PlastiComp & Xenia to make carbon fibre composite products
April 10, 2015 - United States Of America
PlastiComp, Inc., a global leader in long fibre thermoplastic (LFT) materials and technologies, and Xenia, a materials development company specializing in carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites, have joined hands to develop innovative solutions based on PlastiComp’s Complet long carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites and Xenia’s XECARB short carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites for the European market.
Injection mouldable Complet long fibre composite pellets from PlastiComp are available with 15-50 per cent carbon fibre in thermoplastic polymers from polypropylene to PEEK. Composite formulations can be custom engineered to include wear reduction, electrical conductivity, and flame retardant functions in addition to long fibre structural reinforcement, PlastiComp said in a statement.
PlastiComp recently developed a line of hybrid long glass and carbon fibre composites that combine long glass and carbon fibre together into a single ready-to-mould pellet. Hybrid products are available with variable combinations of the fibre types to bridge the performance gap between using either of these two fibres. They also lower the entry cost for adopting carbon fibre technology by reducing the quantity of carbon fibre needed to obtain high-performance properties.
Steve Bowen, president and CEO of PlastiComp said, “This combines the carbon fibre expertise of two esteemed firms, Xenia is renowned for their work with short carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastics and PlastiComp for our long and continuous fibre variants.”
Xenia engineers and manufactures reinforced thermoplastic composites for structural applications used in the most advanced fields. They combine reinforcing fibres, such as carbon or aramid, with functional additives, such as PTFE, to improve the mechanical and tribological properties of thermoplastic polymers.
Their products are highly recommended for the replacement of metals in applications ranging from industrial, transportation, oil and gas, agriculture, to technical sports. (GK)