FACC recently joined the Netherlands Thermoplastic Composites Research Center (TPRC), which includes Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, Collins Aerospace and GKN Aerospace.
FACC AG (Ried im Innkreis, Austria) has carried out joint research with the international research network of the Thermoplastic Composites Research Center (TPRC, Enschede, The Netherlands) to promote the development of thermoplastic composites. These materials are particularly attractive to the aerospace industry because they are lightweight and fully recyclable.
Other major international aerospace companies involved include Boeing (Chicago, Illinois, U.S.), Spirit AeroSystems (Wichita, Kansas, U.S.), Collins Aerospace (Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.) and GKN Aerospace (Raddy, U.K.) strange).
"We are particularly interested in the short manufacturing times of the components," explains Robert Machtlinger, CEO of FACC AG. "This reduces costs and reduces the energy consumption of the process, leading to key competitive advantages, especially in urban air mobility [ UAM] dynamic realm. Possible solutions range from support and control surfaces to cabin components.”
Resilience, lighter weight, processability, recyclability and cost-effectiveness – the demands on materials from which aircraft and drones are made – are very high, adds René Adam, director of research and technology at FACC. "Materials currently being studied with international partners offer great potential in this regard," Adam said. "Manufacturing through thermoplastic fiber composites is now one of the core elements of materials and process research in the aerospace sector."