Switzerland’s North Thin Ply Technology (NTPT, Penthalaz-Cossonay; www.thinplytechnology.com) has introduced a thinner prepreg that it says makes the world’s thinnest prepreg even thinner, but nevertheless extremely strong. The company is now able to produce unidirectional prepreg tapes of only 15 g/m², compared with the standard for light prepregs of around 100 g/m² – in any configuration. This, it claims, “provides over 20% of weight saving.”

To manufacture the thin but strong tape, the Swiss prepreg specialist selected a recently launched intermediate modulus carbon fibre and transformed it by using its spread tow technology and adding a high Tg epoxy resin.

According to Gilles Rocher, sales & marketing director of NTPT, the tape processes well on the company’s Automated Tape Laydown (ATL) machine to produce multi-axial preforms. Targeted applications are lightweight sandwich panels for ultra-light aircraft, UAVs, aerospace and rigid wings for racing yachts. The prepreg is also said to enable the manufacture of symmetric laminates with multiple fibre orientation.