Compoflax braid
Braided tube in pure or co-mingled linen

Features

Linen-fiber tubular braid, developed specifically to enable you to manufacture high-performance dynamic composite tubes, combining rigidity, flexibility and lightness.
This braid can be used in place of fiberglass tubing:
- Flax is lighter than glass (density 1.5 vs. 2.54 for fiberglass)
- Higher specific rigidity
- Better vibration absorption than glass or carbon
- Superior thermal and acoustic insulation compared to carbon fiber
- More virtuous carbon footprint: flax is a renewable material that requires no irrigation or inputs for its cultivation.

100% linen braid
This braid is fully compatible with epoxy, polyester or phenolic resins.
The CTE (Coefficient of Thermal Expansion) is close to zero, making it compatible for processing with carbon fibers
Our braid is compatible with composite processes based on infusion (vacuum infusion, RTM), wet draping processes, compression bladder molding and standard and autoclave compression molding.
Please note, flax fibers always contain some moisture under ambient conditions. Some resins (particularly polyesters) are sensitive to moisture and may polymerize poorly or create bubbles. In this case, dry
the tubular braid before use (we recommend 110°C for 15 minutes)
- With a process pressure > 5 bar, it is possible to achieve a fiber weight fraction of 50%. However, fibers absorb a lot of resin during hand lamination and tend to look “dry” (unless there is too much) before pressure is applied. We recommend controlling the amount of glue used to laminate, and impregnating with 50-60% resin by weight. Excess resin escapes when the braid is compressed.

Braided roving in linen / thermoplastic
We produce braided roving in linen co-melted with various thermosetting or thermoplastic fibers, which act as the matrix.
The range of matrix fibers is wide, and we use either bio-sourced fibers (Rilsan® PA 11, PLA), or polypro PP, recycled or not, depending on demand.
The major advantage of these braids is that they can be used to produce composite tubes without the need for additional resin, using thermocompression: the braid is compressed and heated, and the thermoplastic melts and diffuses between the flax fibers. The braid then hardens as it cools, producing a rigid composite tube that benefits from the flax properties described above.

Depending on the tube diameter required, we produce these braids with more or less spindles: from 16 to 96 possible spindles. Our aim is always to achieve the most virtuous carbon footprint in the world of composites: from the flax fields to our braiding plant, it's a mere 200km!

Contact us today to find out more about this product.

We manufacture all our products in our workshops in France.