Hexcel Showcases Portfolio Of Multiaxial Reinforcements At Composites Engineering 2016

LEICESTER, England — September 2016 — Hexcel will showcase its HiMax™ range of multiaxial reinforcements at Composites Engineering 2016 in Birmingham, November 2-3. HiMax fabrics are widely used in the automotive, wind energy, marine, sports and industrial markets and can be specifically tailored for each customer’s individual application.

HiMax multiaxial reinforcements, or non-crimp fabrics (NCF), are made up of multiple plies of parallel fibrer, each laying in a different orientation. These layers are typically stitchbonded to form a fabric. HiMax reinforcements allow composites manufacturers to process multiple layers of unidirectional fibers in a single fabric and offer several advantages over traditional forms of reinforcement. A selection of products will be on display at Composites Engineering, including carbon, glass and aramid multiaxials, hybrid fabrics, fabrics optimized for infusion, and recycled materials.

HiMax carbon multiaxials are available in a wide range of fiber types from 3k through to 50k, including both PAN and pitch fibers. Fabrics with weights from 50 g/m2 up to 1600 g/m2 can be produced, in widths of 25 mm through to 1600 mm. The range includes unidirectionals (UDs), +/- 20 biaxials, +/- 60 multiaxials of 75 g/m2, 0/90 biaxials, triaxials and quadaxials.

Hexcel’s glass fibre range includes UDs, +/-45 biaxials, 0/90 biaxials, triaxials and quadaxials. Fabrics are available in weights of 250 g/m2 up to 6000 g/m2 and widths of 25 mm through to 2540 mm. Chopped fibre mats and other substrates can be employed to create materials optimized for customers’ projects.

Hexcel has developed a full range of fabrics specifically for customers which use infusion. In addition to modifying the construction of standard fabrics to enable, higher and more consistent infusion rates, the range encompasses fabrics that include different infusion cores within the structure including polypropylene, polyester, natural fibre and glass fabrics. Hexcel has also developed a number of ‘multi-stack’ fabrics that are ideal for infusing large monolithic structures in fewer layers. To aid the development of the ideal fabric architecture for each application, Hexcel offers a series of comparative test methods for determining the relative infusibility of fabrics as well as the quality of the laminates produced.

Hexcel acquired the Formax multiaxials business in January 2016 to advance dry reinforcements technology for future aerospace applications and provide scale for growing industrial markets.

Posted October 18, 2016

Source: Hexcel 

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