Cytec Industries is demonstrating new high performance materials and process technologies at the Composites Europe trade fair and forum that takes place from 22-24 September in Stuttgart, Germany, with a strong emphasis on automotive applications.

At the show, the company is showcasing its broad portfolio and latest advances in high-performance, cost-effective composite technologies for the automotive industry, for creating lighter, more fuel-efficient and safer vehicles.

On display

A carbon fibre reinforced door inner structure, manufactured from a filament wound flat blank using hot compression moulding technology is on display. Filament winding is a flexible and efficient process for making flat prepreg blanks of variable thickness. The material is said to offer high conformability required for complex shapes, combined with mechanical properties comparable to conventional prepregs.

The company also exhibits a carbon-fibre reinforced tailgate manufactured from Cytec’s new rapid cure epoxy prepreg MTM 710 and with sub 3 minutes cure capability by hot compression moulding.

Another highlight is a complex part manufactured from uni-directional carbon fibre, utilizing an innovative automated preforming process, which requires no direct labour and is capable of producing parts, such as structural automotive components for body-in-white structures with a sub 5 minutes takt time.

A HP-RTM demonstrator part made using Cytec’s XMTR750 two-component epoxy resin will also be on display; with a sub 3 minutes cure capability, a mould temperature of 130°C and with a resin injection time of less than 12 seconds. XMTR750 enables serial manufacture of body structure components.

Commitment to innovation 

“We are working closely together with our composite supply chain partners to develop materials, processes and application engineering that makes it possible to design and produce high performance structures in large series, with high levels of automation, and at competitive costs,” commented Alex Aucken, Cytec’s Global Automotive Director.

“We are excited about the upcoming opening of our new application center in Heanor, UK, scheduled for December this year. This major investment highlights Cytec’s commitment to developing new composite products and technologies to serve the high volume production markets such as Automotive.”

Innovative prepreg

Cytec is also showcasing its innovative DForm Fabric Tooling prepreg, which was launched earlier this year. Cytec believes DForm will transform composite tooling manufacture by reducing tool layup times by 75%, and making composite tooling more competitive than ever against metal tooling.

Finally, the company is promoting its added value kitting services, now offered out of its new Toulouse site, France. This facility has the capacity needed for the manufacture of large vacuum bagging consumable kits for applications such as aircraft wings or wind turbine blades.

www.cytec.com