Japanese’s Toho Tenax (Europe: Toho Tenax Europe, Wuppertal / Germany; www.tohotenax-eu.com) is showcasing two new semi-finished products, “Tenax ThermoPlastics” and “Tenax Net Shape Preform”, at the Composites Europe 2010 trade fair in Essen / Germany; www.composites-europe.com) being held on 14-16 September. The ThermoPlastics family currently comprises two products.

"TPCL" (ThermoPlastic Consolidated Laminate) consists of carbon fibre-reinforced thermoplastic sheets with several layers of prepregs for subsequent forming processes. The unidirectionally laid "TPUD" (ThermoPlastic UniDirectional) is produced as a tape in widths of between 6-300 mm. Both are manufactured exclusively using PEEK as the matrix material at present, but the company does not rule out using other thermoplastics in future. Net Shape Preforms involve a new technology to manufacture preforms in an automated process using a specialised carbon fibre filament yarn without any intermediate steps. This enables production of complex preforms or the local reinforcement of parts.

Toho Tenax says the advantages compared with the previous manufacture of fabrics or non-woven fabrics are lower production costs and a significant reduction in the scrap rate. The mechanical laminate properties of these preforms are said to be comparable with those of standard fabrics.