ITEKMA LLC produces carbon fabrics and tapes coated with BI1001 epoxy binder and release film, allowing for cutting and marking both manually and with a plotter.
Epoxy binder not only facilitates preform placement by heating in the 80–160°C range, ensuring heat-setting of the reinforcing layers, but is also compatible with various silicone-based and epoxy spray adhesives, such as KS22 spray adhesive from ITEKMA LLC. The presence of a small amount of epoxy binder on the surface allows for the release film to be removed during placement without deforming the reinforcing fillers, which can be difficult when using silicone-based spray adhesives. Release film for carbon fabrics and tapes has high heat resistance (above 200°C), ensuring heat-setting of layers during preform placement (e.g., using an iron) directly through the film.
The presence of an epoxy binder on one or both sides of the reinforcing filler, even without the use of a release film, significantly improves the cutting quality of reinforcing materials, increases their drape when laid out on complex-geometry fixtures, and prevents edge fraying. Using pre-applied binder and film significantly reduces costs during automated cutting on a plotter, eliminates the preliminary step of manually applying a release film with spray adhesive, and thereby reduces the negative impact of excess adhesive in the finished product.
ITEKMA LLC's in-house production facility allows us to custom-apply binder and release film in various colors to the surface of any reinforcing materials, including carbon fiber, fiberglass, and organic fiber.