Company hits milestone of 25,000 parts made using its rapid-cure prepreg
TRB Lightweight Structures has begun manufacturing its own prepreg material to improve performance, cost and lead times for its composite parts. The company has already produced and shipped 25,000 parts using this proprietary, rapid-cure prepreg technology.
In late 2020, TRB announced a new production process to generate continuous fibre, thermoset composite parts at high volume for automotive markets. To deliver on that promise, the company built its own prepreg machines, and is developing a family of resins to support component manufacturing, including resins optimised for rapid cure, FST (UL94-V0) and high temperature applications. TRB has emphasized that it is not selling its prepreg commercially, but is instead focused on streamlining its production process for the components it manufactures. This allows the company to decrease costs and lead times – by reducing the number of vendors involved and eliminating minimum order quantities – while also improving manufacturing efficiency.
“By making our own prepreg, we are able to tune the material selection to precisely match what is needed for each customer,” said Andrew Dugmore, VP of Business Development at TRB. “We can create an optimal mix of fabric weight, coloured surface finish and resin properties, as well as incorporating additional materials – such as EMI shielding, and electrical and thermal insulation –during the lay-up process.”
For more information, go to the TRB website.
About TRB Lightweight Structures
TRB Lightweight Structures (TRB) is a leading international manufacturing and engineering company, specialising in lightweight and durable composite products for a range of industries. Since its formation in 1954, TRB has invested heavily in people, and has a team of over 130 experts to support its services across design, engineering, manufacturing and quality. TRB’s cross-functional teams work closely with customers to tackle big challenges – reducing weight while improving performance, safety and durability. The company prides itself on working with other businesses that take their carbon footprint seriously, and want to use more environmentally-friendly materials in their manufacturing processes.