Case Studies

A Fortune 500 company enlisted GCi with the challenge of developing a competitive alternative to a complex magnesium Thrust Reverser that had the cycle time processing and economics of an injection molded product.

This “metal replacement” process also had to have temperature capabilities above those of traditional composite materials to meet critical jet engine thrust reverser requirements. GCi started from scratch with high-temperature thermoset and thermoplastic resins and P150 Ultrahigh modulus carbon fiber tow and produced a long fiber molding compound that was capable of yielding an isotropic tensile modulus in excess of 8Msi! We went on to develop a unique design that allowed the incredibly complex subscale thrust reverser to be molded in a simple two-piece tool. The end result was a product that competed directly with Resin Transfer Molding using complex multipart tooling and carbon fabrics - at a quarter of the cost.