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Global technologies and advanced materials group (Ammanford, U.K.) is launched its graphene-enhanced prepreg after extended field trials are said to have more than doubled the manufacture of composite parts. 

Using Haydale’s , functionalized graphene is added to high-performing tooling epoxy resin and then pre-impregnated into a suitable carbon fiber reinforcement for use in tool manufacture.

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Haydale says that the graphene-enhanced epoxy prepreg tooling material is designed to deliver cost-efficient composite tooling with extended tooling life, improved surface quality and enhanced thermal conductivity. Additional features include:

• Extended tool life — from 250 parts to more than 500.
• Less frequent tool changes.
• Reduced tooling costs on volume and series production by up to three times.
• Better surface quality — the graphene acts like a lubricant, adding a smoothness and gloss to the finished part.
• Improved homogenous cure — thermal conductivity reduces the differentials between hot spots and cold spots.
• Good for high-tolerance components that are subjected to long, low-temperature curing cycles.
• Tighter-tolerance parts.

Working with a automotive Tier 1 composite parts manufacturer, Prodrive Composites Ltd (Milton Keynes, U.K.), the tooling prepreg has been on trial for two years; the company has reported satisfactory performance results. 

“We have been producing duplicate parts with both our standard and the nano-enhanced version and can say with confidence that the Haydale material has delivered more than 500 parts without any deterioration of the mold surface,” Matt Bradney, director of business development, Prodrive, contends. “Using the standard version, we would expect approximately 250 pulls from a tool before it is replaced.”

“With fiber-reinforced composites gaining use across aerospace and automotive applications, the fact that our functionalized graphene can extend the tooling life significantly will mean substantial cost savings for the producer and end user,” Keith Broadbent, Haydale CEO, adds.

Switching over to the graphene-enhanced prepreg requires no changes to standard processing for use in autoclave and out-of-autoclave (OOA) applications. The resin system is applicable to all standard carbon fiber reinforcements.