In the year when we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first vertical flight, Hexcel is proud to be displaying two Eurocopter rotor blades on its stand No. H8 at the Paris Airshow (Le Bourget, 18-24 June). The rotors represent two different generations of rotor blade technology and are a symbol of Hexcel’s long-standing commitment to the helicopter industry. The earlier rotor was manufactured using HexPly® M10 glass and carbon prepregs and the new generation rotor is built with HexForce® Injectex fabrics and HexFlow® RTM6 resin using the Resin Transfer Moulding technique
The first vertical take-offs were the work of pioneering French engineers, with Paul Cornu achieving the most successful take-off near Lisieux on November 13th 1907. Eurocopter and Hexcel are proud to celebrate this anniversary and share their passion for helicopters and the evolution in composite materials that they have inspired.
Other displays on the Hexcel stand at the Paris Airshow will include Hexcel’s new award-winning aircraft noise absorption product HexWeb® Acousti-Cap™ which consists of a non-metallic permeable cap material embedded into honeycomb core to create an acoustic septum. Hexcel’s customers specify the sound dampening characteristics they want in the product, as well as overall core thickness, numbers of caps in a cell, and insertion depth. The resultant product is an assembly that is tuned to their acoustic requirements thereby reducing some forms of engine noise. This noise reduction can result in many benefits, including: recurring cost savings due to a reduction in landing fees at airports, increased fleet flexibility, improved cabin comfort and fewer other acoustic treatments in the fuselage that affect weight and cost.
Other exhibits on the Hexcel stand will include HexMC® structural aircraft components manufactured by Hexcel in Kent, USA, for application on Boeing aircraft. HexMC® is an innovative product form of composite material which is derived from Hexcel’s established aerospace industry high strength carbon fibre / epoxy tape. HexMC® offers low density, with good strength and stiffness properties. HexMC® provides weight savings that are comparable to those achieved with aerospace carbon/epoxy prepregs, and it enables complex shapes to be manufactured that previously could only be machined, cast or forged from metal.
HexTOOL® is Hexcel’s new patent pending composite tooling material that enables machinable composite moulds to be produced for the first time. This new concept for lightweight, efficient large-scale tools is cost-effective compared with conventional composite tools and metal moulds, especially those made from Invar®. At the Airshow Hexcel will display a mould tool, manufactured from HexTOOL® for the fuselage demonstrator of the Airbus A350 XWB.
HexTOOL® consists of high strength carbon fibre and HexPly® M61 BMI resin that has been toughened and modified to reduce resin flow and maintain the quasi-istropic fibre distribution during tool cure. Compared to epoxy resins, HexPly® M61 provides superior resistance to degradation (micro-cracking) when submitted to thermo-cycling. Since the launch of HexTOOL® in 2006 many tooling engineers in Europe and the USA have testified to the benefits of the technology, noting that that after machining, dimensional stability is maintained, at tolerances very close to those achieved with metal tooling and that vacuum integrity is assured, even in heavily machined areas. Long tool life and ease of use are other major benefits.
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Hexcel Corporation, based in Stamford, CT, is a leading advanced structural materials company. It develops, manufactures and markets lightweight, high-performance reinforcement products, composite materials and composite structures for use in commercial aerospace, space and defense, and industrial applications. Hexcel has offices and manufacturing plants around the world.