Coriolis Composites and Cannon merge expertise for combining HP-RTM and patented AFP technology

Coriolis Composites is a global expert in composite technologies. They develop hardware and software solutions, enhancing your production and design capabilities through highly advanced robotic cells that allow continuous or discontinuous fibers to be placed in any direction and on complex geometrical surfaces.

This project takes advantage of their proprietary near-net shape AFP 2D dry preforms: an optimized fiber orientation for non-woven non-directional carbon fiber layers, a proprietary binding system, and quick-curing resin system (2-min curing time). This improves formability, permeability, and 3D water-jet trimming ability, to obtain an extremely low scrap rate.

For this challenging project, we brought our experience and know-how to create a customized high-pressure dosing unit for fast, precise injection, as well as a specific mold complete with pressure control to inject via pressure, avoiding scrap parts resulting from material tolerances.

We engineered the mold to withstand up to 120 bar in the cavity, avoiding microporosity. The mold maintains a constant cavity surface temperature to ensure optimal resin-hardener reaction (tolerance 2°C) and minimizes counter-pressure during the infusion phase while maximizing vacuum time to avoid washout and air bubbles. Using a mirrored surface, it emphasizes the aesthetic properties that Coriolis preforms guarantee.

This technology, developed for mass-market vehicles, provides a quick and simple process with high productivity and sustainable costs. Combining our equipment with the Coriolis Composites AFP preforms led to automotive takt times of 20s/part, an 80% reduction in weight compared to current reinforcements, and a mechanical performance that rivals other contemporary solutions.