During the recent "Composites Europe” exhibition, prepregs manufacturer Bond-Laminates (Brilon / Germany; www.bond-laminates.de), a subsidiary of Lanxess (Cologne / Germany; www.lanxess.com), launched an improved version of its advanced thermoplastic composite laminate “Tepex”, for which it recently expanded production capacity – see Plasteurope.com of 26.09.2014. The new-generation product strengthens the company’s position as a leading supplier of thermoplastic high-performance composites for lightweight design, says Dirk Bonefeld, head of research and development.

Bond-Laminates has developed a large-series production process for the laminate, in which its continuous fibre layers can be oriented at “almost any conceivable angle.” This means, says Bonefeld, that the designer can use the differently oriented fibres to react more specifically to the force transmission in the target component. Matrix materials for the high-tech composites are PP, TPU, PU, PC and PPS, which are reinforced with glass, aramid or carbon fibre.

The innovation is said to allow Tepex to be used to design lighter-weight composite components tailored more specifically to the load. At the same time, special nesting programmes help converters keep wastage to a minimum. The versatility of the multiaxial product makes it well suited to manufacturing high-strength structural components and semi-structural components, in particularly for the automotive industry, Bonefeld says.

Bond-Laminates is currently developing the composites for such automotive applications as front-end carriers, pedal and seating components, carriers for electrical and electronic modules, engine compartment guard plates, airbag housings and components used in underbody protection. It is also looking at components that require custom construction for meeting a combination of torsional and flexural load requirements.

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