TAGS: Automotive Thermoplastic Composites
HAICoPAS (Highly Automatized Integrated Composites for Performing Adaptable Structures), a joint project of Hexcel, Arkema and their partners to offer complete light-weighting solutions for the downstream aerospace, automotive and oil and gas industries has received approval from Bpifrance and the support (grant of 6 million euros) of France’s Investissements d’Avenir program.
The Project in Action
The project aims at optimizing UD tape design and its manufacturing process in view of its use in highly productive, cost competitive, composite part production. The HAICoPAS project also targets the development of a highly productive UD tape placement technology and a new system providing the ability to assemble final parts by welding within line quality control.
The HAICoPAS project aims to generate a complete supply chain able to:
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Supply carbon/thermoplastic UD tapes produced by Hexcel or Arkema.
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Provide the associated composite part manufacturing and assembling lines (SME Partners).
The main market objective is light weighting at competitive costs for such applications as primary aerospace structures, high volume automotive structural parts, and oil and gas pipes. The recyclability and environmental benefits of the thermoplastic materials and technologies developed within the project will be fully demonstrated and quantified.
HAiCoPAS - A Consortium of Complementary, High-Level Competencies
The HAiCoPAS project brings together a consortium of complementary, high-level competencies from Hexcel (carbon fiber), Arkema (high-performance polymers) and a number of highly skilled small and medium enterprises (Institut de Soudure, Ingecal, Coriolis, PEI) -- all widely recognized for their expertise in composites production equipment and processes.
The project also benefits from the scientific support of two laboratories: PIMM (CNRS - Arts et Métiers ParisTech - le Cnam) and LTEN (CNRS - Université de Nantes) which will develop the basic understanding for the optimization of the materials, their processing and long-term behavior in service conditions.
This project follows last year’s announcement of the strategic partnership between Hexcel and Arkema to develop high performance
PEKK/carbon fiber UD tapes targeting composite parts for primary aerospace structures.
Source: Arkema