment and wind energy applications.
Aerospace
For more than 40 years, Hexcel has been a leader in the production of carbon fibers. Its wide portfolio of standard and intermediate modulus fibers expanded into high modulus offerings in 2014 with the HexTow® HM63 high modulus carbon fiber which has been quickly adopted by customers and is already in multi-lot qualification with major space and aerospace OEMs. HexTow® HM63 has the highest tensile strength of any high modulus fiber and provides outstanding translation of fiber properties in a composite, including superior interlaminar shear and compression shear strength. HexTow® HM63 fiber is ideal for applications such as space, UAV, commercial aerospace, helicopters and satellites. It also meets the special requirements for premium sports and recreation applications such as Formula 1, marine, bicycles, fishing rods and other industrial applications.
Hexcel was the first company to manufacture honeycomb on a commercial scale over 50 years ago and continues to innovate by adding functionality to core products. Visitors at CAMX will be able to see Hexcel’s new HexSHIELD™ high temperature honeycomb, a technology that provides high temperature resistance in aircraft engine nacelles.
By inserting a thermally resistant material into honeycomb cells Hexcel provides a core product with unique heat-shielding capabilities, that allows for the potential re-use of material after a fire at 1093°C/2000°F. This product builds on Hexcel’s long history of heat resistant honeycombs including HexWeb® HRH-327, with temperature resistance up to 260°C/500°F. HexSHIELD™ combines the structural and formable benefits of honeycomb with thermal resistance performance and can be combined with various facing materials, making it tailorable to customer needs.
Hexcel continues making advancements in noise reducing honeycomb. Hexcel’s Acousti-Cap® broadband noise-reducing honeycomb has resulted in Multi-Degree of Freedom (MDOF) liners that bring significant improvements in acoustic absorption capabilities in aircraft engine nacelles.
The acoustic treatment may be positioned at a consistent depth and resistance within the core, or can be placed in a pattern of varying depths and/ or resistances, offering an acoustic liner that is precisely tuned to the engine operating conditions. Acousti-Cap® has been tested at NASA on a full engine test rig and meets all 16 design conditions without trade-offs, an example of this new technology will be on display at CAMX.
At CAMX Hexcel will also display tooling made from HexTOOL® M61 which is used to make CFAN fan blades for the GE90 and GEnx engines and is manufactured by Sawyer Composites. Hexcel’s HexTOOL® composite tooling material enables mold tool manufacturers to build lightweight tooling that meets the strict requirements for stability and repeatability of tolerances that had previously only been achieved with machined Invar tools. HexTOOL® material also provides improved thermal performance and is much lighter than metal tooling, allowing easier handling and maneuverability.
Automotive
Hexcel will be promoting products and manufacturing technologies for the large volume production of structural parts for the automotive industry. Visitors to Hexcel’s booth at CAMX will see CFRP reinforced Body in White parts made with HexPly® M77 preforms from Hexcel’s automated process.
The preforms’ low tack allows for automated handling by the customer. They require no surface preparation and are designed for one step bonding and curing in a press, requiring no finishing operations. Common BIW part joining technologies such as welding can be used, and the parts are compatible with e-coating processes.
Hexcel’s HexPly® M77 resin cures in 2 minutes at 150°C, or 1.5 minutes at 160°C, and is available as HexPly® M77 prepreg or as HexMC® molding compound, which is ideal for complex shapes. The gel time of M77 allows the resin to quickly flow into mold contours to achieve precise geometries and the high Tg of 130°C enables cured parts to be demolded while warm for faster production cycles.
Building on the attributes of HexPly® M77, Hexcel has now installed a fully automated production line in Austria that converts UD prepreg into 2D preforms in seconds. The process allows prepreg plies of different weights and orientation to be combined in the same ply-book and includes automated cutting, camera-assisted ply positioning, and integration of adhesive and automated packing.
Recreation
Hexcel’s leading edge technology and advanced structural materials have played a key role in the evolution of sports and recreation equipment, providing lightness, stiffness and strength. From performance bikes to tennis racquets, golf shafts, fishing rods, surfboards, skis, snowboards and hockey sticks, Hexcel is proud to supply the “top of the range” with cutting edge materials that provide amateurs and professionals with the performance edge.
At this year’s CAMX, Hexcel will be displaying a 12’ BOTE paddleboard constructed with a comingled Hexcel HexTow® AS4C GP 3k carbon fiber and Innegra fiber. This unique combination capitalizes upon the impact properties of Innegra fibers and the stiffness of Hexcel’s carbon fiber.
Not only does this provide superior performance, but also the carbon-fiber look that has become so popular on the market allowing this product to live up to BOTE’s initiative to “Stand Apart”.