Formaplex has joined the National Composites Centre (NCC), a global centre of excellence and innovation in composites.

It has become an associate member and is looking forward to bringing our highly regarded composite and plastic tooling expertise to the Centre. It has received a warm welcome from the Centre and will use the membership to enhance its understanding of high-pressure resin-transfer moulding and reduced-cycle-time out-of-autoclave composite manufacturing.

The NCC is the focal point in the UK for reduced-cycle-time out-of-autoclave composite R&D and developing this exciting technology, among others, with the NCC will help us continue at the forefront of UK composite manufacturing.

Aerospace and automotive OEMs and suppliers are striving to reduce the production cycle times of composite components and provide credible lightweight substitutes to traditional high-volume metal production solutions. The UK composites industry has led the way in autoclave production of high-performance composite components. The NCC is now providing the platform to ensure the UK remains at the cutting edge of composite technology development.

There are a lot of synergies between its current work in resin-transfer mould and injection-mould tool design and the new out-of-autoclave work being undertaken by our new Composites R&D Department. This membership will give it the opportunity to collaborate with other companies that lead their fields in composites.