New moulding process opens the door to lightweight composites

Showcased at the JEC World composites show this week in Paris, the new door uses a proprietary moulding technique that could have applications in other industries.

Penso uses a press-moulding process, with a phenolic pre-preg material wrapped around a solid core. The material itself is a relatively traditional composite that’s already widely used in aerospace, but the production process is understood to be unique.

“The key difference is that we cure the composite material with the core in-situ and the part is produced in one go,” said Paul Fannon, head of programmes at Penso. “We use a close-moulded two-shelled aluminium tool to cook the part. The whole process takes minutes, while you’re probably looking at five or six hours in an autoclave.”

This results in a closed composite structure, which eradicates the risk of moisture ingress. Penso cites this as an advantage over the current aluminium doors, which can suffer problems with delamination, but the greatest benefit comes in weight saving.