At this year’s JEC Composites show in Paris (March 24-26th) Hexcel will promote its latest innovations for Aerospace, Wind Energy and Automotive markets.

AEROSPACE

Over seventy percent of Hexcel’s business is aerospace-related and Hexcel has more aerospace industry qualified products than any other composites manufacturer - from carbon fibre and reinforcement fabrics through to prepregs, adhesives, honeycombs and engineered core.  Last year Hexcel was awarded the biggest contract in its 61 year history to supply primary structure prepreg for the Airbus A350 XWB.  This contract is expected to generate revenues of over $4 billion through to 2025. 
At JEC this year Hexcel is promoting HexPly® M56, a new Out of Autoclave (OOA) prepreg for aerospace composite structures.  Unlike traditional aerospace prepregs that require an autoclave cure to achieve the required properties, HexPly® M56 provides the same quality and performance from a simple oven cure under vacuum.  This avoids capital investment in autoclave equipment and on-going processing costs. 
HexPly® M56 is available with woven carbon, UD carbon tape, woven glass and Metallic mesh reinforcements and is suitable for Hand Lay-up, Automated Tape Laying (ATL) and Automated Fibre Placement (AFP) processing.  The standard cure temperature is 180°C and an alternative 135°C cure cycle is possible, with potential for reduced tooling costs and composite repair applications.
In OEM and Tier 1 trials all requirements for porosity, C-scan, surface aspect and mechanical performance have been achieved.  The easy handling of HexPly® M56, for Hand Lay-up and ATL applications, is also appreciated, along with the 30 day tack life at room temperature.
Hexcel customer AleniaAermacchi (a Finmeccanica company) has loaned Hexcel a special acoustic panel to display at the show.  The Double Degree of Freedom (2DOF) Zero-Splice Acoustic Panel is the result of joint cooperation between the two companies on the development of Hexcel’s HexWeb® AcoustiCap® honeycomb and core splicing technology.  The joint activity resulted in the preparation of several 2DOF specimens that were submitted to acoustic testing. The test programmes revealed excellent consistency between the measured and predicted values.
The use of Hexcel’s AcoustiCap® honeycomb and HexPly® carbon fibre prepreg in combination with the AleniaAermacchi patented process has resulted in the design and manufacture of a state-of-the-art acoustic panel.

The sound-absorption obtained from the 2DOF panel design is further increased by the “zero splice” configuration that prevents the generation of scattering modes while offering a wider sound-reducing area and a low weight solution.  This configuration is now offered by AleniaAermacchi for all current and future acoustic inlet designs.
TOOLING
Hexcel is also promoting its HexTOOL® innovative machinable composite tooling material and launching an epoxy version to complement the highly successful BMI product, HexTOOL® M61.  The new HexTOOL® M81 cures in 6 hours at 125° C, followed by a post cure of 2 hours at 205°C.  It is designed for the manufacture of 120°C curing parts and is particularly suitable for Aerospace and Automotive applications.
HexTOOL® provides many benefits compared to conventional tooling prepregs and Invar.  HexTOOL® can be machined without distortion, allowing complex shaped tools to be manufactured to tight tolerances that maintain vacuum integrity.  With a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) that matches carbon/epoxy composites, HexTOOL® is lighter than metal tooling, allowing easier handling and reduced infrastructure investment.  HexTOOL® provides fast heat-up and cool down rates relative to metal tools, leading to reduced production costs.  It can be repaired and modified to accommodate design changes. HexTOOL® M61 withstands several hundred autoclave cycles at 180°C while  HexTOOL® M81 is formulated to withstands more than 100 cure cycles at 120°C.  Data generation is ongoing and once complete we will be able to confirm more precisely the maximum tool life of both systems.
Two HexTOOL® mould tools will be displayed on the Hexcel stand at JEC.  The HexTOOL® M61 tooling was manufactured by Kunststoff Wagner in Germany for the manufacture of a light aircraft rudder.  A demonstrator mould in newly launched HexTOOL M81 will also be on display.

WIND ENERGY

Having opened a wind energy prepreg plant in Tianjin, China last year and broken ground at a new site in Windsor, Colorado, this February, Hexcel is truly a leading worldwide player in the wind energy market.  The two new plants complement Hexcel’s long established wind energy prepreg facility in Neumarkt, Austria.

At JEC this year Hexcel is promoting its range of composites for wind blades including prepregs, HexFIT® infusion materials, reinforcements and drilled honeycomb (which facilitates air flow in mould tools).  The spotlight is on Hexcel’s new surfacing prepreg for Wind Energy, HexPly® XF2P that provides a ready to paint surface that is tough and durable without the need for gel coat.  This results in man-hour savings by avoiding the resin mixing and pre-gelling processes and eliminates the stocking of reactive gel coat ingredients. 

AUTOMOTIVE

Hexcel has developed a range of composites specifically tailored to the requirements of the automotive industry.  HexPly® M49 prepreg is Hexcel’s foundation product for automotive applications - an industry proven market leading system suitable for car body parts and interiors.  HexPly® XF3 is a surfacing film that provides an excellent surface finish for automotive applications.  It is ready to paint with minimum preparation and compatible with most epoxy prepregs adapting to a wide range of cure cycles from 100 to 140°C.

The automotive display will be enhanced by two composite parts manufactured with Hexcel materials for the Lamborghini Gallardo supercar.  The bonnet is manufactured by ACE GmbH using resin transfer moulding with HexForce® NC2 multiaxial carbon fabric.  HexForce® NC2 is easy to process, allowing full resin infusion and providing a very smooth surface that reduces the print through effect of the carbon.

The Lamborghini Gallardo gear selector is manufactured by RIC using HexMC® carbon fibre/epoxy from Hexcel.  HexMC® is a composite moulding technology allowing the mass production of high performance complex shaped parts that are difficult to manufacture using standard lamination.

Another innovation from Hexcel that is of interest to automotive customers is the HexForce® PrimeTex™ range of fabrics that have been processed for a smooth, closed weave and uniform cosmetic appearance.  The fibre tows are spread in both the warp and weft for unique aesthetic appeal.  Hexcel has patents covering its innovative spreading processes.  PrimeTex™ fabrics are being used by BMW on the inner and outer skins of the carbon/epoxy roof of the current M3 and M6 models.

ends

Hexcel Corporation is a leading advanced composites company. It develops, manufactures and markets lightweight, high-performance structural materials, including carbon fibres, reinforcements for composites, prepregs, honeycomb, matrix systems, adhesives and composite structures, used in commercial aerospace, space and defence and industrial applications.

Contact: Rachel Woolerton  
Tel: +44 1223 838370  
Rachel.Woolerton@hexcel.com 

Contact France: Sophie Meyniel
Tel: +33 4 72 25 26 33 
 Sophie.Meyniel@hexcel.com