Dash-CAE Launches Dastrude 100 and 165 for LFAM Composite Tooling

Source | Dash-CAE

Engineering firm Dash-CAE (Abingdon, U.K) has revealed a range of purpose-engineered, certified materials — Dastrude100 and Dastrude165 — for pattern, jigging and direct tooling applications without distortion.

The approach draws on Dash-CAE’s experience in large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) tooling for composite applications in motorsports. “When we began experimenting with LFAM, the greatest challenge was materials,” explains the company in a LinkedIn post. “We set out to develop recyclable tooling for composites, but existing AM materials could not withstand the thermal cycling requirements. Three years of development followed before we had refined the system to a point where it could be offered commercially.”

Dastrude100 is an optimized pattern and jig material, while Dastrude165 can be used for A Class production direct tooling. The certified materials will enable engineers to bypass the lengthy, traditional tooling phases of composite production, offering faster prototyping from CAD files to a carbon fiber monocoque, more design flexibility for updating to different race series or vehicle specifications and reducing the upfront tooling costs typically associated with supercar-level carbon fiber composite monocoques.