Equipment investment achieves wide-width carbon fiber fabric proficiency

Companies interested in wide-width carbon multiaxial fabrics will have the opportunity to visit Vectorply Corp. (Phenix City, Ala., U.S.) at CAMX to learn about the recent installation of a state-of-the-art Liba (Naila, Germany) Max 5 spread-tow machine capable of producing carbon fiber fabrics up to 100" wide, in addition to seeing the display of material swatches produced on this new machine. Its addition at the company’s headquarters in Phenix City will enable customers to capitalize on the many benefits of wide-width carbon fiber fabrics.

Vectorply produces a wide variety of spread-tow carbon fiber noncrimp fabrics (NCF) in various weights and architectures designed for customer-specific applications. Products range from unidirectional to quadraxial, as well as multilayer products combined with various veils, substrates and cores to improve properties and processing performance. The installation of the new 100" wide machine not only gives customers a source for wide-width fabrics, but has also enhanced Vectorply’s carbon fiber production capacity for standard width products.

According to the company, markets such as aerospace, industrial, commercial transportation and wind, carbon fiber fabrics greater than 50" in width are gaining traction for many reasons. Manufacturers can now reduce or eliminate overlaps in the layup process, which can remove some opportunity for human error and reduce expensive waste from nesting patterns of narrower products. Another cost reduction comes from reduced layup time, which can be cut in half when using 100" wide fabrics versus 50", which naturally leads to faster cycle times and more parts.

Vectorply CEO and president Trevor Humphrey says this new capability and capacity increase positions within the company to support the growing carbon fiber production market in North America and abroad. “The carbon [fiber] market continues to grow as engineers and manufacturers lean on the enhanced properties and performance that carbon fiber can bring to their products,” Humphrey says. “We are committed to supporting the growth of our current and future carbon [fiber] customers while also continuing to engineer unique carbon [fiber] fabrics that outperform other options in the market.”