TeXtreme has announced the latest addition to its line of Spread Tow carbon products, the ±45° Grid fabric. This new version of TeXtreme Spread Tow fabric clams to further broaden the ability to optimize Spread Tow solutions for new applications and markets.
TeXtreme Spread Tow Grid can be highly tailored to meet specific needs such as increasing torsional stiffness with minimum weight increase or even enabling radio transmittency through the fabric’s opening. This new grid material can be used in monolithic structures as well as for sandwich skins in either a prepregged form or dry form for infusion.
Andreas Martsman, VP Marketing & Sales of Oxeon, the company behind the TeXtreme brand, said, “We are very pleased to introduce another innovative extension of the TeXtreme product family. We believe that this development brings a great value to our customers as we will be able to further optimize the reinforcement solution for each application. I am sure this new TeXtreme version will also unveil new opportunities in an even broader spectrum of applications.”
Even though the Grid fabric has designed gaps that resemble a lattice, its characteristics are similar to other TeXtreme Spread Tow reinforcements. By using the Grid fabric by itself or in combination with the other products in the TeXtreme family, the company notes that optimized reinforcement solutions can be created which enable customers to reduce the weight of their products without sacrificing mechanical properties. The new grid fabric offers stability while handling and can be either manually or automatically cut or handled while being prepregged in standard hot melt processes.
Andreas Martsman continued, “We work in close cooperation with our clients, providing them with technical support which starts with selecting the optimal reinforcement structure and all of the steps up to and including the production process. During this support, we saw a demand for even lighter fabrics, so we decided to invest in and develop this new technology.
“The range of TeXtreme Grid products further strengthens our position as market leaders in the Advanced Carbon Reinforcement Technology and will give us an even greater flexibility to meet all customer needs.”
TeXtreme Spread Tow reinforcements are billed as the ultimate choice for making ultra-light composites. TeXtreme Technology is ‘flexible and tow-size independent which enables development of optimized reinforcement solutions tailor-made for specific application needs’. Utilization of TeXtreme Spread Tow carbon fabrics and carbon UD tapes by manufacturers of advanced aerospace, industrial and sports products indicates that 20-30% lighter composite parts can be produced with ‘improved mechanical properties and superior surface smoothness’.
TeXtreme is a registered trademark owned by Oxeon AB. Founded in 2003, Oxeon has established itself as a market leader in spread tow reinforcements with its products marketed under the brand name TeXtreme.
