Participating in this program led to a portfolio of cost-competitive, carbon-fiber and glass-fiber reinforced polyamide UD tapes for applications up to 150oC temperature. The UD tape—the most basic building block of CFRP materials—consists of continuous fibers saturated with DSM engineering polymers to form thermoformable ribbons.
The ribbons can be slit to a desired width and then used to make pipes or cylinders in a winding process. They can also be stacked up to build plates that can be thermoformed to make various shapes and parts. As opposed to injection-molding materials that are also reinforced with chopped or discontinuous fibers, the CFRP materials are capable of wholesale replacement of metal in structural use, such as in automotive chassis components.
Not only does DSM offer a portfolio of UD tapes materials, this year we have started a production line in the Genk, Belgium, facility. The production line is capable of processing commodity polymers, such as polyolefins to high-temperature engineering polymers like PEEK. Currently, it is used for UD tapes based on DSM’s polyamide portfolio.
DSM also develops and specifies automatic tape placement, tape winding and tape-insert over molding. We offer computer aided engineering for part design and manufacturing process specifications, in-house macro and micro structural analysis of UD tapes, and bonding. Also, DSM has partnered with other industry OEMs and automotive tiers in the value chain to demonstrate UD tape applications to automotive end-users.
Learn more about how UD tapes can help reduce weight in your application — contact us today.