Composites Evolution selected as material supplier for ‘67 Mustang
The ‘67 vintage vehicle by Charge Cars features Composites Evolution’s novel Evopreg carbon fiber prepreg, specially made for the Mustang’s bodyshell to meet customer specifications.
Photo Credit, all images: Composites Evolution
Composites Evolution (Chesterfield, U.K.) announces that it is the prepreg supplier for the ‘67 Mustang by Charge Cars, an electric car manufacturer (West Drayton, U.K.). Craftsmanship and technology are elegantly combined in the vehicle, which features a new lightweight carbon fiber bodyshell.
Driven to achieve visual perfection, Charge Cars teamed up with Composites Evolution to incorporate the company’s Evopreg EPC300 range of component prepregs. A carbon fiber prepreg was chosen for the ‘67 Mustang’s bodywork particularly because of ease of layup and the material’s optimal surface finish achieved straight from the mold.
In addition, the complex requirements of the ‘67’s floor-mounted structural carbon fiber battery box required an entirely new composite prepreg system to be developed by Composites Evolution and qualified by Charge Cars. The battery box needed to be structural, complex in shape, fully fire-retardant to ECE R100 regulations, have an excellent “double A side” surface finish and be electrically nonconductive.
To meet these challenging demands, the Composites Evolution team developed a novel fire-retardant, structural epoxy prepreg with high visual quality, and, working closely with Charge Cars engineers, tested the material against all aspects of the customer specification. A series of prototypes were manufactured successfully, with the new prepreg system proving to have excellent processability.
“Composites Evolution have been fantastic support for the ‘67 by Charge Cars, offering us a range of knowledge and materials to support all aspects of our vehicle builds,” the Charge Cars team notes.
Composites Evolution has now officially launched the innovative material as Evopreg EPC312FR, adding it to its Evopreg range of epoxy component prepregs.
Evopreg EPC312FR is a medium-temperature curing, flame-retardant, toughened epoxy resin system, formulated specifically for fire-retardant performance up to UL94V0, high visual quality and high mechanical properties. It can be supplied with a range of reinforcement fibers and fabrics, including carbon, glass, aramid and hybrids. The prepregs can be consolidated by autoclave or press molding and are designed for a range of applications including automotive, motorsport and general industrial.
The Composites Evolution sales team, Rochelle Helliwell and Mike Harrison, will also be at JEC booth S52 to discuss the company’s range of Evopreg component, tooling and fire-resistant prepregs.
Related Content
-
Materials & Processes: Resin matrices for composites
The matrix binds the fiber reinforcement, gives the composite component its shape and determines its surface quality. A composite matrix may be a polymer, ceramic, metal or carbon. Here’s a guide to selection.
-
Plant tour: Joby Aviation, Marina, Calif., U.S.
As the advanced air mobility market begins to take shape, market leader Joby Aviation works to industrialize composites manufacturing for its first-generation, composites-intensive, all-electric air taxi.
-
Materials & Processes: Composites fibers and resins
Compared to legacy materials like steel, aluminum, iron and titanium, composites are still coming of age, and only just now are being better understood by design and manufacturing engineers. However, composites’ physical properties — combined with unbeatable light weight — make them undeniably attractive.
