Tooling materials to help molding the surface quality of a composite part
The building of high quality composite parts starts with the creation of the mold and choosing the right tooling material. Part manufacturers require tooling materials that possess high dimensional stability and superior durability to deliver the maximum number of cure cycles and extended tool life. Syensqo offers both epoxy and BMI based tooling materials offering superior handling characteristics and molded surface quality, which are important factors to ensure the manufacture of precise, high quality composite parts.
Syensqo has more than 30 years of experience in Composite Tooling
Syensqo has been a market leader supplying composite tooling to the Aerospace, Automotive and Industrial markets for over 30 years. We approach composite tooling by focusing on delivering materials to meet our customer’s future demands. Through our focused engagement in collaborative research and development programs with government, academia and industry bodies, we are able to push the boundaries in function, cost-effectiveness, durability and process flexibility. In our close partnerships with our customers Syensqo offers engineering support in material selection, tool design and process support that is unmatched in the industry.
A portfolio supporting Aerospace, Automobile and Industrial market requirements
The start of any composite part is the tool; the importance of a high quality mold or tool should never be underestimated. Syensqo offers a comprehensive range of innovative tooling materials that meet the needs of our most demanding composite manufacturer, whether the application is high temperature aerospace components or high volume automotive parts.
- Low temperature initial cure cycles enabling our customers to use more affordable master models and removes the need for intermediate tooling.
- Vacuum-only (Out of Autoclave) capable cure formulations bring value to the marine, wind energy, and other markets using large tools where an autoclave might be viable.
- High temperature BMI tooling for the most demanding, large high volume aerospace tooling applications.
- Available in a broad range of aerial weights and product-forms to support multiple different lay-up configurations in order to achieve the optimal cost structure.
- Material systems that possess good drape and handability for complex geometries but also deliver superior surface quality and long-life reliability.
Syensqo Tooling Portfolio
Our tooling portfolio offers materials that support different cure profiles that can be used in the autoclave or an oven under vacuum only (Out of Autoclave). Syensqo’s epoxy based tooling systems offer the ability to be cured as low as 40⁰C to minimize any thermal expansion and maximize dimensional accuracy in the master mold right up to 180⁰C for Syensqo’s Duratool BMI materials. Our Tooling’s product range is available on both carbon and glass.
| Tooling product | Available Reinforcement Types | Initial Cure Temp. T°C | Out life at 21°C | Curing Methods | Target Applications |
BMI | Carbon | 175-190°C | 45 days | Autoclave | Large aerospace components, High value, highest accuracy machined tools |
Epoxy | Carbon and Glass | 60 - 90°C | 6 days | Autoclave Vacuum bag | Automotive & Aerospace components Aircraft Interiors |
Epoxy | Carbon | 60 - 90°C | 8 days | Autoclave Vacuum bag | Aerospace and Automotive tooling, Autoclave and Vacuum bag cure |
Epoxy | Carbon | 40 - 60°C | 60 hours | Autoclave Vacuum bag | Automotive, Race car components, Autoclave and Vacuum bag cure |
LTM 212 Epoxy | Carbon | 40 - 60°C | 60 hours | Autoclave Vacuum bag | Aerospace and Automotive tooling, Autoclave Vacuum bag cure |
More details on our Tooling portfolio
The industry leading high temperature toughened tooling system trusted for decades with building large high value Aerospace parts for high rate production.
A Tg <250°C ensures a large safety margin when curing structural components @ 180 - 190°C providing added protection from cure overshoots.
Duratool® 450 has the proven ability to be machined to high tolerances without creating distortion in a tool laminate thanks to it’s excellent toughness and void free laminate structure
LTM®16B is a well established and one of the most trusted products for building high temperature epoxy Aerospace tooling. Available with both carbon and glass reinforcements, LTM®16B offers an extended out-life which is perfect for larger tooling, ideal for larger aerospace or industrial components.
Capable of extended cycling at 180°C this high Tg tooling system makes light work of delivering reliable production tooling.
LTM®217 is Syensqo’s latest generation of high temperature Aerospace epoxy tooling prepreg, designed for optimum performance thanks to its enhanced handling characteristics and high Tg.
Syensqo’s LTM®217 long out-life makes a great choice for larger automotive or marine applications, providing excellent tool quality even when cured out of autoclave.
LTM®350 was developed using the latest epoxy resin technology to accelerate both the initial cures and post cure cycles, saving up to 50% of the time compared to traditional tooling systems, together with the best in class tooling prepreg handling characteristics.
LTM®350 uses the innovative 1-5-1 tool lay-up developed by Syensqo to reduce tool lay-up time, simplify tool construction and deliver high quality tools with excellent surface quality.
Syensqo’s LTM®350 system is the perfect solution for all automotive and race car tooling applications, requiring rapid manufacture and excellent surface finish delivering high quality parts time after time.
LTM®212 is a low temperature curing tooling prepreg capable of long term 180°C service.
Ideally suited for Aerospace/Automotive tooling, designed for optimum performance thanks to its enhanced handling characteristics and high Tg.
Available in both 3K 199gsm and 12K 660gsm, the LTM®212 offers excellent handling characteristics.
The out-life of LTM®212 also makes this a great choice for the smaller Aerospace tools and majority of automotive / marine applications, with the added benefit of excellent tool quality when cured out of autoclave.
