SHAPE has partnered with Coats to provide a wide range of carbon, glass and aramid co-mingled thermoplastic composite materials. Using a patented process continuous fibres are co-mingled with a variety of matrix materials including PA6, PA66, PP, PPS and PEEK under the brand name Synergex. The resultant co-mingled fibre/matrix combination can be processed in a multitude of ways to produce an easy to process thermoplastic composite applicable to a wide range of industries.
SHAPE has invested in ShapeTex preform technology and Hot Press Forming for the development and productionisation of the Synergex range of thermoplastic composites.
Thermoplastic composites when heated become soft and formable and harden when cooled. The process is reversible and they can be remelted and reformed any number of times.
SHAPE has all the carbon thermoplastic processing capability in house at our Witney facility.
The combination of Synergex and ShapeTex brings a powerful new development in the automated manufacture of carbon composite parts.
SHAPE is the Primary Strategic Partner for Coats Synergex.
Coats is the world’s leading industrial thread manufacturer and a major player in the Americas textile crafts market. At home in more than 60 countries, Coats employs 19,000 people across six continents. Revenues in 2015 were US$1.5bn.
Coats’ pioneering history and innovative culture ensure the company leads the way around the world: providing complementary and value added products and services to the apparel and footwear industries; applying innovative techniques to develop high technology Speciality threads and yarns in areas such as automotive and fibre optics; and extending the crafts offer into new markets and online.
Headquartered in the UK, Coats has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange.
- Each year Coats make enough thread to go into 8 billion pairs of jeans
- Every month Coats produces enough thread to stretch all the way to the sun
- More than 450 million pairs of shoes are made every year using Coats’ thread
- More than 100 million car airbags are made using Coats’ Speciality thread every year
- In 1879 Thomas Edison used Coats’ thread in his experiments to invent the light bulb
- Coats are experts in colour, last year they dyed thread and yarn in more than 150,000 different colours
- Coats flame retardant Speciality threads can withstand temperatures as high as 1,000 degrees Celsius
SHAPING THE FUTURE WITH COMPOSITES
Innovation is what drives SHAPE and the ability to push engineering boundaries with R&D to develop novel technologies and processes for the benefit of our customers and the industry.
Collaboration and developing strong partnerships ensures the benefits of our innovation are passed on quickly and directly to our customers and suppliers for the benefit of every party.
Automation is key to manufacturing efficiency and all the manufacturing processes developed at SHAPE are fully automatable to ensure the highest levels of quality, repeatability, speed and efficiency.
