ÂÌñÏ×ÆÞ

(Norcross, Georgia), an advanced manufacturing and materials startup, today announces the launch of , a high-performance thermoformable sheet. Leveraging its patented WEAV3D composite lattice and advanced simulation capabilities, Flexspec sheets are designed to achieve bending stiffness equivalence with a wide range of steel and aluminum sheet metal gauges, while increasing load capacity up to eight times and decreasing weight by as much as 70%. Flexspec is ideal for structural enclosures, furniture, sporting goods, vehicle panels and impact barriers.

“WEAV3D’s Rebar for Plastics design methodology is all about tailoring performance to meet specific application needs,” explains Christopher Oberste, president and chief engineer of WEAV3D Inc. “By varying the lattice spacing and material type, in combination with different base sheet thicknesses and materials, we can enable an infinite variety of material properties. Flexspec enables us to offer the performance and cost benefits of this approach, in the form of a standardized portfolio of thermoplastic sheets that can be processed in conventional thermoforming equipment and tooling.”

Flexspec can be ordered in full sheet dimensions of 4' × 8' or half sheet dimensions of 4' × 4' and will initially launch in PP, PA6 and HDPE variants, with more options anticipated in coming months. WEAV3D has developed catalog of products capable of replacing steel as thick as 14 gauge (1.9 mm) and aluminum as thick as 8 gauge (3.26 mm). Customers can reference the bending stiffness equivalence table on the company’s website or contact its materials specialist to find the right product for their requirements.

Flexspec is ideal for replacing sheet metal with low-density thermoplastics. It provides equivalent stiffness and enhanced load capacity while reducing weight, is thermoformable into moderately complex shapes, can be trimmed and drilled via machining or water jet and allows significant downgauging of thermoplastic sheets.