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Fiber handling and converting technology specialist Cygnet Texkimp (Northwich, U.K.) has unveiled its next-gen production-scale prepreg tape slitting machine installed at its UK Innovation Centre.

The technology has been developed to support advances in automated fiber placement (AFP) and automated tape laying (ATL) applications for aerospace and other high-performance industries. Organizations can trial the slitting of continuous thermoset, thermoplastic and ceramic prepreg tapes in real-world conditions using their own materials or those produced on Cygnet Texkimp’s in-house R&D prepreg machines (those interested in trialing ). The system can slit tapes at speeds of up to 60 meters/minute, subject to the input material.

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The move follows the sale of the company’s original demonstrator machine to a composite material manufacturer based in East Asia. The contract was won after a successful program of trials using the customer’s prepreg materials to produce tapes for AFP applications in the aerospace market. The machine was subsequently upgraded by Cygnet Texkimp to retrofit in-process monitoring and data capture and enable the management of key data including tape width, thickness and consistency. In this way the customer can create digital passports for the slit tapes which can then be tracked in the downstream process.

Cygnet Texkimp’s prepreg tape slitting technology is typically used by materials producers to develop tapes for the high-rate production of composite parts, including large-scale parts, using AFP and ATL. Notably, it enables manufacturers to integrate the slitting process into their own production environment rather than subcontracting. According to Cygnet Texkimp, having the resources to convert prepreg on-site gives manufacturers complete control of production quality and speed and removes the need to ship or store materials, therefore enhancing efficiency and profitability. This is particularly important in the case of thermoset prepregs, which have a limited shelf life and need to be stored in special conditions.

With increasing emphasis on automation in composite layup, the quality of the slit tapes is a critical enabler for part performance and manufacturing reliability. Cygnet Texkimp’s machine is engineered to achieve very high levels of accuracy and consistency in the slitting of continuous thermoset, thermoplastic, ceramic and other materials. Its design draws on extensive understanding of material behavior to deliver accurate and uniform slit tapes with minimal material scrap or operational downtime.

The slitting machine features fiber and tape spooling banks provided by winding technology specialist (Eschwege, Germany) and is capable of processing intermediate materials including a polymer interleaf. SAHM’s 460XE compact and modular winders feature a low-maintenance, reliable design, capable of handling various bobbin types and winding materials with efficient product changes. The technology offers the flexibility to wind packages in a variety of formats, including pineapple and cassette formations. The two companies have worked together for almost 50 years, since Cygnet Texkimp first became SAHM’s agent and reseller in the U.K.

Feedback from customer trials has shown that Cygnet Texkimp’s equipment helps to improve uptime in the downstream process, reduces scrap and increases speed, efficiency and equipment ROI.

“We rebuilt our slitter spooler capability back into our Innovation Centre after a particularly successful trial program resulted in the sale of our original machine,” says Graeme Jones, wide web product director at Cygnet Texkimp. “The technologies we have in the Centre are the same designs we have out in the market, and this results in very reliable and realistic test programs that prove out processes and illustrate ROI. In this case, the machine was able to completely satisfy the customer with regards to speed and efficiency, and we were able to agree a deal for the same machine that was used in the trials and further equip it to deliver a bespoke solution.”

Jones adds that Cygnet Texkimp is looking forward to engaging with partners at early stage in-process development to test out their concepts, explore machine parameters, assess output quality and validate performance with support from Cygnet’s team.