WhatisEx-Core

How it's Made

Ex-Core Journey

Unique Solutions

EX-CORE® is a revolutionary technology that creates stronger carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) components at a lower cost with a more efficient and flexible production process.

The EX-CORE® technical revolution can deliver a production-cost saving of up to 81% compared to conventional carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) processes used in the car industry today.

It delivers stronger components that liberate designers to create carbon-fibre shapes and angles that could only be dreamed of before, thanks to the syntactic foam core that squeezes the carbon-fibre material out against the mould.

It adds strength, with that foam setting into a solid that reinforces the core of the component, and it reduces cost, with its low-energy, low-wastage, one-shot manufacturing process.

And the more complex the production design is, the more Ex-Core saves compared to traditional methods.

5 Key Benefits of Ex-Core

Welcome to the future of technology and innovation with Ex-Core.

Our revolutionary technology is changing the way industries operate, and we're here to show you how. Whether you're a business leader seeking a competitive edge or a curious mind eager to explore the latest breakthroughs, you're in the right place.

Join us on this journey as we unveil the five key benefits that make Ex-Core a transformative force in today's ever-evolving landscape. Explore, learn, and envision a future where Ex-Core plays a pivotal role in your success.

1. One-Shot Efficiency

A key reason why the EX-CORE® CFRP system stands apart is by using a ground-breaking, one-shot production method.

This unique manufacturing process reduces production time, which helps Ex-Core clients to achieve faster and more efficient production of components.

It also increases production accuracy, leading to less wastage and a greater percentage of approved parts.

2. Cost Reductions

The EX-CORE® production process slashes costs - and not just to its clients.

The same key Ex-Core advantages that deliver lower production costs also deliver lower environmental costs, making Ex-Core sustainable both financially and environmentally.

Ex-Core minimises waste by eradicating consumables like vacuum bags, breather cloth and peel ply, and by slashing material trimming rates.

It also uses far less energy in heating, and the Ex-Core only uses sustainable energy in its production process, ultimately lowering the carbon footprint of Ex-Core clients.

3. Simplify Complexity

The inside-out nature of the EX-CORE® system gives it the capability to create an enormous range of shapes with repeatable precision.

It can cope with sharp radii, intricate or irregular forms and even complex organic shapes, with no loss of strength and no lowering of production tolerances.

It can create all of these diverse shapes in a single manufacturing cycle, rather than layering them in a series of cycles.

4. Light Strength

Once it has completed its initial expansion to push the carbon-fibre sheets against the surface of the mould, the EX-CORE® syntactic foam then switches to its secondary role - adding strength.

This is how Ex-Core components can achieve higher bending and torsional rigidity than conventional components without adding weight.

Both strength and weight characteristics can be tailored for each component.

5. Production Flexibility

The EX-CORE® system can accommodate a wide range of production numbers, and even in-batch production flexibility, from small batch runs to high-volumes.

Ex-Core has been conceived to deliver widely different production volumes with no diminution of quality standards or efficiency.

This level of adaptability allows Ex-Core to cater to an enormous variety of production demands and scheduling, making it a versatile manufacturing asset.

Increased accuracyLess wastage

No consumablesless energy used

Shapingwithout limits

small batcheshigh volumes

A unique self-contained tooling

The entire EX-CORE® process stands alone in the industry, with the same tool functioning as both the mould and the oven, complete with precise computer-controlled process management.

With integrated heating elements and pressure sensors, Ex-Core can regulate the temperature of the foam in real time to force the carbon-fibre sheets out against the shaped inner surface of the tooling.

The internal pressure generated by the expanding foam can deliver components with intricate shapes and function integration that are unattainable with existing carbon-fibre production.

Ex-Core also produces cleaner production pieces, because it pushes the fibres outwards against the mould at between 2 and 8 bar of internal pressure, forcing the material precisely into every radii and eradicating the traditional need for redundant extra material to counter assumed defects.

By eradicating male and female tooling, the Ex-Core system is also less complex for its specialists to operate, generating a higher percentage of approved pieces.

It's all in the numbers

UNRAVEL THE MAGIC

The size of the advantage the EX-CORE® process revolution can deliver will be greater in some applications than in others. The broad-brush scale of that advantage in any particularly application, and whether Ex-Core’s processes can be the best solution for a particular business, can be found in the Safety Data Sheet specifications.

Can Ex-Core Solve Your Problem?

The more complex the carbon-fibre design and engineering, the more EX-CORE® tends to become the obvious solution.

While Ex-Core understands that no single carbon-fibre process is a universal silver bullet for every client, we are also confident that we have the versatility and technical brilliance to find the premium solution for most clients.

That includes costings, production volumes and even designs or surfacing that simply can’t be produced any other way.

Ex-Core Expectations

A full list of product specifications will streamline the process with an EX-CORE® expert. Ex-Core can give you the most accurate assessment of your needs only if we know volumes and cost expectations, design demands and wall thicknesses and required densities, and even whether you need a specific characteristic from your Ex-Core foam. That way you can know if you can maximise the Ex-Core advantage.

Ex-Core Essentials

Discovering what you should know about Ex-Core.

The EX-CORE® system can deliver its benefits to a wide range of industries that demand greater strength in carbon-fibre components, lower cost and lighter weight.

Its Tg is between 90˚C - 100˚C, while its density ranges from 70 to 250 kg/m3, with a cure cycle of less than three hours, but usually less than one hour.

It is beneficial on components that are anywhere from 2mm to 100mm thick, and can even be adapted to include self-extinguishing or non-flammable foam formulations.