JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #96 - April 2015 - 47

release agent

New release agent helps aerospace
industry utilize lightweight composites

By
George Barton
Senior Business Development
Director for Composites
Chem-Trend

yvax® TakeOff™ is a newly developed
water-based, semi-permanent release
agent specifically formulated for
aerospace manufacturers that is especially
effective for vacuum bagging and autoclave
moulding of epoxy carbon fibre prepreg.
This water-based release agent does not
require a sealer in most cases when used on
high-quality mould surfaces in aerospace
and other epoxy prepreg applications.

Cost and quality

It is easily applied by wiping or spraying and
reduces waste and scrap.
Zyvax® mould release systems are developed
specifically to address the moulding needs
of premium aerospace composites materials.
A distinct advantage of this new agent is its
ability to be applied to moulds at varying
temperatures, thus reducing the required
downtime to allow the mould to cool, as
is sometimes needed when using solventbased release agents. It needs only a minimal
number of coats to become effective, with
short dry times between applications. It also
provides multiple release capability, potentially contributing to improved productivity
in the manufacturing process.

Aircraft application

Zyvax® TakeOff™ is ideal for aircraft application because it is specifically formulated to
work on extremely large epoxy moulded
parts and uses an
environmentally-conscious water-based
carrier. Additionally,
there is very low
transfer of the release
agent to the moulded
part. This can eliminate or significantly
reduce any cleaning
process that might
Zyvax® TakeOff™ is specifically formulated to work on extremely large
be required prior to a
epoxy molded parts

post-moulding procedure, such as painting
and gluing, thus saving material, time and
money for manufacturers.
For those parts that do require cleaning,
only a mild detergent and water are needed
to easily remove any transferred release material. This new agent is virtually solvent-free,
exceeds the most demanding environmental
requirements and provides employees a
more pleasant plant environment.
Aerospace manufacturers are not alone
in their use of lightweighting solutions to
increase fuel economy and decrease emissions. Manufacturers in the marine, rail and
automotive sectors are also increasing their
use of composite materials to gain the same
economic advantages. With as much as 50%
of today's aircraft comprised of composite
materials, release agents play a major role in
production.
As the evolution of aircraft construction
continues, manufacturers will have an even
greater demand for products like Zyvax®
TakeOff™ that enable the use of lightweight
composites. This allows manufacturers
to retain the structural integrity of metal
with much less mass while decreasing fuel
consumption. n

No96 April 2015 / jec

More information:
www.chemtrend.com

Feature Aeronautics

Today's airplane manufacturers are turning
to greater use of composite parts to improve
cost and quality and reduce maintenance.
Zyvax® TakeOff™ is an integral part of the
process, allowing composites to release
easily, quickly and flawlessly from moulds.

Chem-Trend, a specialist in the development and production of high-performance release agents and casting
lubricants, is helping the aerospace industry remove
mass, lower fuel consumption and respect the environment with a release agent targeted for use with composite materials.

composites magazine 47

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JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #96 - April 2015

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