Toray Composite Materials America, Inc. (Toray CMA) announces the availability of its proven 3960 prepreg system in an off-axis +/- 45° braided fabric format. This new format provides composite designers in the aerospace and defence markets with an alternative to traditional 0°/90° woven prepreg, engineered to reduce waste, improve manufacturing efficiency, and increase production rates.

Format built for rate

The +/- 45° bias fibre weave format, produced in collaboration with A&P Technology, is ideal for any application requiring high-aspect-ratio, off-axis reinforcement, particularly for aerospace primary and secondary structures such as wings, spars, and stringers. Long, uninterrupted 45° plies are difficult to achieve with traditional woven prepreg. Because 45° plies make up half of a standard quasi-isotropic layup (0°, +45°, -45°, 90°), manufacturers can divide nesting operations between 0°/90° 3960 prepreg fabric and +/-45° 3960 prepreg, reducing scrap generated during the cutting and splicing of off-axis plies.

"The +/- 45° braided format gives our customers a real alternative to traditional woven prepreg, cutting scrap, speeding up layup, and helping programs hit higher production rates without sacrificing structural performance," said Jeff Cross, principal director for defense programs at Toray CMA. "It's exactly the kind of manufacturing efficiency the aerospace and defense market has been asking for."

The material is made possible through Toray CMA's collaboration with A&P Technology, which has the unique capability to produce wide, continuous rolls of +/-45° 2x2 twill fabric using Toray's TORAYCATM T1100 fiber. Marketed by A&P as TX-45, the format is supplied in continuous 45° bias rolls, eliminating the need for splices. In a trade study conducted at the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) comparing 0°/90° prepreg layup of a spar to 45° prepreg layup, TX-45 prepreg enabled a 30% reduction in waste and a 40% reduction in layup time.

Toray CMA's 3960 prepreg in the +/-45° braided fabric format is available for aerospace and defence programmes. By pairing traditional 0°/90° woven prepreg with the new off-axis format, manufacturers can streamline operations, cut scrap, and boost throughput on primary and secondary structures.