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Carbon fiber is rarely used solely as fiber; it is usually combined with resin. Prepreg, an intermediate material for molding, is made of carbon fiber impregnated with resin. Normally, this composite material is made by heating and curing the laminated or wound prepreg.
Toho Tenax is developing prepregs suitable for various applications,
including uses in the sports , industrial , and aircraft / aerospace industries .
With the development of an electron beam curing system that is expected to achieve revolutionarily low-cost, energy-saving molding, and recyclable thermoplastic resin prepreg, we are continuing, day by day, to expand prepreg's capacity to meet the requirements of a diverse variety of applications.
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Toho Tenax is developing highly functional products such as prepregs - which are mainly used for golf club shafts and fishing rods - with high pipe flexibility, high pipe torsion strength, and high rigidity.
While the main resin used for prepreg is epoxy resin with medium temperature curing properties (130 oC), there are demands for low-density type (50 g/m2 or less CF content) or low-RC type (25% or less resin content) to achieve lightweight quality. Improvements in resins and prepreg manufacturing processes are currently being proceeded at high speed.
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Since the demand for industrial uses of prepreg can be expected to rise in the future, Toho Tenax is developing prepregs for civil engineering and construction, energy-related applications, pressure vessels, transportation equipment, oil drilling, electro/electric equipment, and general industrial machinery.
Our imperative is to cut not only material costs but also processing costs, and to ensure reproducibility. While Toho Tenax continues to develop prepreg with low temperature curing properties, we are also conducting research in innovative resin processes to correspond with direct / low-cost molding technologies---a resin injection process such as RTM (Resin Transfer Molding), and a vacuum infusion process such as RFI (Resin Film Infusion), do not involve conventional molding processes using autoclaves to produce composites.
Moreover, we are constantly striving to meet a variety of needs by developing an electron-beam curing system, highly recyclable thermoplastic prepregs, and moldings that will break new ground in terms of cost-cutting and energy conservation.
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Photo : Courtesy of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.
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Toho Tenax is developing special function products for use on aircraft such as airliners, next generation aircraft, business jets, and supersonic aircraft, and for space applications in rockets and satellites.
Prepregs for aerospace applications are required to be heat resistant, shock resistant, and humidity resistant. The resins used for prepreg are mainly epoxy resins with medium (130 oC) to high temperature curing (180 oC) properties.
Prepregs with bismalamide and polyamide resins are being developed to meet the demand for greater heat resistance.
We are also developing prepreg that corresponds to an automated production system, including Fiber Placement Molding or ADP (Advanced Pultrusion) Molding, to meet demand for a low-cost molding process.
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