Description
Spread Tow fabric (STF) is a unique fabric that increases performance as well as reduces laminate weight up to 20%. TeXtreme®’s proprietary spreading technology produces ultra-light plys by spreading carbon fiber tow into a thin, flat unidirectional tape which is then woven into light-weight composite fabrics.
Traditionally, tow used to weave composite fabrics is round or oblong in shape. By spreading the tow flat prior to weaving, the resulting fabric delivers the advantages of relatively lower crimp, increased smoothness and less-pronounced crossover defects.
As an example, a typical 200 gsm 3K Plain Weave 50” wide fabric will have about 23,000 places where the weave overlaps, also called a crimp. Each crimp in the fabric has a very small area where excess resin will accumulate. By spreading the tow, the number of crimps is eliminated by over 90% which in turns eliminates the amount of area where excess resin can accumulate. In one yard of fabric you reduce over 21,000 of these super small resin pools yielding a part that is almost 20% lighter than a standard laminate.
- Achieve thinner laminates
- Reduce weight by 20% or more
- Desirable appearance
- Smooth and low porous surface finish
- Easy to handle, cut and place
- Formula One & NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing
- Cryonic tanks, aircraft interior components or UAVs
- Hockey sticks and golf shafts
- Thin ply carbon diaphragms
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