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Hexcel, a global leader in advanced composites, has completed NCAMP qualification of its HexPly M91 composite material
The global, US-based leader in advanced composites Hexcel has completed NCAMP qualification of its HexPly M91 composite material system.
M91 is a carbon fibre-reinforced epoxy prepreg system designed for demanding primary structure aerospace applications. It combines an intermediate modulus carbon fibre with a toughened epoxy resin system engineered for improved structural performance. The system offers enhanced tensile and compressive properties along with improved impact resistance for load-bearing structures if compared with established baseline materials.
NCAMP qualification is established through the National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP), an initiative of the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University. It provides a standardised set of material property data that can be used across the whole aerospace industry, enabling manufacturers to spend less time and money to qualify and certify materials themselves.
The NCAMP qualification includes both unidirectional tape and plain weave fabric forms, which can thus be used in primary aerospace structures and other structural applications. Hexcel has already been supplying M91 for use in advanced aerospace applications for several years. The NCAMP qualification makes validated material data broadly available, thereby expanding access to a higher-performance composite system for structural design.
“This qualification marks an important step in expanding access to high-performance composite materials across the aerospace industry,” said Imad Atallah, vice president of commercial aerospace growth programmes and product management for fibres, reinforcements and matrix at Hexcel. “M91 builds on proven platforms while delivering the increased performance required for future aircraft and propulsion systems.”
The qualification also reflects Hexcel’s ongoing collaboration with NIAR and its efforts to develop, scale, validate, and expand access to advanced composite materials for the aerospace industry.
#composites #Hexcel
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The global, US-based leader in advanced composites Hexcel has completed NCAMP qualification of its HexPly M91 composite material system.
M91 is a carbon fibre-reinforced epoxy prepreg system designed for demanding primary structure aerospace applications. It combines an intermediate modulus carbon fibre with a toughened epoxy resin system engineered for improved structural performance. The system offers enhanced tensile and compressive properties along with improved impact resistance for load-bearing structures if compared with established baseline materials.
NCAMP qualification is established through the National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP), an initiative of the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University. It provides a standardised set of material property data that can be used across the whole aerospace industry, enabling manufacturers to spend less time and money to qualify and certify materials themselves.
The NCAMP qualification includes both unidirectional tape and plain weave fabric forms, which can thus be used in primary aerospace structures and other structural applications. Hexcel has already been supplying M91 for use in advanced aerospace applications for several years. The NCAMP qualification makes validated material data broadly available, thereby expanding access to a higher-performance composite system for structural design.
“This qualification marks an important step in expanding access to high-performance composite materials across the aerospace industry,” said Imad Atallah, vice president of commercial aerospace growth programmes and product management for fibres, reinforcements and matrix at Hexcel. “M91 builds on proven platforms while delivering the increased performance required for future aircraft and propulsion systems.”
The qualification also reflects Hexcel’s ongoing collaboration with NIAR and its efforts to develop, scale, validate, and expand access to advanced composite materials for the aerospace industry.
#composites #Hexcel
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Composites
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3D-FiberTrain combines additive manufacturing and continuous fibres for rail components
Hörmann Vehicle Engineering (HVE) and its partners have completed the 3D-FiberTrain research project, developing a tool-free manufacturing route that combines large-format 3D printing with continuous-fibre tape reinforcement. The technology was demonstrated on front components for Siemens Mobility’s ICE 3neo high-speed train.
After 34 months of research, the 3D-FiberTrain consortium has demonstrated a new approach to manufacturing large, highly loaded composite components for rail vehicles. Led by Hörmann Vehicle Engineering (HVE), the project ran from September 2023 to June 2026 and targeted an alternative to conventional thermoset composite processes such as hand lay-up and vacuum infusion.
The process chain combines three manufacturing stages. Large-format, granule-fed extrusion printing first produces the complex thermoplastic geometry without dedicated mould tooling. A newly developed automated 3D tape-laying process then adds continuous-fibre reinforcement selectively in highly stressed areas, following the component’s load paths. Automated milling completes the process to achieve the required dimensional accuracy and surface quality.
The entire manufacturing chain is thermoplastic-based and designed to enable material recycling. For the demonstrators, the consortium used a glass fibre-reinforced polycarbonate specifically selected and modified to meet the stringent fire-safety requirements of railway applications. Fraunhofer researchers also used process simulations to predict thermally induced distortion and delamination during printing.
The technology was validated using two components from Siemens Mobility’s Velaro MultiSystem, operated by Deutsche Bahn as the ICE 3neo: a front skirt and a nose section. The train has an operating speed of up to 320 km/h.
By eliminating dedicated moulds and combining additive manufacturing with targeted continuous-fibre reinforcement, 3D-FiberTrain is intended to reduce manufacturing costs and lead times while allowing designs to be adapted more easily. HVE sees particular potential for small and medium production runs, where the cost of conventional composite tooling can represent a significant constraint.
Alongside HVE, the project involved Fraunhofer IWU, Fraunhofer IMWS and Lakowa, with Siemens Mobility participating as an associated partner.
Photos: Hörmann Vehicle Engineering
#composites #3D_FiberTrain
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Hörmann Vehicle Engineering (HVE) and its partners have completed the 3D-FiberTrain research project, developing a tool-free manufacturing route that combines large-format 3D printing with continuous-fibre tape reinforcement. The technology was demonstrated on front components for Siemens Mobility’s ICE 3neo high-speed train.
After 34 months of research, the 3D-FiberTrain consortium has demonstrated a new approach to manufacturing large, highly loaded composite components for rail vehicles. Led by Hörmann Vehicle Engineering (HVE), the project ran from September 2023 to June 2026 and targeted an alternative to conventional thermoset composite processes such as hand lay-up and vacuum infusion.
The process chain combines three manufacturing stages. Large-format, granule-fed extrusion printing first produces the complex thermoplastic geometry without dedicated mould tooling. A newly developed automated 3D tape-laying process then adds continuous-fibre reinforcement selectively in highly stressed areas, following the component’s load paths. Automated milling completes the process to achieve the required dimensional accuracy and surface quality.
The entire manufacturing chain is thermoplastic-based and designed to enable material recycling. For the demonstrators, the consortium used a glass fibre-reinforced polycarbonate specifically selected and modified to meet the stringent fire-safety requirements of railway applications. Fraunhofer researchers also used process simulations to predict thermally induced distortion and delamination during printing.
The technology was validated using two components from Siemens Mobility’s Velaro MultiSystem, operated by Deutsche Bahn as the ICE 3neo: a front skirt and a nose section. The train has an operating speed of up to 320 km/h.
By eliminating dedicated moulds and combining additive manufacturing with targeted continuous-fibre reinforcement, 3D-FiberTrain is intended to reduce manufacturing costs and lead times while allowing designs to be adapted more easily. HVE sees particular potential for small and medium production runs, where the cost of conventional composite tooling can represent a significant constraint.
Alongside HVE, the project involved Fraunhofer IWU, Fraunhofer IMWS and Lakowa, with Siemens Mobility participating as an associated partner.
Photos: Hörmann Vehicle Engineering
#composites #3D_FiberTrain
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Composites
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Greene Tweed expands technology & applications for its long fibre thermoplastic
The rapid prototyping process developed by Greene Tweed for its Xycomp discontinuous long fibre (DLF) thermoplastic material is taking aim at quick replacement of metallic incumbent structures.
Composite materials specialist Greene Tweed, based in Kulpsville, Pennsylvania, US, announced earlier this year that it has developed a rapid prototyping process for its Xycomp DLF (discontinuous long carbon fibre) thermoplastic composite materials, designed to accelerate metals replacement in aerospace applications via faster testing and validation.
The company reports that its rapid prototyping process cuts DLF lead times by about 50% compared to traditional production methods. The company also identified innovations key to its rapid prototyping process: optimised and modularised mould design, parallel process execution, and rapid iteration.
Greene Tweed also announced an application that used the Xycomp DLF material and process to fabricate thermoplastic aircraft engine stator vanes using discontinuous carbon fibre-reinforced PEEK co-moulded with a printed metal leading edge to produce a near-net guide vane.
JEC Composites spoke with George Rawa, General Manager — Structural & Engineered Composites at Greene Tweed, to learn more about the DLF process.
JEC: The Greene Tweed rapid prototyping process appears to rely on tool modularisation. Can you explain in more detail how this modularisation speeds mould making? Is the strategy to machine off-the-shelf standard shapes that are then quickly customised?
G.R.: Modularisation is one of several tools in the rapid prototyping toolbox. Xycomp DLF parts are produced using a specialised compression moulding process. Our compression moulding presses are designed with flexibility to handle a variety of mould sizes and shapes. Typical production tools are intended to run tens of thousands of cycles, net mould nearly all features on the part, and produce precisely repeatable parts regardless of operator.
The rapid-prototyping method takes a different approach to tool design, recognising that these tools will run fewer cycles, more features can be machined if needed, and the parts will be produced in a lab-type setting where assembly/disassembly can be closely guided by the engineering team. Modular tooling is one way of achieving rapid, low-cost tools. The overall tool architecture doesn’t change part to part, but custom cavities are built and inserted for each new part geometry. This methodology is one of several tool design strategies utilised for rapid prototyping, and is applied when the part geometry allows. In other cases, we build standalone tools, but with reduced complexity and fewer production-oriented features, again in the name of expediting the tool build and reducing its cost.
JEC: What are Greene Tweed’s production capabilities?
G.R.: Greene Tweed operates three qualified multi-stage compression moulding lines plus one automated press line in Kulpsville to support both prototype development and full rate production. A larger R&D prototyping press was recently installed in our [Yverdon-les-Bains] Switzerland facility, supporting low-rate production and exploration into larger DLF components.
JEC: What can you tell us about the thermoplastic guide vanes Greene Tweed recently developed?
G.R.: The Xycomp DLF stator vane is made of carbon/PEEK discontinuous long fibres, manufactured via a proprietary compression moulding process that allows for precise thermal management and over 80% reduction in takt time. The resulting component aligns the fibres along the length of the vane with a co-moulded leading edge.
The rapid prototyping process developed by Greene Tweed for its Xycomp discontinuous long fibre (DLF) thermoplastic material is taking aim at quick replacement of metallic incumbent structures.
Composite materials specialist Greene Tweed, based in Kulpsville, Pennsylvania, US, announced earlier this year that it has developed a rapid prototyping process for its Xycomp DLF (discontinuous long carbon fibre) thermoplastic composite materials, designed to accelerate metals replacement in aerospace applications via faster testing and validation.
The company reports that its rapid prototyping process cuts DLF lead times by about 50% compared to traditional production methods. The company also identified innovations key to its rapid prototyping process: optimised and modularised mould design, parallel process execution, and rapid iteration.
Greene Tweed also announced an application that used the Xycomp DLF material and process to fabricate thermoplastic aircraft engine stator vanes using discontinuous carbon fibre-reinforced PEEK co-moulded with a printed metal leading edge to produce a near-net guide vane.
JEC Composites spoke with George Rawa, General Manager — Structural & Engineered Composites at Greene Tweed, to learn more about the DLF process.
JEC: The Greene Tweed rapid prototyping process appears to rely on tool modularisation. Can you explain in more detail how this modularisation speeds mould making? Is the strategy to machine off-the-shelf standard shapes that are then quickly customised?
G.R.: Modularisation is one of several tools in the rapid prototyping toolbox. Xycomp DLF parts are produced using a specialised compression moulding process. Our compression moulding presses are designed with flexibility to handle a variety of mould sizes and shapes. Typical production tools are intended to run tens of thousands of cycles, net mould nearly all features on the part, and produce precisely repeatable parts regardless of operator.
The rapid-prototyping method takes a different approach to tool design, recognising that these tools will run fewer cycles, more features can be machined if needed, and the parts will be produced in a lab-type setting where assembly/disassembly can be closely guided by the engineering team. Modular tooling is one way of achieving rapid, low-cost tools. The overall tool architecture doesn’t change part to part, but custom cavities are built and inserted for each new part geometry. This methodology is one of several tool design strategies utilised for rapid prototyping, and is applied when the part geometry allows. In other cases, we build standalone tools, but with reduced complexity and fewer production-oriented features, again in the name of expediting the tool build and reducing its cost.
JEC: What are Greene Tweed’s production capabilities?
G.R.: Greene Tweed operates three qualified multi-stage compression moulding lines plus one automated press line in Kulpsville to support both prototype development and full rate production. A larger R&D prototyping press was recently installed in our [Yverdon-les-Bains] Switzerland facility, supporting low-rate production and exploration into larger DLF components.
JEC: What can you tell us about the thermoplastic guide vanes Greene Tweed recently developed?
G.R.: The Xycomp DLF stator vane is made of carbon/PEEK discontinuous long fibres, manufactured via a proprietary compression moulding process that allows for precise thermal management and over 80% reduction in takt time. The resulting component aligns the fibres along the length of the vane with a co-moulded leading edge.
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This thermoplastic design was developed for commercial business jet engines that use non-structural stator vanes, and is intended to replace metallic solutions, offering significant weight savings and a reduced cost because the near-net moulding approach removes much of the complex machining associated with traditional vanes.
JEC: Is Greene Tweede producing these vanes or did you develop and deliver the process to the customer?
G.R.: Greene Tweed optimised/converted a customer’s legacy metallic part into a composite component. We developed the processing methodology internally but ultimately provided finished parts for validation on site at the customer’s test facility. This specific vane was for a business jet engine manufacturer.
JEC: Sealing technologies are part of the system. How are these applicable to composite parts and structures?
G.R.: Several Greene Tweed composite products require an integrated seal to complete the solution for our customers. The composites are the acting structural component to apply pressure to the sealing solution for closure – this can be seen on housings, doors, etc. Greene Tweed has developed a post-mould method to ensure proper surface preparation, bond adhesion and assembly of seals to our PEEK-based components.
JEC: What markets are most active for Greene Tweed right now? And what markets does Greene Tweed expect will be active in the next five years?
G.R.: Greene Tweed has a long-established presence across mission-critical industries like semiconductor, aerospace and defence, energy, industrial operations, and life sciences. These are the markets we’ve innovated for over the past several decades and where we continue to focus. Over the next five years, we plan to continue adding to our historical market investment with new emerging markets such as hydrogen and advanced air mobility (AAM).
In terms of our SEC [Structural & Engineered Composites] business specifically, AAM and defence are where we’re seeing a stronger pull right now, with growing interest coming in from mobile robotics and energy. Xycomp DLF is particularly well suited as a material and design solution for structural done components, offering weight reduction and rapid prototyping options to enable quick delivery. Obviously, weight is crucial for mobility-based defence applications, allowing platforms to stay in the air longer and/or with increased agility.
JEC: DLF is a relatively rare material technology in the composites industry. What attributes of DLF are most appealing to Greene Tweed customers?
G.R.: We’re seeing more aerospace customers moving in the direction of thermoplastic composites overall due to factors such as recyclability, better processing times, and weldability, among others. They offer exceptional stiffness-to-weight ratios, making them ideal for high-performance applications where strength, durability, and lightweight design are critical.
Xycomp DLF is engineered to replace traditional metals, typically delivering weight reduction between 35% and 55% compared to metal, with savings reaching up to 60% when parts can be consolidated in structural brackets, fittings, or clips. For aircraft, that translates directly into lower fuel burn and reduced emissions. With ground vehicles, it means extended range. In spacecraft, it opens up payload capacity. Our work with GE Unison illustrates the point well: by redesigning a multi-piece Inconel engine build-up bracket assembly into a single net-moulded carbon/PEEK DLF component, we achieved an 86% weight savings while meeting every functional requirement.
It’s also a fully characterised material with established design allowables, making it easier for engineers to develop and validate parts, and is well suited to complex geometries that rival the design flexibility of injection moulding but with dramatically longer and more robust fibres.
Jeff Sloan
Global Content Advisor & Editor
JEC Composites
Cover photo: George Rawa — Greene Tweed (source: Greene Tweed)
#composites #GreeneTweed #LongFibreThermoplastic
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JEC: Is Greene Tweede producing these vanes or did you develop and deliver the process to the customer?
G.R.: Greene Tweed optimised/converted a customer’s legacy metallic part into a composite component. We developed the processing methodology internally but ultimately provided finished parts for validation on site at the customer’s test facility. This specific vane was for a business jet engine manufacturer.
JEC: Sealing technologies are part of the system. How are these applicable to composite parts and structures?
G.R.: Several Greene Tweed composite products require an integrated seal to complete the solution for our customers. The composites are the acting structural component to apply pressure to the sealing solution for closure – this can be seen on housings, doors, etc. Greene Tweed has developed a post-mould method to ensure proper surface preparation, bond adhesion and assembly of seals to our PEEK-based components.
JEC: What markets are most active for Greene Tweed right now? And what markets does Greene Tweed expect will be active in the next five years?
G.R.: Greene Tweed has a long-established presence across mission-critical industries like semiconductor, aerospace and defence, energy, industrial operations, and life sciences. These are the markets we’ve innovated for over the past several decades and where we continue to focus. Over the next five years, we plan to continue adding to our historical market investment with new emerging markets such as hydrogen and advanced air mobility (AAM).
In terms of our SEC [Structural & Engineered Composites] business specifically, AAM and defence are where we’re seeing a stronger pull right now, with growing interest coming in from mobile robotics and energy. Xycomp DLF is particularly well suited as a material and design solution for structural done components, offering weight reduction and rapid prototyping options to enable quick delivery. Obviously, weight is crucial for mobility-based defence applications, allowing platforms to stay in the air longer and/or with increased agility.
JEC: DLF is a relatively rare material technology in the composites industry. What attributes of DLF are most appealing to Greene Tweed customers?
G.R.: We’re seeing more aerospace customers moving in the direction of thermoplastic composites overall due to factors such as recyclability, better processing times, and weldability, among others. They offer exceptional stiffness-to-weight ratios, making them ideal for high-performance applications where strength, durability, and lightweight design are critical.
Xycomp DLF is engineered to replace traditional metals, typically delivering weight reduction between 35% and 55% compared to metal, with savings reaching up to 60% when parts can be consolidated in structural brackets, fittings, or clips. For aircraft, that translates directly into lower fuel burn and reduced emissions. With ground vehicles, it means extended range. In spacecraft, it opens up payload capacity. Our work with GE Unison illustrates the point well: by redesigning a multi-piece Inconel engine build-up bracket assembly into a single net-moulded carbon/PEEK DLF component, we achieved an 86% weight savings while meeting every functional requirement.
It’s also a fully characterised material with established design allowables, making it easier for engineers to develop and validate parts, and is well suited to complex geometries that rival the design flexibility of injection moulding but with dramatically longer and more robust fibres.
Jeff Sloan
Global Content Advisor & Editor
JEC Composites
Cover photo: George Rawa — Greene Tweed (source: Greene Tweed)
#composites #GreeneTweed #LongFibreThermoplastic
🔸 source
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Toray develops recycling technology to recover PPS from waste
Toray Industries, a leading Japanese company, has announced that it has developed what it considers to be the industry’s first solvent-based recycling technology capable of recovering polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) from waste. The company plans to begin marketing this product around 2030.
The global chemical company, leading manufacturer of carbon fibres Toray Industries has announced that it has developed a technology to recover polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) from waste. To Toray’s knowledge at the time of the press release, this is the first solvent-based recycling technology capable of achieving this objective. This technology offers the advantage of selectively dissolving and separating PPS from other materials present in the composite – particularly glass fibres – without breaking the PPS down into monomers: the plastic retains its polymeric form, and the resulting recycled material has the same molecular weight and melting point as virgin PPS.
PPS is a ‘super-engineering plastic’ widely used in the automotive sector as well as for electrical and electronic components due to its very high thermal and chemical resistance. However, it is precisely this chemical resistance that makes it difficult to dissolve.
According to a preliminary study conducted by Toray, recycled PPS produced using this new technology could reduce ‘cradle-to-factory-gate’ greenhouse gas emissions compared with the company’s PPS manufactured from virgin raw materials. Toray is currently verifying these potential reductions as part of ongoing demonstration trials. The company is currently conducting a larger-scale demonstration as part of a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry project for the 2024 financial year entitled ‘Support for strengthening the resilience and self-sufficiency of circular economy systems through collaboration between industry, government and academia’.
Toray plans to launch commercialisation around 2030. It will partner with companies in the automotive, recycling and other sectors to create a resource circulation system covering everything from the collection of PPS-containing waste to the reuse of recycled PPS.
Cover photo: Toray at JEC World 2026 © A. Bonnet
#composites #Toray #recycling
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Toray Industries, a leading Japanese company, has announced that it has developed what it considers to be the industry’s first solvent-based recycling technology capable of recovering polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) from waste. The company plans to begin marketing this product around 2030.
The global chemical company, leading manufacturer of carbon fibres Toray Industries has announced that it has developed a technology to recover polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) from waste. To Toray’s knowledge at the time of the press release, this is the first solvent-based recycling technology capable of achieving this objective. This technology offers the advantage of selectively dissolving and separating PPS from other materials present in the composite – particularly glass fibres – without breaking the PPS down into monomers: the plastic retains its polymeric form, and the resulting recycled material has the same molecular weight and melting point as virgin PPS.
PPS is a ‘super-engineering plastic’ widely used in the automotive sector as well as for electrical and electronic components due to its very high thermal and chemical resistance. However, it is precisely this chemical resistance that makes it difficult to dissolve.
According to a preliminary study conducted by Toray, recycled PPS produced using this new technology could reduce ‘cradle-to-factory-gate’ greenhouse gas emissions compared with the company’s PPS manufactured from virgin raw materials. Toray is currently verifying these potential reductions as part of ongoing demonstration trials. The company is currently conducting a larger-scale demonstration as part of a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry project for the 2024 financial year entitled ‘Support for strengthening the resilience and self-sufficiency of circular economy systems through collaboration between industry, government and academia’.
Toray plans to launch commercialisation around 2030. It will partner with companies in the automotive, recycling and other sectors to create a resource circulation system covering everything from the collection of PPS-containing waste to the reuse of recycled PPS.
Cover photo: Toray at JEC World 2026 © A. Bonnet
#composites #Toray #recycling
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