Ex-Core 2.0 Self-Heating Tooling Cuts Carbon-Fibre Production Costs by 30-50%
Ex-Core Technologies' new self-heating metal tooling, Ex-Core 2.0, reduces carbon-fibre part production costs by 30 to 50 percent compared to conventional methods.
30-50%
What Happened
Ex-Core Technologies, a subsidiary of Donkervoort Automobielen, has launched Ex-Core 2.0, an intelligent self-heated tooling system for carbon-fibre parts. The system uses internally heated aluminium tooling with removable heating cartridges and sensors managed by proprietary software to optimize heat transfer. This results in stronger parts, greater production flexibility, and cost savings of 30 to 50 percent over conventional pre-preg sandwich systems.
“Because every customer required their own special technical specifications, shapes or even the finish of the product, we decided it was time to look at a next step in the development of the Ex-Core technology.”
- Engineering
- Prototype production
- Non-recurring investment in mixing machine and tooling
- Training
- Start of production (SOP)
Why this matters
This cost reduction could make carbon-fibre components more affordable for automakers, potentially leading to lighter and more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Terms in This Story
- Carbon-fibre
- A strong, lightweight material used in high-performance vehicle parts.
- Pre-preg
- Pre-impregnated composite fibers with resin, used in traditional part manufacturing.
- Tooling
- Molds or dies used to shape materials into parts.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.