Toray supplies NASA HiCAM with thermoset and thermoplastic prepeg technologies to enable increase in airframer manufacturing rates

Toray, the leading global company in innovative technologies and advanced high-performance materials, is among the shortlist of composite material suppliers who are members of the Advanced Composites Consortium (ACC) and are supporting NASA's Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) project. The ACC is a Public-Private Partnership which includes NASA, FAA, select aerospace and materials companies, and academia that supports the HiCAM project. The project seeks to dramatically improve the manufacturing rates of composite airframe structures for future single-aisle commercial aircraft manufactured in the United States. Its approach includes the use of high-rate composite technologies to improve production rates and cost without sacrificing weight and performance attributes.

"The HiCAM project has completed tasks supporting formulation and is entering the next phase for technology development. We are pleased to have Toray as one of the members representing raw material suppliers." said Richard Young, HiCAM project manager.

Toray Composite Materials America, Inc. (TCMA), manufacturer of TORAYCA carbon fiber and aerospace-grade thermoset prepregs, is involved in three sections of the project's current phase supplying TORAYCA carbon fiber and next-generation thermoset prepregs. TCMA also provides process guidance of the materials' use in automated fiber placement (AFP) process development, rapid cure, and resin infusion for wing and fuselage structures. The thermoset prepregs utilize intermediate modulus plus (IM+) carbon fiber with a toughened epoxy resin system, providing structural performance, low resin content, and tight physical property manufacturing tolerances. "We're proud to participate in the ACC's effort to reduce cost, improve performance and increase delivery rates of single aisle commercial aircrafts to retain the United States' competitive advantage in aircraft manufacturing," according to Jeff Cross, TCMA Director of Business Development for Aerospace.

Toray Advanced Composites (TAC), manufacturer of a broad range of thermoset and thermoplastic composite technologies, is directly involved in four additional sections of the program with a range of Cetex® thermoplastic UD tapes and material science input. These materials represent state of the art structural thermoplastic composites on standard, intermediate and intermediate modulus plus (IM+) TORAYCA carbon fibers and are being utilized in innovative part fabrication and assembly processes. "Toray is honored to support this holistic material and process technology initiative, helping US aerospace manufacturing achieve an unprecedented 4-6x production rate increase" according to Steve Cease, TAC VP of Technology.