Hexcel will showcase its latest developments for the aerospace and industrial markets at JEC World 2024, Paris on 5-7 March 2024.
At Hall 5, Stand J41, Hexcel will showcase its broad range of high-performance advanced lightweight composite material solutions for the aerospace, automotive, energy, sports and leisure, and marine industries as well as its latest sustainability collaborations.
For the aerospace sector, Hexcel will present its new, rapid-curing prepreg. Developed for the high-rate production of semi-structural composite parts, HexPly M51 is designed for rapid hot-in/hot-out press curing. It has a 40-minute cure cycle at 180ËšC, reducing production times and costs versus standard autoclave-cured prepregs. Using HexPly M51 also reduces the need for multiple sets of tooling and labour compared with conventional prepreg systems. The prepreg is fully compatible with automated tape laying (ATL), automated fibre placement (AFP) and pick-and-place processes and it is also REACH-compliant, demonstrating a mechanical performance equivalent to other state-of-the-art 180°C cure prepregs.
For the marine sector, Hexcel will showcase the process time and quality improvements enabled by its patented G-Vent technology for unidirectional prepregs at JEC World 2024. G-Vent materials are designed for out-of-autoclave (OoA) processing and significantly improve the efficiency and quality of thick section parts by reducing the requirement for debulking steps. The full range of Hexcel prepregs are available with G-Vent technology that ensures extremely low porosity (<1%) for superior performance irrespective of the laminate thickness. G-Vent technology is often supplied using the HexPly M79 prepreg resin system, also featured at JEC 2024: with an 8-week outlife at 23 ËšC and a low temperature cure (80ËšC), the OoA M79 materials are proving particularly versatile for the lay-up of large composite structures.
For Sustainable Solutions, Hexcel will once again feature a dedicated zone on its booth to showcase its latest sustainability developments. Within this zone, Hexcel will highlight a novel project that aims to improve accessibility to sport, mobility and autonomy for people with disabilities by featuring the Hopper® prosthetic running blade made out of discarded aerospace carbon materials. The Hopper project uses recycled Hexcel carbon fibre prepreg from Airbus facilities. Project partners Airbus, Salomon and the 3Dx lab of Dassault Systèmes worked together with Hopper to manufacture the affordable and accessible carbon fibre running blade. The Hopper blade is easy to use, enabling sports and outdoor activities again thanks to its flexible and versatile composite design.
Lastly, Hexcel will present the HexPly Nature Range that uses bio-derived resin content in proven resins such as HexPly M49, M78.1-LT and M79 alongside natural fiber and recycled carbon reinforcements. Visitors to the stand will be able to see Nature Range products including alpine ski brands Elan and Blizzard.
