Frequently Asked Questions

1. Enquiry (via website or direct contact):

   • The process begins with an enquiry made through the website or direct communication.

2. Sending General Information and Data Sheets:

   • We provide general information and data sheets to the interested party.

3. Scheduling Introductory Meeting (Non-binding) and Assessing Customer Needs:

   • We schedule an introductory meeting to understand the customer's requirements and preferences.

4. Exploring Feasibility: Cost Assessment, Practical Questions, and Insight Gathering:

   • If there is potential alignment, we assess costs, address practical queries, and discuss options for the Ex-Core journey (fully managed or in-house).

5. Prospects Can Receive: Sample Box (€1500) with 5 x 2L Batches (for 2 experiments):

   • The package includes a user manual and information on required moulds (typically closed aluminium moulds).

   • Customers may either provide their moulds or, in some cases, we supply them.

   • There is a preference for in-house sample production.

6. Often in Parallel with Sample Project: Creating a Quotation:

   • If a sample project is underway, we generate a quotation based on CAD data provided by the customer.

This is not as simple to answer as you might think. We are involved with high-profile racing teams, in Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship, who may need as few as 10 parts made, ever, but are prepared to pay to have them made because of the benefits.

Donkervoort began with a 25-unit production run for pieces of one of its cars, which has risen to 75. Ex-Core can go from this extreme to tens of thousands of pieces, so the system can be flexible on production volumes.

The reduced costs in labour, wastage, energy and materials deliver huge savings at scale anyway.

Potential clients can request a sample box, valued at €1500, to evaluate the materials and the process, preferably at Ex-Core’s facilities.

The box includes five sets of two-litre batches, which would normally be sufficient for two experiments.

It contains a user manual, explaining how to use the product and the types of moulds required (typically a closed aluminium mould). In some cases, we supply the moulds and in other cases customers send Ex-Core a sample mould.

There are two main production options. The first is effectively a supplier-client relationship, where Ex-Core delivers completed components to the client, made in-house at Ex-Core or its manufacturing partner in Spain.

The second option is for customers to be trained in the process before creating their own components from Ex-Core materials and tooling, paying a fee for materials and licensing.

The Ex-Core materials can be customised for a wide range of requirements. The foams themselves can be optimised for extra strength, fire resistance, vibration absorption or light weight.

The fibres can be natural and organic, as well as carbon, for example. As an Ex-Core expert for more details.

We can offer different solutions from composite tooling to (preferably) industrial aluminium tooling.

An autoclave would limit the flexibility and speed of the process and, therefore, we never planned to cure Ex-Core®️ in an autoclave. The traditional external pressure from the autoclave is replaced by the internal pressure developed by our core as it cures.

The Ex-Core®️ process works at its best with self-heated molds with tight process control. Hot-press equipment, provided it offers a comparable degree of process control accuracy, may be used as well.

The foam is introduced as a clay-like paste.

We determine the quantity by volume, which we then convert to weight for dosing and mixing.

The foam tends to flow and homogenize in the mold during the curing process. However, we normally try to fill the mold to around 100% to limit the development of air pockets in the part.

Once the mold is closed, the cure cycle can start without delay. However, at room temperature, Ex-Core®️ is stable for around 24 hours in the mold.

We offer a tailorable core product which can produce pressure up to 8 bars, this is comparable to traditional operating pressure in an autoclave and will perform well with most standard prepreg.

The fibres have no importance. We can do any fibre. The resin is the determining factor.

We can for example modify the composition of our core to make it non-flammable, we can also produce a grade with a specific density and/or pressure.

Other options can be studied depending on projects requirements.

Yes, we can tune the product to have a different grade of Ex-Core® to make it more resistant or stiffer depending on the demand. The weight cost is then marginal as it is only on specific areas if needed or on extremely thin sections.

All the inserts can be integrated in the laminate directly to ensure our promise of one-shot process. Nothing needs to be glued afterwards. This also brings new possibilities, the door shown on the right shows how we prevent any need of inserts to hinge the parts together, the part is composed of the outer skin and an inner skin fitting on the axle. This is possible thanks to the pressure generated by our core. It would be impossible to reproduce it with a vacuum bag on such small geometry.

Yes, we have a defined cure cycle for standard grades of Ex-Core® along with the fibre. We can also adapt the core to cure with a different fibre if required.

No, the components do not need a post-cure. However, if a situation would need a post-cure for some prepreg, this is possible if the post-cure cycle is within the boundaries of the maximum operational temperature for Ex-Core®️.

Ex-Core® itself is flexible but we aim for the most precise temperature control to make sure that the prepreg will cure correctly.

We always recommend using a semi-preg for the first layer to improve surface porosity and visual aspect. Nonetheless, our core has been designed to suit most of the traditional prepreg cure cycles. The layup as well as the material can then be optimized for each project.

Our experience with this process allows us to integrate the templates concerned directly from the start of the project.

We are engineering the mold depending on part geometry and layup to ease the layup as well as the closing of the tool. This is not possible when using existing tooling and is the reason why we are only using them during prospection phase and prototyping.

Depending on the project, we can also lead a pre-production run and develop the template system for the parts. This is preferable since we acquired the knowledge to ease and optimize the layup for filling and mold closing.

We also have the possibility to cut this within our company. This allows the production of big volumes in short times as well as cost savings.