CompositesWorld
Issue link: https://cw.epubxp.com/i/930524
FEBRUARY 2018 42 CompositesWorld I want to say two words to you: "Thermoplastic tapes" ยป "I want to say one word to you. Just one word . . . plastics." In the 1967 movie, e Graduate, college graduate Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) is offered by his father's friend Mr. McGuire this advice in what is now one of the most famous lines in cinematic history. By plastics, of course, he meant unreinforced thermoplastics, and in 1967, they were being injection molded, extruded and blowmolded. And he was right. at year, this segment of the plastics manufacturing industry was on the verge of a decades-long expansion that continues to this day. What Mr. McGuire did not reference in that oft-quoted line was thermoplastic composites, and he definitely did not envision unidirec- tional (UD) thermoplastic tapes. But he could have. In the late 1960s and through the 1970s and 1980s, thermoplastic tapes were being used to manufacture a variety of composite parts and structures, particularly in military and defense applications. Thermoplastic tape: The once and future aeromaterial? Thermoplastic tape, here, shown as it is wound onto a spool following prepregging, enjoyed use in composites manufacturing, notably in military aircraft applications, back in the 1970s and 1980s. But a subsequent lull in their application delayed material development, putting them behind thermoset tapes. However, the appeal of thermoplastics, particularly for potential out-of-autoclave aerospace applications, has re-ignited interest and product development. Source | Barrday Composite Solutions Thermoplastic tapes are not new to composites, but they soon will join the primary aerostructures material palette and could be their future. By Jeff Sloan / Editor-in-Chief