#Composites

2020-02-20

Hexcel’s complete composite solutions for marine at JEC World 2020

At JEC World 2020, Hexcel will display components and models from marine composite specialists Gunboat and a leading U.K. superyacht builder, as well as showcase a new low-temperature adhesive film.

Hexcel offers a comprehensive range of DNV GL approved multiaxial fabrics, woven reinforcements, and prepregs aimed at builders of high-performance racing yachts and luxury yachts. Hexcel materials are used for hull and deck structures and for masts and appendages on the most advanced composite marine structures, including racing yachts for the America’s Cup and IMOCA class.

Innovations on display include:

Hexcel’s HiMax™ Carbon Multiaxials and PrimeTex® Woven Carbon Fabrics for Gunboat 68. A scale model of this fast, technologically advanced and elegantly designed sailing catamaran will be on display, illustrating how HiMax™ reinforcements are used to infuse the hull and deck structures of this stunning series-built yacht. Hexcel supplies an optimized package of carbon fiber multiaxial fabrics with fiber weights, fabric architecture, and product width specifically tailored to Gunboat’s epoxy infusion build process. Hexcel PrimeTex® fabrics are used as the outermost layer in the yacht’s construction with the patented fiber spreading process producing a flatter and more uniform surface finish.

New HexBondTM Low-Temperature Adhesive Film. HexBond™ 679 is a 250gsm epoxy adhesive film formulated to be fully compatible with the HexPly® M79 prepreg range. Fully cured in only four hours at 80?, this prepreg adhesive film system offers huge cycle time reductions, provides strong lap shear and peel strength performance, and delivers outstanding mechanical properties in foam and honeycomb sandwich structures.

HexPly® M79 Prepregs for Short Cycle Times. HexPly® M79 prepregs can be cured at 70 Celsius for eight hours or 80 Celsius for four hours, increasing build rates with reduced heating and cooling times. When combined with Hexcel’s innovative air venting grid technology, HexPly® M79 UD carbon tapes can be laminated with reduced debulking steps to produce void contents <1%, irrespective of laminate thickness. With consistently low void contents and improved mechanical properties, naval architects and marine design engineers are now able to further optimize highly loaded composite structures.

HexPly® XF2 Surfacing Prepreg and HexPly® SuperFIT™ Prepregs. Hexcel will demonstrate the exceptional surface finish provided by HexPly® XF2 surfacing prepreg as it exhibits a hardtop sun canopy section from a leading U.K. superyacht builder and a small-scale hull superstructure component.
HexPly® XF2 is a highly drapable single ply prepreg surfacing solution. With a tacky surface for excellent adhesion in the mold and an integrated structural layer providing huge lay-up efficiencies, HexPly® XF2 delivers a high-quality pinhole-free finish straight from the mold, reducing finishing and paint preparation time significantly.
The superstructure component on display also features carbon fiber HexPly® SuperFIT™ prepregs (semi-pregs) providing structural strength below the carbon fiber XF2 surface layer.

Hexcel’s SuperFIT™ products are only partially impregnated with one dry face and one tacky face for easy positioning in the mold, holding each ply to the next. The air pathways in the dry fabric face facilitate the removal of air or volatiles from the laminate, minimizing voids without time consuming debulking steps. For marine applications, the use of HexPly® M79 SuperFIT™ prepregs allow rapid cure cycles at low temperatures and are easy to process in conjunction with conventional HexPly® M79 prepregs.

HexTow® HM54 Carbon Fiber - Hexcel’s carbon fibers provide leading strength and modulus in highly demanding applications. Following the legacy of dependable HexTow® carbon fibers like IM2C, HM63, IM8 (which has been selected for solid carbon rigging for all teams in the 36th America’s Cup) and others used in marine applications, Hexcel has developed a new high modulus fiber, HexTow® HM54. This new fiber offers a higher stiffness that is ideal for applications like masts and foils in the marine industry.

Hexcel’s marine innovations will be on display on the Hexcel booth at JEC World 2020, Hall 5, Booth J41.

Fewer pores, greater impact tolerance: Peter Dornier Foundation Prize 2026 honours material research on fibre-reinforced composite components for aerospace industry

Microscopically small pores that form during manufacture, or barely visible impact damage, can severely impair the load-bearing capacity and service life of fibre-reinforced composite components. Two young researchers have presented groundbreaking work in this field and will both be awarded the 2026 Peter Dornier Foundation Prize: Dr.-Ing. Benedikt Neitzel from the Technical University of Ilmenau for his doctoral thesis on pore minimisation in the RTM process, and Johanna Buschmann, M.Sc., for her master’s thesis, completed at the German Aerospace Centre, on the improved impact tolerance of 3D fabrics compared to 2D laminates.

JEC Forum Southeast Asia 2026 highlights Taiwan as a strategic hub for the global composites industry

The third edition of JEC Forum organized in Southeast Asia brought together 350+ participants from 22 countries for three active days of high-level Business Meetings, conferences, and networking, emphasizing Southeast Asia’s growing role in the global composites market. Held for the first time in Taipei from 23 to 24 June 2026, following the successful first editions in Bangkok, JEC Forum Southeast Asia 2026 confirmed its position as the region’s leading business platform dedicated to the composites industry.

MEL Composites supports ELA Aviation with advanced composite materials

MEL Composites is supplying advanced composite materials and process consumables to ELA Aviation for the production of its next-generation gyroplanes. The collaboration underlines MEL Composites’ growing role in advanced aerospace mobility, providing lightweight materials designed to improve aircraft performance, manufacturing efficiency and structural reliability.

PERFORMANCE DAYS announces new focus topic & forums for October 2026

With its upcoming October 13–14, 2026 edition, PERFORMANCE DAYS is placing the spotlight on one of the textile industry’s most important transformations: “Bio-Based Materials – From Fiber to Fabric”, a two-part Focus Topic exploring the future of bio-based innovation across the textile value chain. Part 1, presented in October 2026, will focus on fibers and next-generation material developments, while Part 2 at the March 2027 edition will shift the perspective toward dyeing, finishing, additives, and processing technologies.

Febratex 2026 to be the largest edition of the leading textile trade fair in the Americas with 10 exhibition halls

Febratex 2026 will be the largest edition in the history of the leading textile trade fair in the Americas. Dedicated to the textile and apparel manufacturing industries, the event will take place from August 18–21, 2026, in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil, with a strong focus on technology, sustainability, and business generation.

Cotton Brazil Dialogues field trip brings international stakeholders closer to Brazil’s cotton production chain

How do you build trust across the global textile value chain? By opening the farm gates. This is the principle behind the Cotton Brazil Dialogues. At the end of July, the programme welcomed its first group of international participants for a five-day immersion into Brazilian cotton production, combining field visits with technical workshops to showcase the quality, sustainability, innovation and traceability behind one of the world’s leading cotton origins.