TeXtreme® contributes to Formula 1 triumphs

TeXtreme® Spread Tow Reinforcements have been used by the most successful teams and drivers in this year’s Formula 1 season. Resulting in winning both the driver and team championship. The 2012 F1 series concluded with a dramatic race in Sao Paulo with Brazil’s Grand Prix November 25th. 

TeXtreme® has been used within Formula 1 for many years to reduce weight and improve mechanical performance. The last couple of years all championships have been won by teams and drivers using TeXtreme® Spread Tow carbon fabrics, which indicates the influence of Spread Tow Reinforcements and TeXtreme® in particular. 

Andreas Martsman, Vice President – Marketing & Sales of Oxeon says: “The F1 teams were quite early on to see the benefits of and implement TeXtreme®. Now years later a majority of the teams remain as TeXtreme® users due to the unmatched possibilities for weight savings. We hope to contribute to many more victories in the coming years.”

The TeXtreme® Technology uses tapes (spread tows) instead of yarns. A woven material comprising interlacing fibrous tapes, instead of yarns, displays a substantially reduced number of interstices/openings. This means that a tape woven structure presents less accumulation of matrix at the interstices and hence increased fiber volume fraction.

The mechanical performance of the woven Spread Tow structure in combination with the more optimal fiber volume fraction enables production of ultra light and high performing advanced composite parts. TeXtreme® can be varied on a number of parameters creating unique opportunities to optimize the reinforcement to specific application needs.