Formax, a leading manufacturer of carbon fibre and specialty composite reinforcements, will be showcasing two new fabric ranges at the Composites Engineering Show 2013 that will be held from 12-13 November at the NEC, Birmingham.

The company will present A-FORM, an advanced range of Class A automotive textiles, and reFORM, a recycled multiaxial reinforcement manufactured entirely from reprocessed carbon. Formax will also provide information about the company’s new Drape Simulation Technology.

aFORM

Formax has developed several highly specialised fabrics that it rates as suitable for the production of Class A body panel components.

Based around +/-45 degree configurations and ranging in weights from 150-300gsm, these innovative reinforcements are said to minimise cure and processing times, thereby greatly reducing labour and painting costs.

According to the company, the undesirable effect of ‘print through’ on finished parts is eliminated due to super fine stitching and a variety of laminated surface veils.

reFORM

The creation of a new Recycling Division at Formax’s UK headquarters has allowed the company to devote considerable resource into optimising and developing a recycled materials range.

reFORM is a new reinforcement manufactured entirely from reprocessed carbon fibre wastage and is engineered for a variety of non-structural and structural applications across a range of industries.

Drape Simulation Technology

Formax has the capability to support customers with specialist Drape Simulation software developed to enable the optimisation of fabric design.

The programme’s task is to predict how a material will perform and drape during the manufacturing process and highlight areas of difficulty such as creasing and permeability issues.

www.formax.co.uk