PENTAXIA: Self-Curing Isothermal Composite Tooling for Low-Energy and Large-Scale Applications

EcoTool is an innovative heated tooling solution created by modifying existing composite moulding technology and enabling Joule heating of composite laminates. The tools are heated by exploiting the Joule effect in continuous carbon fibres, allowing fast, efficient direct heating in specific zones as required. Energy consumption is significantly lower than ovens and/or autoclaves, reducing operating costs and environmental impact. This novel method reduces the upfront CAPEX cost, time, and accessibility to the market for large-scale composite components. This technology is applied to the mould tool during Pentaxia’s standard in-house laminating process and uses no external heat source to cure the mould tool.

A Composites Exchange hosted by Albert GIBBS, Engineer - PENTAXIA LTD and Stuart MORRIS, Engineering Director - PENTAXIA LTD