When it comes to processing advanced materials for the aerospace industry, few organisations can assert more technical know-how than Cygnet Texkimp. The Northwich-based fibre handling and converting technology specialist is one of the largest suppliers of composite prepreg lines to the aerospace market and has developed a range of downstream technologies based on the fundamental principles of good fibre management. So, where does Cygnet Texkimp fit in the composites supply chain for the aerospace market?

We’re not far off providing a one-stop shop for all of the aerospace industry’s composites technology requirements. We aim to be the partner of choice for solutions to handle and process fibres and advanced materials.

We start with the requirements of the process and supply the best equipment to achieve them, always prioritising the health and integrity of the fibre from package to process to ensure the optimum performance of the materials and parts. This uncompromising attention to fibre handling is ultimately what sets us apart from our competitors and often the chief reason our customers buy from us.

We produce equipment to handle and process intermediate materials – the 2D and 3D fabrics such as prepregs and slit tapes that go on to be used in the manufacture of high-end aerospace components. Our creels, prepreg, slitting and coating machines and handling solutions are all designed to produce the highest quality materials for use in state-of-the-art aero-structures throughout the world. The exception to this is our filament winding technology, including our 3D Winder and Multi Axis Winding machines, which also produce finished components.

Technologies on offer

Our product range has evolved considerably in the last decade, shaped by the demands of the market and, more specifically, the needs of our customers, many of whom supply the aerospace industry with high-end composite materials and parts.

Cygnet Texkimp began life almost 50 years ago manufacturing fibre unwinding creels, first for the traditional textile market and soon after for the military aviation industry as it made its first foray into carbon fibre. Today, our creel business is still thriving, now producing PAN (polyacrylonitrile) precursor creels and automated solutions for unwinding into the carbonisation process, and a range of horizontal and vertical carbon fibre creels – including our Flatline creel – for unrolling composite fibres into 2D and 3D weaving applications, typically producing parts such as radomes and nacelles, or into prepreg lines, in which case fibres are unrolled and presented in a UD (unidirectional) format which can be taken on into the next process.

Our prepreg capability includes UD and woven, or fabric, prepreg lines. For aerospace applications, including primary structure components such as fuselages and wing spars, these are engineered with very precise rollers and bearings to produce light, accurate and consistent prepregs. Our thermoset prepreg lines are most commonly used in the aerospace market, and may incorporate very accurately measured and monitored resin systems to make very low area weight UD or fabric prepregs. Epoxy resins are applied using our precision coating machines, which we have engineered to coat down to 4gsm at 50m/min using very high precision rollers.

prepregAerospace grade prepreg line from Cygnet TexkimpLast year we also launched a thermoplastic processing line to manufacture high-grade thermoplastic prepregs on an industrial scale. This technology is capable of processing PEEK and PAEK, which are very commonly used in the aerospace market due to their high temperature and superior mechanical properties.

Next up are our slitter-spooler machines, which can be used to slit prepreg materials into an extremely precise tape and apply a poly backing ready for use in AFP and FPL applications. Slit tapes can also be used in our filament winding technologies for very precise applications.

Our filament winding technology has been an area of huge development in recent years. This reflects its importance in the aerospace market, where it is used in a vast range of applications from fuel pipes, fuel lines and actuators, all the way up to Type 4 and Type 5 hydrogen tanks. As well as slit tapes, our winders can also accommodate dry fibre alongside an in-line wet-out system, or alternatively thermoset towpregs and thermoplastic tapes, both of which can be produced on our machines.

When it comes to developing composites processing technology for aerospace applications, the most important consideration for us and our customers must be fibre handling. This is even more important in the commercial and military aviation market, where the highest quality and consistency of materials are needed to achieve the greatest levels of safety and performance.

If you misalign or mishandle the fibre, or don’t use the correct control surfaces to unwind over, you will slowly degrade the integrity and performance of the intermediate material. If this happens, you end up using more of it to achieve the same properties, therefore increasing weight and CO₂ emissions, or worse, risk degrading the performance of the final part. Look after your material well and you will be able to use less of it.

Projects in the pipeline

We recently became part of a £40 million collaborative R&D programme led by a Tier 1 aerospace supplier, alongside many of the leading organisations in global composites. The three-year project, based in the UK, is designed to accelerate the development of composite materials and process technologies, improve adoption of composite technologies and boost production rates to meet future high-volume requirements in the aerospace and automotive markets.

Part of the programme focuses specifically on the development of a new generation of aircraft powered by combustible hydrogen to cut CO₂ emissions in the commercial aviation sector and help deliver the world’s low-carbon objectives. Our role in the consortium is to develop new processing machinery which will be used to produce pressure vessels for the transport, delivery and storage of hydrogen. The potential impact of this collaboration on the future of aerospace technology is extremely exciting.

A focus on investment

Investment in our R&D division and innovation showroom has made an enormous impact on our ability to work successfully with the industry in the last few years. The pandemic halted customer visits last year, but this year we are gearing up to welcome our aerospace customers and partners to our headquarters once again to see our technologies in action.

This space is designed to enable companies to carry out dedicated trials of our technologies in order to find the right technical solution for their application. This year, we’re investing in a full-scale, high-spec slitter-spooler demonstrator machine which will be available for trials by the end of 2021. This will complement the technologies we already have here, which range from fibre handling, spreading and coating equipment, to our upgraded thermoplastic tape production line, our Multi Axis Winder and robotic cell for a range of applications including filament winding and automatic tape laying.

https://cygnet-texkimp.com