Manna Laminates organosheet laminate aims for automotive crash applications

Manna Laminates (Misgav, Israel) reports that, after four years of development, it is introducing its Formtex family of semi-raw, thick organosheet laminate materials, which are said to meet the most stringent specifications for automotive crash applications.

Formtex is made using advanced woven fabric or layered UD tape, reinforced with continuous fiber thermoplastics (CFT). According to the company, the laminates can be customized per part or industry requirement, making it ideal for quasi-isotropic-loaded hybrid parts. The result is said to be an innovative, affordable material that boasts outstanding quality and performance capabilities.

Moreover, says Manna Laminates, Formtex provides a significant advantage for automotive crash-testing applications and even electric vehicles (EV) battery casings because of its high energy absorption, high impact resistance and the thickness of the laminate itself, which further provides multi-axial reinforcement. It can also accommodate the need for location-specific strength, flame retardancy and electrical and thermal conductivity.

Kobi Goldenberg, managing director of Manna notes that, while Formtex is  mostly used for parts with large surface areas, it can also be used as an insert for local reinforcement in overmolding processes. One application example for this application is the company’s newly awarded Front End Module (FEM) carrier project for a European car platform. The three preheated strips of organosheet were placed on the cavity side of the injection mold and backfilled with 30% LFT-PP, eliminating the need for several heavy stamped steel brackets on the sides of the front-end module carrier, while still meeting front crash requirements and engine hood-latch load constraints.

Using its innovative impregnation and consolidation process, Manna adds that it can manufacture thick laminates up to 10 mm in a single step with shorter thermal history and superior mechanical and delamination resistance properties.

Formtex is available in a wide range of fiber/resin combinations and product formats. Fiber materials include E-glass and carbon fiber, and resin materials include PP, PA6, HDPE, LDPE, PC and more. It can be supplied as a rectangular-cut laminate or cut to shape.