HexTOOL® Composite Tooling Material

HexTOOL® composite tooling material combines tolerance accuracy with extreme lightness

HexTOOL® is Hexcel’s new patented composite tooling material that, for the first time, enables the tolerance accuracy achieved with metals to be combined with the extreme lightness of carbon fiber composites. HexTOOL® molds are easy to repair and are simple to modify. This new concept for lightweight, efficient large-scale tools is cost-effective compared with conventional composite tools and metal molds, especially those made from Invar®.

Material	Aluminum	Invar®	Tooling Prepreg	Infusion	HexTOOL®
Density	2.75	8.1	1.55	1.55	1.55
Process	Machining	Machining	Prepreg layup Autoclave	Fabric layup Vacuum infusion	HexTOOL® Layup Autoclave machining
Main Advantages	Cheap-Light Well known technology	Low CTE Well known technology	Light/Low temp cure/ Master Mold	No autoclave Light	Low CTE-Light Machinable, easy repair, design flexibility, Good dimension tolerances
Main drawbacks	High CTE-> no big tools Difficult repair	Weight/ Thermal inertia/Cost/ Difficult repair	Non- machinable/ Master Mold technology/ No repair	High tech process/Non machinable/ Master mold /No repair	New technology High temp cure

Since the launch of HexTOOL®, several leading tooling engineers have used the material confirming the benefits of the technology. They have noted that 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, ease of use, and the machinability of cured structures are some of the primary reasons HexTOOL® is being chosen for the tooling for parts on new generation aircraft worldwide.