Toho Tenax (Europe: Wuppertal / Germany; www.tohotenax-eu.com), part of Japanese carbon fibre and plastics specialist Teijin (Tokyo; www.teijin.com), has developed two new prepregs. The first, a carbon fibre sheet pre-impregnated with matrix resin, is claimed to achieve rapid curing, offering increased productivity and improved surface texture and formability.

The prepreg has been developed initially for automotive applications but the company said it will explore opportunities in aerospace and other fields to further expand its carbon fibres and composites business. The sheet is claimed to offer high heat and oxidation resistance suited to automotive and aircraft engine compartments. A flame-resistant version, now under development, is expected to further expand applications to consumer electronics, vehicles and other general applications.

The company said the prepreg cures in three minutes at 150ºC and minimises resin being expelled from the prepreg due to moulding pressure. The result is an increase in production efficiency, said by Toho Tenax to be a by-factor of many dozens, allowing it to increase annual production capacity to 50,000 carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) sets.

The company also introduced a new bismaleimide resin pre-impregnated prepreg that does not reach glass-transition below 320ºC, thanks to Toho Tenax’s original resin-formulation technology, and maintains oxidation resistance without heat cracks under continuous use in the range of upper 200ºC, the company said.