Due to the lightweight and high strength of carbon fiber fabrics and their excellent adaptability to special shapes and sizes, composite materials have long been highly regarded by aerospace aircraft designers, mainly for the construction of large structures such as fuselages and wings.
Spirit Aviation Systems (spirit) has a wealth of experience in composites manufacturing, as the company, as an OEM, has long provided a variety of composite structural components in areas such as commercial aviation and defense. As a result, Split is an excellent partner to help solve the industrial challenges of new methods of heating materials in production.
In terms of automated composite manufacturing, laser heating is expected to help achieve faster material placement and enable greater process control than the use of infrared heaters in traditional manufacturing. In addition, laser heating technology can allow the use of materials that require higher processing temperatures, such as thermoplastic composites and dry fibers.
Spirit recently signed a cooperation agreement with Creame to develop and integrate advanced laser heaters into Split's new automated fiber placement (AFP) system. Creare selects Spirit and Electroimpact to industrialize laser heaters. The project was originally developed with funding from the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). It is AFRL Part of a planned commercial operation.
The project will end in 2020, and Spirit will use laser heating systems to make large composite panels.
Laser heating is an important part of Spirit's AFP technology roadmap, which can achieve higher production rates, lower costs, and better overall quality. Spirit said Creare has had great success with its integrated laser-assisted integration system (ILACS), and Spirit is happy to integrate the new laser heating system into the composite manufacturing process.
Dr. Creo Chief Engineer, Creare, who is responsible for development, said that Creare is committed to working with partners to transform the technology developed through the SBIR program into applications that will benefit current and future research projects deployed in the Department of Defense. In the future, Creame will cooperate with Spirit and Electronic Impact Company to industrialize ILACS as soon as possible and apply it to future US Air Force models and projects. This work is reflected in the US Air Force contract FA8650-19-C-5081.