Aerospace

Vectorply’s involvement began through the demand for multiaxis reinforcements rather than the limited application of traditional 0 º - 90º woven.

Vectorply’s involvement in aerospace and aircraft applications began through the demand for multiaxis reinforcements rather than the limited application of traditional 0º - 90º woven. The choice of architecture and fiber density presented new opportunities for the aerospace industry. The availability of double bias +-45º, triaxial 0º, +45º, -45º, or quadraxial 0º, +45º, 90º, -45º opened new possibilities for tooling as well as production parts. Fabrics can be engineered to meet the requirements requiring less labor to install them in the mold and therefore reduces labor costs. The waste encountered by rotating the woven fabric to 45º to obtain the desired architecture proved to be too labor intensive and wasted too much material.

It is in the heavy tow size (48k, 80k) that Vectorply’s equipment competes best with the woven counterpart. As woven fabrics gain in weight, so does the amount of crimp between both axes and the strength diminishes on a comparative weight basis. Vectorply’s heavy weight, non-crimp fabrics do not diminish in strength but grow in fiber density when compared to the woven fabric. Many of Vectorply’s machines are optimized to spread the heavy tow sizes to form a medium weight fabric with high fiber density, a unique feature of non-crimp, stitch bonded technology.

Vectorply’s involvement began through the demand for multiaxis reinforcements rather than the limited application of traditional 0º - 90º woven.