Summary - Hexcel.com

Summary
Farnborough 2006
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New HexTOOL
tooling compound
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Tool manufacture Recent developments Locations
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Hexcel Invests to
Maintain
Leadership in
Carbon Fibre
Composites for
Aerospace
Hexcel is the leader in
advanced composite materials
for aerospace and a
leading producer of high
strength and intermediate
modulus carbon fibres used
in military and commercial
aircraft, launch vehicles and
satellites.
Hexcel is a major supplier of
Magnamite ® carbon fibre
to the aerospace industry,
with key programmes
including Airbus, Boeing
F18-E/F, Lockheed Martin F-
22 and F35, GE90 engines,
the Eurofighter Typhoon and
V22 helicopters. Hexcel’s
extensive range of carbon
fibres includes the industry
standards AS4 and IM7,
available in 3K, 6K and 12K
formats.
To meet the growing
demand for carbon fibre
composites Hexcel has
announced that it is
investing $100 million to
expand its carbon fibre
production capacity through
the addition of new
Magnamite ® carbon fibre
lines and a new precursor
line. As part of that
programme, Hexcel is
building the first ever carbon fibre plant in
Spain, near Madrid. In the United States, the
Company is adding an additional carbon fibre
line to its Salt Lake City, UT facility and
additional capacity at its Decatur, AL facility,
where the carbon fibre precursor is
manufactured. The new U.S. line will be
aerospace qualified by the end of 2007 and
the Spanish line in 2008.
These additional carbon fibre manufacturing
lines will increase Hexcel’s global carbon
fiber capacity by about 50%. Approximately
half of this capacity expansion will be
provided by the new Spanish plant, where
one carbon fibre line will be
installed initially,
with space to
add further
lines as
required to meet
demand from new
programmes.
Mr. David E. Berges,
Hexcel’s Chairman,
President and
C E O
said, “The large increase in carbon fibre
composites usage in commercial and military
aircraft is driving Hexcel to expand its
manufacturing capacity to support growing
customer demand. Hexcel is already the
world’s largest producer of intermediate
modulus carbon fibre, a type of fibre that is
being increasingly specified in new
aerospace programmes, and we are pleased
to establish European manufacturing of
carbon fibre to complement our existing and
expanded capacity in the United States. With
this expansion, we should be very well
positioned to support the growth in our
European customers’ product requirements
such as the full range of Airbus commercial
airliners, business jets from Dassault,
engine nacelles from Aircelle,
helicopters from
Eurocopter and other
military aircraft
from EADS.”
Hexcel stand at Farnborough 2006
Hall 4, Stand A10

New Carbon fibre plant in Spain
At a ceremony in Spain 29 th May 2006, Hexcel
President Dave Berges and President of Castilla
La Mancha, Sr Don Jose María Barreda Fóntes
unveiled a sign at the site in Illescas where Hexcel
will build its first ever carbon fibre plant in Europe.
The photo shows (left to right):
Jose Manuel Diaz-Salazar
Minister for Industry & Technology
(Castilla La Mancha)
Señor Don Jose Manuel Tofiño Pérez
Mayor of Illescas
Señor Don Jose María Barreda Fóntes
President of Castilla La Mancha
Dave Berges
Hexcel’s Chairman, President and CEO
Andrea Domenichini
Hexcel’s VP Operations (Composites)
Prepreg capacity
expansion
In addition to the expansion of its carbon
fibre manufacturing facilities, Hexcel has
also announced that it is in the process of
investing $20 million in new state of the art
equipment for prepreg production in the UK,
Spain, Germany and France, to meet the
growing demands of the aerospace industry.
Prepregs are carbon fibre reinforcements
that are impregnated with a formulated resin
system. They are cured using heat and
pressure to form lightweight, structural
parts.
Hexcel has already begun expanding its
formulated resin capability in Duxford UK
and has added a new prepreg line at its plant
in Parla, Spain, both became fully
operational March 2006. Additionally, new
prepreg capacity is became installed in
Stade, Germany and Nantes, France, where
Hexcel will set up prepreg production
facilities close to Airbus locations. This
extensive capacity expansion plan is
designed to meet the growing demand for
prepreg for current and future aerospace
programmes.
In addition to increasing capacity, the new
facilities in Stade and Nantes will enable
Hexcel to exceed customer expectations
for delivery and responsiveness, while
enhancing product quality and making the
overall supply chain more efficient and
reliable. Airbus will be the primary customer
for prepregs produced at each location. The
new lines are expected to be operational by
December 2006.
“I am delighted that we are expanding
Hexcel’s prepreg capacity in Europe”
commented Dave Berges. “Setting up new
prepreg facilities in close proximity to the
major Airbus composite manufacturing sites
will reinforce our partnership and enable us
to meet the growing requirements for
prepreg for current and future aircraft
programmes.”
New HexTool TM
tooling compound
HexTOOL is Hexcel’s new patent pending
composite tooling material that enables
machineable composite moulds to be produced
for the first time. This new concept for
lightweight, efficient large-scale tools is costeffective
compared with conventional composite
tools and metal moulds, especially those made
from INVAR.
HexTOOL uses Hexcel’s established HexMC ®
technology. The launch product consists of high
strength carbon fibre and HexPly ® M61 BMI
resin. Specifically developed for tooling, the M61
resin is toughened and modified to reduce resin
flow so that the prepreg sections stay in place
during tool cure to maintain their quasi-isotropic
fibre distribution. Compared to epoxy resins, this
provides superior resistance to degradation
(micro-cracking) when submitted to thermocycling.
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Tool Manufacture
The tool comprises at least one layer of
HexTOOL , cured in an autoclave. The layup
is done with minimum labour and time (i.e.
no debulking) and on a master mould that
does not have to be dimensionally accurate.
material made up of chopped unidirectional
prepreg tape. It provides a tooling material
that meets multiple objectives including
coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)
matching that of carbon/epoxy parts; lighter
cure cycles at temperatures approaching
400° F/204° C.
The material is easy to process, being rapidly
hand-pressed onto the master mould without
debulks, using only a heat gun to soften the
resin. When warmed, HexTOOL has excellent
drapability over compound shapes - any
wrinkling can be avoided by cutting and darting
with a razor knife or scissors. Because of its
thickness, fewer plies are needed to build up a
tool thus saving fabrication time and labour.
Sample production tools have been
manufactured by Hexcel for testing from which
numerous sample parts have been fabricated
and cured and subsequent laser measurements
have demonstrated that dimensional stability
was maintained, at tolerances very close to
metal tooling. Vacuum integrity was not an
issue, even in heavily machined areas.
▲
Machining the cured tool
▲ Mould Lay-up
The “as cured” tool is then machined to final
desired shape
This approach is possible thanks to the use of
HexMC ® technology, a compression moulding
weight and faster heatup/cool down
rates than metal; ability to machine for
tight tolerances; and the ability to
repair. The tooling material has been
shown to survive at least 500 autoclave
Hexcel Innovations for “black” planes
by George Green, Head of Composites R&T
R&T is a key factor in Hexcel’s position as
a leader in the field of advanced composite
materials. So what new technologies have
recently been developed? George Green,
Head of R&T gives us a briefing on new
products which are meeting the demands
of the Black Aeroplane programs and also
a preview of research in progress.
“As Head of R&T, I see my role as
providing Hexcel with a product portfolio
that allows it to remain a leader in the field
of advanced composite materials, that are
not only superior in mechanical properties
but are also process-friendly for the
customer.
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Recent developments
Two civil aerospace programmes have changed
the composite landscape over recent years: the
Boeing 787 with its composite wings and
fuselage and the new composite winged Airbus.
There is no turning back, and composites have
truly come of age.
Over the last few years, Hexcel has developed a
number of new technologies to meet
the demands of these Black Aeroplane
programmes. These include improved adhesive
systems for secondary honeycomb structures,
HexMC ® moulding compounds, tough primary
structure prepregs and novel systems for resin
infusion.
Recent developments include Hexcel’s new
generation aircraft floor panels, Fibrelam ® 2200,
which are ultralight, offering 20% weight savings
over traditional panels with no loss of strength or
stiffness. HexWeb ® Accousti-Cap is a new
technology, providing noise control in aircraft
engine nacelles. HexPly ® M21 is a 3rd,
generation high toughness epoxy
system which is recommended
for large volume structures
on new aerospace
programs and
offers high
damage tolerance, excellent toughness at high
impact, high residual compression strength, good
hot-wet properties and simple cure
schedule. TowFlex® thermoplastic
prepreg offers lower TP resin
cost, higher throughput
speed and reduced semipreg
bulk factor.
Undoubtedly one of the
most important projects
over the last 18 months
has been the optimisation
of our IM carbon fibre with the M21 matrix.
This has been a tremendous example of the
teamwork that Hexcel is capable of, with all
functions, especially Operations, supporting R&T
in order to meet a tight deadline for the project.
The result was extremely gratifying and a major
step forward in the introduction of our own carbon
fibres for primary aircraft structures in commercial
aerospace, one of the factors helping to justify the
expansion being planned in our carbon fibre
production.
Current research
With the shift from metallic to
composite planes, we need to do more
than just improve mechanical
properties and processing of our
products. The new short range
composite planes are already on the
drawing board, and Hexcel needs to be
ready with materials within the next one
to three years.
Carbon fibre is key to Hexcel’s
business, and we are carrying out
research into all aspects of the
process; maximising the combined
properties with our resin formulations.
Of particular interest is the
development of a so-called “super”
fibre with combined high tensile and
modulus. We have recently made
considerable advances towards this
goal, and now need to prove it out in
production.
Other areas of focus include flame
retardancy, conductivity and fatigue; resin
infusion systems with improved damage
tolerance, better processing, composite to
composite bonding; process-friendly
thermoplastics; honeycomb sandwich
structures for fuselage; and improved
materials for wind energy and industrial
applications.
The advent of composite civil aeroplanes
provides us with many challenges and
opportunities, and it is our duty to provide
solutions. It is not always easy to predict the
future demands, and so we have to remain
flexible; it is a combination of market pull and
technology push. However, in these changing
times, R&T is certainly an exciting place to be.”
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HexMC®
changing metal to composites
HexMC ® is a new kind of cost-effective
carbon fibre epoxy moulding compound,
manufactured by firstly impregnating
carbon unidirectional tape in the optimum
fibre to resin ratio, then slitting it and
chopping it before consolidating it onto a
roll. HexMC ® enables detailed 3D
shapes, that can’t easily be made
from high performance
composites, to be
manufactured in series
production. The techniques
used to produce the correct
bundle length, width, weight
and orientation distribution
are equally critical to
maintain the high properties
in the final product. These
pro-perties are close to
those found in quasiisotropic
laminates produced
using the same fibres and
resins as used in HexMC ® .
prepreg, but is designed for economical
production of complex shapes that are
typically machined, cast or forged out of
metals. Typical aerospace applications
are window frames, seat pedestals,
fittings, frame gussets, flange supports
and covers.
Hexcel is now able to mass
produce small 3-D components for
customers using HexMC technology.
HexMC ® offers a similar weight saving
against metal as aerospace carbon/Epoxy
Direct
Processes
Typical Advantages
of Direct Processes
Direct Processes, also known
as liquid moulding processes,
are a range of production
techniques that differ from
prepreg based fabrication.
Unlike prepreg, resin and
reinforcement are combined
and cured in the same
moulding operation, offering
a very difference processing
route to the component
manufacturer. Resin Transfer
Moulding (RTM), Resin Film
Infusion (RFI) and Vacuum
Assisted RTM (VaRTM) are
probably the most significant
processes to mention for
which many variants have
been developed.
• Potential for lower overall cost of finished parts
• Reduced lay-up times, trimming and assembly
operations
• Integration of functions
• Savings in capital expenditure – reduced
investment in refrigeration, automated lay-up
equipment and autoclaves
• Lower energy costs – refrigeration and heat
cure not always necessary
• Shorter processing cycles
• Control of thickness and surface aspect in the
mould
Hexcel has developed materials for the Direct
Processing of composites for over twenty years,
with much of the work focusing on RTM for
aerospace. RTM, RFI and VaRTM are Direct
Processes, where the pre-shaped reinforcement,
commonly termed the preform, is placed in a
mould and then infused with the resin. Hexcel’s
Injectex woven carbon fabrics, preforms and
HexFlow ® RTM 6 (epoxy) and RTM 651 (BMI)
resins have been widely qualified for aerospace
programmes around the world and the use of
Direct Processes is advancing further with new
aircraft programmes such as the Airbus A380,
which has Direct Process parts including fittings,
struts, beams, spars, ribs and fuselage frames.
With plans for the next generation of aircraft to
have full composite wings and composite
fuselage, cost and performance become key
drivers. Recent breakthroughs have been
achieved by Hexcel’s R&T team and the new
package of materials (reinforcements, binders
and resins) for cost-competitive Direct
Processing methods is able to meet the overall
requirements of primary aircraft structures.
Targeting the performance of the latest
generation UD prepregs, this new materials
package allows fibre volume ratios approaching
60% to be achieved using an out of autoclave
rein infusion technology.
To discover more about Hexcel’s resins and
reinforcements for Direct Processes please
contact your local sales office and request the
new brochure “Advanced Fibre-Reinforced
Matrix Products for Direct Processes”
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