Carbon Fiber Composite · Product form
Carbon Fiber Composite Prepreg
Who makes qualified prepreg in this fiber and resin system, and what is the out-time?
What it is
Reinforcement pre-impregnated with a controlled fraction of partially cured resin, supplied frozen and with a finite out-time and shelf life. The dominant input for aerospace primary structure.
- Typical dimensions
- Tape from 0.125 to 12 inch width; broadgoods to roughly 60 inch width.
- Also known as
- pre-impregnated, tape, slit tape, broadgoods, thermoset prepreg, thermoplastic tape
Suppliers
Grouped by what they actually are. A mill and a distributor answer different needs.
Mills and producers 8
Companies that manufacture this form. Mill direct means longer lead times and mill minimums, with full melt traceability.
-
Axiom Materials VerifiedAS9100
Structural prepreg across epoxy, BMI, phenolic, cyanate ester and polyimide chemistries.
source -
Barrday Inc. VerifiedAS910012 to 86 in (0.3 to 2.2 m) width
Unidirectional and fabric prepreg in carbon. Resin systems named are fire retardant epoxy, toughened epoxy, low smoke and toxicity phenolic, PVB phenolic and high temperature thermoplastic, run as both solvent and hot-melt systems.
source -
Hexcel Corporation ReportedAS4, IM7, 350F Cure Epoxy
HexPly prepreg systems. HexPly systems including the 8552 and 8551-7 toughened epoxies, commonly supplied on IM7.
source -
Park Aerospace Corp. InferredNADCAP Composites
Named among prepreg manufacturers in market coverage only. Unverified from company sources.
source -
Renegade Materials Reported
Polyimide, BMI, cyanate ester and epoxy prepregs, positioned as the high temperature end of the market.
source -
Solvay Composite Materials Reported350F Cure Epoxy, Out-of-Autoclave Epoxy, Bismaleimide (BMI), IM7
CYCOM prepreg systems, including a high rate compression molding prepreg developed for aerospace primary structure. CYCOM 5320-1 is a toughened out-of-autoclave epoxy that vacuum bag cures to autoclave quality with very low porosity. CYCOM 977-2 is a toughened epoxy for surfacing films and secondary structure. CYCOM 5250-4 is a BMI system, also available in an RTM variant and commonly supplied on IM7.
source -
Toray Advanced Composites ReportedPEEK, LM-PAEK, T700
Thermoplastic and thermoset prepreg from Morgan Hill, California. Thermoplastic tape has no out-time limit and can be welded rather than bonded. Toray Cetex TC1200 is a PEEK system; TC1225 uses LM-PAEK and is available as UD tape, fabric prepreg and reinforced thermoplastic laminate. The TC1225 NCAMP database was expanded to include TC1225 on TORAYCA T700 UD tape.
source -
Toray Composite Materials America VerifiedT800, T1100, 350F Cure Epoxy, 250F Cure Epoxy, Bismaleimide (BMI)
Thermoset prepreg including epoxy and BMI systems for aerospace, rocket, industrial and sporting goods markets. T800H/3900-2 was the first carbon material qualified for Boeing civil primary structure in 1990 and flies on the 777. T1100/3960 is produced at Tacoma and was introduced in 2017. The 2510 system is a 250 degree F cure engineered for lower energy processing and is a general aviation standard.
source
Production methods
The same form, purchased as tolling on your own material.
Prepregging 7
Impregnating reinforcement with a controlled resin fraction and partially advancing the cure, then slitting and packaging under refrigeration. Qualification is per material system and per line.
-
Axiom Materials VerifiedAS9100
Structural prepreg production in carbon. Recorded from the product back to the process: Axiom makes the prepreg, so it performs prepregging. Resin chemistries span epoxy, BMI, phenolic, polyester, cyanate ester, vinyl ester and polyimide.
source -
Barrday Inc. VerifiedAS910012 to 86 in (0.3 to 2.2 m) width
Conversion of carbon fabric and fibre into prepreg. Resin systems named are fire retardant epoxy, toughened epoxy, low smoke and toxicity phenolic, PVB phenolic and high temperature thermoplastic, run as both solvent and hot-melt systems.
source -
Hexcel Corporation Reportedsource
-
Park Aerospace Corp. VerifiedNADCAP Composites
180,000 square foot NADCAP accredited facility at Newton, Kansas.
source -
Solvay Composite Materials Reportedsource
-
Toray Advanced Composites Reportedsource
-
Toray Composite Materials America Verifiedsource