New Prepreg Facility
Since 1966, Ensinger has been active in the field of engineering polymers. Today, the corporate group’s range of products and services covers the entire value-added chain – from compounding and extrusion, injection moulding and stock shapes through to finished components. In the business area of thermoplastic composites, Ensinger added some years ago plates and components made from fibre-reinforced thermoplastics, predominantly for applications in the medical market.

Now the Ensinger Group has invested further in the field of composite materials; at the Cham site (Bavaria), a new facility has been commissioned for the production of thermoplastic prepregs. Ensinger’s range now encompasses thermoplastic, continuous fibre-reinforced semipregs and prepregs, organosheets and compression moulded composite plates from a wide range of material combinations.

Among the composite materials being produced by Ensinger at the new facility in Cham are thermoplastic semipreg materials (TECATEC CP). These single layer semipregs made from carbon or glass fibre fabrics are coated with thermoplastic matrix materials. The materials here range from engineering polymers such as polycarbonate and polyamides, to high-performance plastics such as PEI, PEEK and PEKK. Alongside stock materials, its in-house compounding allows Ensinger to also address most customer requests.

Also new to the portfolio are thermoplastic prepreg materials (TECATEC IP). These are fully impregnated and consolidated, single layer plies made from carbon or glass fibre fabrics. With these prepregs, the full range of matrix polymers is available. In addition, Ensinger offers customized matrix and fibre combinations, fibre architectures or matrix materials on request.

All semipreg and prepreg products from Ensinger can be processed further into organosheets, thermoplastic composite parts or stock shapes.

Thermoplastic organosheets are multi-layer, fully impregnated and consolidated fibre composite materials produced from carbon fibre or glass fibre fabrics and a variety of matrix materials. The organosheets (TECATEC OS) from Ensinger consist of several layers of prepreg or semipreg material, which are stacked according to the customer’s specification and then consolidated to form a laminated organosheet with a thickness of up to 5 mm.

The organosheets offered on coils or as plates can be used for thermoformed parts or for the straightforward manufacture of thicker parts.

Continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites are particularly suitable for use in the automotive industry, in medical technology, in engineering and in the oil and gas sector. For high-end applications in aviation, light and high-strength thermoplastic composites have now become indispensable. Sports goods such as bike components or winter sports equipment are an additional growth market for these modern composite materials.

For more information, contact Ensinger, 365 Meadowlands Blvd., Washington, PA 15301, 800-243-3221/856- 227-0500, Fax: 724-746-9209, E-mail: composites@ensingerplastics.com, Web: www.ensingerplastics.com/composites.