Carbon fiber specialist Hexcel has been awarded a first time contract by Mubea, a Tier 1 manufacturer in the automotive industry with a division for the manufacture of composite parts. Under the terms of the agreement, Hexcel will supply Mubea Carbo Tech with HiMax non-crimp fabric (NCF) for the manufacture of carbon fiber monocoque chassis. The monocoques will be manufactured by resin transfer molding (RTM) and use several different textile formats. Hexcel’s contract covers the delivery of the key materials for the full multi-year program duration.
To support the contract Hexcel will invest in a new non-crimp fabric line at its Leicester, UK site. The fabrics produced on this new line will have reduced scrap, higher material quality and larger roll sizes, the company says.
‘Hexcel has a long history of working in collaboration with Mubea and we thank them for taking our relationship to the next level with this contract award,’ said Tim Swords, Hexcel president, industrial. ‘Together we will continue developing solutions to make the production of composite parts more efficient and cost-competitive when compared to other materials. We look forward to demonstrating that composites can be a sustainable solution for automotive programs and are no longer confined to small volume production.’
This story uses material from Hexcel,with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
