Gurit, a leading global manufacturer and supplier of composite materials, engineering, tooling, finished parts and systems has launched a new range of composite materials for the automotive industry at the Composites Europe Exhibition in Stuttgart, Germany.

Exhibiting on stand 4/D07, Gurit is showcasing its new range of composite materials for the automotive industry. The range includes:

SC 110 Cosmetic Carbon Prepreg

SC 110 is a new cosmetic grade prepreg that tilizes a high clarity, versatile hot-melt, epoxy resin formulation.  The  unique  formulation  ensures that  no  whitewash  or  white  spots  are  evident in the cured resin. 

It is ideal for manufacturing high visual quality components using autoclave, press and vacuum-only processing. It can be cured  at  temperatures  as  low  as  80°C,  or  it can  be  used  for  faster moulding of components at 120°C. This is achieved with a good out-life of up to 3 weeks at 21°C.  It is a toughened system, and offers excellent mechanical properties on a wide variety of reinforcing fabrics and fibres. 

SE 200 Structural Epoxy Prepreg

SE 200 is a high strength toughened epoxy system that has a flexible cure envelope ranging from 135°C to 200°C.  SE 200  has  been  developed  to  enable  rapid  part  manufacture  through  a number  of  composite  processing  methods.   

The  minimum  cure temperature  is  135°C  from  which  SE 200  develops  Tg  and  strength properties  at  a  level  associated  with  high  temperature  195°C  curing systems. 

Higher  temperature  cures  in  excess  of  180°C  will  achieve  the best  dry  and  wet  thermal  performance. Using  the  appropriate  press  moulding technology it is possible to achieve a 15 minutes hot-in / hot-out cure  at  195°C,  making  SE 200  suitable  for  the  economic  production  of  automotive parts. 

SE 200  Structural  Prepreg  can  be  used  in  the  making  of  parts  such  as  structural  lower  tubs,  bulkheads, front  and  rear  scuttles,  exhaust  tunnels  and other structural components.

PN901 High Tg Prepreg

The PN901 resin is an ideal matrix system for high temperature composite applications, as it combines ease of processing and  handling  convenience  of  epoxy  resins,  high  temperature  stability  of  polyimides,  and  flame  and  fire  resistance  of phenolics.

A 135°C cure for 75 minutes combined with a post-cure, enables PN901 to generate a Tg in excess of 300°C, making PN901 ideal for applications in composite structures, which are exposed to very high temperatures.  The flame and smoke characteristics of PN901 composites  show  that  this  resin  possesses  superior  flame  retardant  properties  and  holds  a  wide  range  of  Aerospace  grade  FST (Fire/Smoke/Toxicity) standards.

Comprehensive materials and services range for any composite applications

Alongside these innovations for the automotive industry, Gurit is highlighting its full product range and its composite material engineering expertise which continuously defines new benchmarks for the use of composite materials in a growing range of industries and application. Staff from Gurit’s EMEA sales and technical teams are available on the stand to discuss the latest products and projects.