Toray's TenCate Advanced Composites (Morgan Hill, California, U.S.A.) is exhibiting at V15 new thermoplastic and thermoset composite solutions and a new product selector application that provides users with complete literature access and product comparison tools And curing layer calculator.
Key technologies include:
New use of recycled thermoplastics: TenCate highlights the development of flowable layers of thermoplastic chopped fibers that can achieve almost 100% yield in aviation-grade thermoplastic laminate applications. This process demonstrates the use of trimming and yield loss to produce local reinforcements and discrete parts.
Epoxy resin: TC380 has high impact strength after compression, while maintaining good naked eye compression strength. More than 90 suitable components were exhibited, demonstrating that voids in VBO machining were less than 0.1%.
Software: Demo parts and manufacturing videos highlight the use of this new simulation software, which characterizes and optimizes the molding conditions for thermoplastic parts, minimizes manufacturing trials, and shortens development time. TenCate's thermoplastic unidirectional tape is part of Airbus' TAPAS program thermoplastic upper beam demonstrator. A video shows the company's manufacturing flexibility for thermoplastic single-piece tapes in most automated tape laying (ATL) manufacturing. Dr. Hans Luinge, thermoplastic R & D development manager, is publishing a technical paper on the advantages of hybrid thermoset / thermoplastic composite solutions to optimize material performance and reduce costs.
Laptop Case: This lightweight, ultra-thin thermoplastic case minimizes heat transfer from the bottom of the laptop, while providing a shock-resistant, UL-94 compliant solution.
High-performance footwear laminate: TenCate's thermoplastic laminate, used by multiple sneaker brands, is on display. These materials are designed for high-volume production solutions to support the latest generation of footwear and medical orthotics.