High performance polymer manufacturer Victrex (Thornton Cleveleys / UK; www.victrex.com) has developed a PAEK-based material and a hybrid moulding technology that allows engineers to overmould a PAEK-based composite with fibre-reinforced PEEK injection moulding materials.

Victrex has collaborated with engineering component manufacturer Tri-Mack Plastics Manufacturing (Bristol, Rhode Island / USA; www.trimack.com) to develop and produce an aerospace bracket to meet the demanding performance requirements of loaded applications using the new polymer and hybrid moulding process. The hybrid-moulded PAEK-based composite bracket is able to deliver up to 60% weight saving compared to stainless steel and titanium, while offering equivalent or better mechanical properties such as strength, stiffness and fatigue, the company said.

Victrex aerospace strategic business unit director, Tim Herr, said: “These technologies are enabling engineers to design lighter, stronger and more cost-effective solutions like the new bracket. This game-changing advantage over metals and thermoset composites is a result of our dedication to the future of flight.”

Tom Kneath, director of sales and marketing for Tri-Mack, added: “The design flexibility of the materials, along with the technical support from Victrex, enabled us to engineer and manufacture a PAEK bracket that can be produced in minutes compared to the hours it would take for a metal or thermoset equivalent.”