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HexTow carbon fibre and HexPly prepregs

by HexcelUS

ScalingStage 5 of 5

In high-rate production for commercial aerospace and defense.

Checked 25 Sep0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Faster-curing materials that skip the autoclave
  1. Composite supply for A350 and 787 programmesDoneComplete.
  2. Faster-curing materials that skip the autoclaveNowCurrent milestone.

Current obstacles

  • Slow oven curingMost aircraft composites bake slowly in pressure ovens (autoclaves); building more planes needs faster, oven-free processes.

Physics limits

  • Flaws, not bonds, set fibre strengthThe best carbon fibres reach about 7 GPa, a small fraction of the carbon-carbon bond's theoretical strength, because microscopic flaws start breaks.
  • Weak across the fibresAlong the fibres a laminate carries thousands of MPa, but across them only the resin holds, tens of MPa, so layers can delaminate under impact.
  • Thermoset resins cure slowlyEpoxy curing is a chemical reaction that releases heat; thick parts must be heated slowly to avoid overheating inside, which caps cycle times.

How it works

3 parts
Spools of acrylic precursor thread at the start of Oak Ridge's carbon-fibre line; baked in stages, it becomes carbon fibre, as HexTow does
Spools of acrylic precursor thread at the start of Oak Ridge's carbon-fibre line; baked in stages, it becomes carbon fibre, as HexTow doesPhoto: Oak Ridge National Laboratory · CC BY 2.0 (opens commons.wikimedia.org)
Fibre

Carbon from acrylic thread

Acrylic (PAN) fibres are stretched and baked in stages above 1,000 °C without oxygen, leaving strands of nearly pure, aligned carbon.

Prepreg

Pre-soaked in resin

Fibre sheets are impregnated with a measured amount of epoxy (HexPly prepreg) and kept frozen until use so they don't cure early.

Layup

Layers at chosen angles

Plies are stacked at different angles to carry loads in each direction, then cured under heat and pressure, often in an autoclave.

About Hexcel

The team behind HexTow carbon fibre and HexPly prepregs

Hexcel

Carbon fibre, prepregs, honeycomb composites

Hexcel is a US maker of lightweight composites (HexTow carbon fibre, HexPly prepregs and honeycomb cores) used in aircraft like the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 and in defense.

  • A leading carbon fibre supplier to Airbus and Boeing; demand tracks widebody production rates.
  • Makes everything from the fibre's raw material to prepreg and finished parts.
  • Tom Gentile became CEO in 2024.

hexcel.com (opens hexcel.com)Company profile →

Founded
194680 yrs
Headquarters
United States
Status
Public
Listed
HXL (opens google.com)NYSE
Valuation
public
Works in
MaterialsComposites & alloysAviation
Coverage
1 program · 0 updateschecked 25 Sep
Customers
Airbus (opens airbus.com)Boeing (opens boeing.com)
People
Tom Gentile (opens hexcel.com)CEO
Primer