Market thermoset resins How fast does it set? Even more than cost reduction, reducing the time of manufacture for composite parts is a key factor in getting composites to penetrate industrial sectors, notably the automotive sector. Manufacturers of thermoplastic materials for injection moulding processes are used to fast cycle times and high production rates. SMCs and BMCs have paved the way for thermosets, but in recent years new ultra-fast curing formulations have made their appearance. F or large parts (in terms of size and thickness), solutions comparable to thermoplastics are now in use with practically all the major manufacturers of thermoset resins (see Table 1). - How fast does it set? ... p17 - 75% of German companies consider materials research to be essential ............... p19 - Iceland's value proposition for carbon fibres ............ p20 RTM leading the way... Most resin manufacturers are focusing on RTM. This process makes it possible to obtain parts that require very little postfabrication machining and offers greater Tab. 1: A few examples of the latest fast-curing resins Company Resin Chemistry Brand / Commercial Name Process Comment BASF Epoxy Baxxodur RTM demolding time of only 2.5 minutes at 120°C Cytec Epoxy XMTR50 HP-RTM 3 minutes at 120° C for a 135° C Tg Dow Epoxy Voraforce 5300 HP-RTM 90-second cycle times DSM Epoxy Daron RTM Fast cure (less than two minutes) Henkel Polyurethane Loctite MAX 2 RTM curing time can be reduced to one minute Prepreg curing in two minutes at 150°C,long shelf life of six weeks at 23°C, Tg of 125°C Hexcel Epoxy HexPly M77 Huntsman Epoxy Araldite LY 3585/ Aradur 3475 HP-RTM 5-minute "part-to-part" production cycle Huntsman Epoxy Araldite expandable epoxy systems (EES) Wet compression moulding 45-60 seconds at 145 -160°C Lonza Cyanate Ester Primaset CE-320 RTM and Infusion Tg up to 320 °C Momentive Epoxy Epikote Resin 05475 / Epikure Curing Agent 05500 High- or lowpressure RTM long injection window of about one minute, very fast cure at 115-120°C Swancor Epoxy Swancor RTM - No90 June - July 2014 / CONFERENCES, TABLE-TOPS AND NETWORKING OCTOBER 28. 29. 20l4 JEC - 25 bd de l'Amiral Bruix -75116 Paris - France www.jeccomposites.com jec composites magazine 17http://www.jeccomposites.com