Rapid-Cure Resin for Carbon-Fiber Blanks

June 10, 2016

Ryan Gehm

Solvay recently launched its new rapid cure thermoset resin system MTR 760, which BMW selected to manufacture the CFRP (carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic) hood of its new M4 GTS. The new resin system was specifically developed to manufacture resin impregnated carbon-fiber blanks through processes such as filament winding. It is said to offer very good processing properties with rapid cure, a DMA onset Tg of 135°C (275°F), enhanced toughness and excellent dynamic loading characteristics. The surface finish of the resin allows a Class-A paint finish. MTR 760 filament wound prepregs have been selected for this application. Solvay’s engineering team worked closely with C-Con (development, tooling and system supplier) and Läpple (pressing and bonding) from the start of the vehicle program to ensure that the material and manufacturing process were optimized. The press molded hoods are manufactured using a Double Diaphragm Forming process with tailored composite blanks. Diaphragm forming offers multiple advantages including blank support during the pressing process, which eliminates the need for preforming as well as more cost-effective, simplified tooling. The films used for this process are proprietary to Solvay and are matched to the resin system to offer the right level of conformability to the tool geometry. For more information, visit www.solvay.com .