JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #106 - July 2016 - 43

semi-product

The future of flight looks bright for PEEK

By
RYAN BRADY,
HEAD OF STRATEGIC MARKETING,
VICTREX

T

he introduction of unidirectional
tape and laminate panels under the
name Victrex AETM 250 composites
allow the production of continuously-reinforced components that can perform
under load. Victrex believes the future for
thermoplastics in the aerospace industry
will continue to be bright, which means
the company will continue to be busy.

A promising tomorrow
for thermoplastics

Victrex AETM 250 composites have shown
weight savings of up to 60 per cent under
certain circumstances when compared to
metals such as aluminium, stainless steel
and titanium.[1]
That weight reduction could translate into

significant gains in fuel-efficiency and
reduced CO2 emissions. The composites
have also shown an up to five times higher
specific strength compared to those of
metals.[2] With this composite solution
being used as inserts in existing injection
moulding equipment, the hybrid moulding process enables the overmoulding of
a continuously-reinforced thermoplastic
composite with Victrex® PEEK injection
moulding polymers.

technology which uses the composite
components as inserts and allows for
processors to overmould a short-fibre
filled PEEK polymer on to the composite
insert without the need of pre-heating the
organosheet up to its melt temperature
prior to overmoulding. Thus users get the
design freedom of injection moulding and
the strength of composites to manufacture
components that were not achievable in
the past.

Introducing hybrid moulding
technology

Successful growth strategy

The hybrid moulding technology offers
major advantages, including improved
cycle times, lower energy requirements,
and the elimination of scrap and secondary operations.
These factors help to reduce total system
cost, a high priority in the industry's
effort to move planes off the assembly line
faster and more cost-effectively. Analysts
believe[3] that more than 35,000 new
aircraft will be needed over the next 20
years in order to replace ageing fleets and
to meet civilian flight demands.
Besides the great mechanical properties
associated with thermoplastic composites,
the differentiator between Victrex AE
250 composites and other PAEK-based
offerings is that it can be processed at a
lower temperature. This led Victrex to
the development of the hybrid moulding

Victrex was formed with just over 60
employees in 1993 after a management
buyout of the Polyetheretherketone
(PEEK) polymer business from Imperial
Chemical Industries (ICI). ICI had been

Bracket/fitting in Airbus A350 is the first primary structural component made from Victrex®
PEEK polymer
© Airbus Helicopters

No106 July 2016 / jec

composites magazine

FEATURE AERONAUTICS

Victrex sees a great fit within brackets,
clips, clamps, connectors, fasteners and
other system attachments in primary and
secondary structures as well as in fuel
management because of the ability to
reduce weight, consolidate several components into one part, design costs out, and
improve production or installation speed
in some cases. The company believes there
will be a continued need for lightweight
thermoplastic films and tubing for various
aircraft systems beyond thermal acoustic
insulation and drainage lines.

After a busy 2015, you could forgive Victrex for thinking this year
would be a good chance to take it easy. After all, the British manufacturer of PAEK polymer solutions found its products specified
in Bombardier's Learjet and Global aircraft, as well as for the first
time in a primary structural component on the Airbus A350 and
launched new composites for the aerospace industry.

43
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #106 - July 2016
