Victrex presented at the Paris JEC World last march the new Victrex AE250 composites developed for the aerospace industry, a Paek based product family in for of unidirectional tapes (UDT) and laminate panels. The AE250 composites offer speed of component manufacture and installation, more design freedom, durability and up to 60% weight reduction compared with metals. Victrex AE250 components enable the production of continuously-reinforced components, performing extremely well under load, including brackets, clamps, clips and housing used throughout aircrafts in primary and secondary structures, from the cabin, including seats, to engines and fuel tanks.
The Paek composites bridge the gap between composite materials and injection moulding, enabling the production of complex components previously impossible to manufacture. The hybrid moulding process enables indeed Victrex AE250 to be overmoulded with short-fibre reinforced Victrex peek polymers, in the form of inserts analogue to metals, combining composites mechanical properties with the design flexibility and fast production times of injection moulding process. In addition, pre-heat of Victrex AE250 organosheets is not required, to nearly reach up the melting temperature before inserting them into the injection moulding process, improving cycle times, reducing energy consumption and eliminating secondary process steps, reducing the amount of scraps and saving in installation expense.