JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #118 - January/February 2018 - 46

SPORTS AND LEISURE
prepreg

Multiaxial reinforcements for
enhanced ski design and manufacture

Paulo ZanZola,
Sales & Marketing Director,
Industrial Specialties
Hexcel

Hexcel's range of composite materials for skis, snowboards and other
high-performance winter sports equipment enables the creation of extremely
lightweight components with no compromise in performance. These materials
include technologies such as HexPly® M78.1, a fast-curing prepreg system offering
ski manufacturers greater production flexibility, and HiMax™ engineered multiaxial
reinforcements.

A

key supplier to the winter sports market for more than 40 years, Hexcel understands the unique requirements of
this fast-moving industry, where the drive
for higher performance means manufacturers must continuously develop improved
designs exploiting the latest technological
advances. The company's innovations in
epoxy resins, carbon fibre fabrics, prepregs,
laminates and polyurethane systems are
enabling the manufacture of lighter, stronger
and more durable skis and snowboards to
answer the needs of world-class competitors,
as well as the demanding sporting enthusiast.
Fast curing
In 2017, Hexcel introduced the latest addition
to the HexPly® prepreg range, which was
developed to help ski manufacturers reduce
their production cycle times. HexPly® M78.1

features a fast-curing hot-melt epoxy resin
matrix and is available with carbon, glass or
aramid fibre reinforcements. It is designed
for applications where short cycles at around
110°C are required. The prepreg cures in 7
minutes at 120°C, yet it has a long storage
outlife of two weeks at room temperature
meaning there is often no need for freezer storage, thus saving time and energy. This prepreg
is a low-tack system making it easy to handle.
It also provides excellent adhesion to auxiliary
and core materials such as aluminium, wood,
thermoplastics and elastomers. Customers are
finding that this new system provides greater
flexibility in ski manufacture, enhancing the
process and the quality of the final product.
Optimized performance
Following the acquisition of Formax in
January 2016, Hexcel's composite materials
portfolio now includes the HiMax™ range of
multiaxial fabrics. HiMax™ reinforcements
are produced on state-of-the-art multiaxial

machines in Leicester, UK. The company's
fibre spreading capability allows the development of ultra-lightweight carbon multiaxials
that offer significant weight advantages for
manufacturers of skis and other sporting
equipment, where every extra gram of weight
is critical in improving performance. With
multiaxial reinforcements, the fibres can be
placed in different axes to optimize the performance of the finished laminate.
HiMax™ carbon multiaxials are available in
a wide range of fabric styles with weights per
ply from as low as 50 g/m2, fibre orientations
from 22.5° through to 90° in up to four layers,
and a wide range of fibre types from 3k upwards. The company's research & technology
team collaborates closely with customers to
develop fabrics optimized for their individual
application and processing technique.
A recent project involved the creation of a bespoke range of carbon triaxial reinforcements
for a custom freeride ski brand, helping the
customer deliver a product with a lightweight,
soft flex and reactive ride while retaining
strength and durability.
More information:
www.hexcel.com

More information

Fig. 1: Hexcel's fibrespreading capability
allows the development of
ultra-lightweight carbon
multiaxials that offer
significant weight advantages for manufacturers
of skis and other sporting
equipment

46

jec composites magazine / N°118 January - February 2018

Hexcel Corporation is a leading
advanced composites company
that develops, manufactures and
markets lightweight, high-performance structural materials,
including carbon fibres, reinforcements, prepregs, honeycomb, matrix
systems, adhesives and composite
structures, used in commercial
aerospace, space and defence and
industrial applications.
http://www.hexcel.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #118 - January/February 2018
