Reduced mass materials are critical to the success of aerospace systems. Thus, large air and space structures can benefit from lightweight composite materials. However, their adoption is impaired by the lack of a robust, cost-effective fabrication process, principally because the autoclaves used to… More

Reduced mass materials are critical to the success of aerospace systems. Thus, large air and space structures can benefit from lightweight composite materials. However, their adoption is impaired by the lack of a robust, cost-effective fabrication process, principally because the autoclaves used to… More

Reduced mass composite materials are crucial to the success of aerospace systems, but are inhibited by expensive autoclave consolidation, especially for large parts. To remedy this, NASA-LaRC has been developing cost-effective high-performance thermoplastic composite materials for years. NASA… More

Reduced-mass polymer composite materials are crucial to the success of aerospace systems for reducing vehicle weight. But, composite material adoption is inhibited because the autoclave consolidation required is prohibitively expensive for the large tanks and skins contemplated in the Next… More

Reduced mass composite materials are crucial to the success of aerospace systems, but their adoption is inhibited because they require autoclave consolidation, a process that is prohibitively expensive for large aerospace structure. To remedy this, NASA-LaRC has been developing cost-effective… More

Accudyne proposes a SBIR program, endorsed by Sikorsky, Cytec Engineered Materials, and NASA-LaRC, to develop a cost-effective thermoplastic automated tow placement (ATP) process and demonstrate it by fabricating and testing a complex contoured skin (Phase 1) and a CH-53K rotorcraft lower cabin or… More

This proposal will supply to NAVAIR and to rotorcraft manufacturing companies the emerging solution to their fabrication needs as it relates to the production of Rotor Blade Spars. The process and machine concept developed in Phase I will provide NAVAIR and the rotocraft manufacturing companies an… More

Out-of-autoclave thermoplastic tape/tow placement (TP-ATP) is nearing commercialization but suffers a moderate gap in mechanical properties compared with laminates fabricated via thermoset autoclave processing. Out-of-autoclave thermoplastic processing significantly lowers composite aerospace part… More

While in the 1970's and 1980's, composites were adopted for aerospace structure for increased performance and weight savings, the 1990's and 2000's witnessed the attention towards cost-effective fabrication. All thermoset processes that utilize such machines rely on autoclaves to consolidate the… More

Sponsored by NAVAIR, Accudyne Systems completed a Phase 1 SBIR program, developing an equipment and process concept for cost-effective fabrication of composite rotary wing main rotor blade spars. The CH-53K spar was the study focus. The recommended work cell concept combines automated tape… More

ABSTRACT: Accudyne proposes a SBIR program to develop an automated material placement process for aircraft radomes and demonstrate it by forming quartz cynate ester fabric over an existing radome tool. The process employs computer simulations to model the forming process and compute a 2D fabric… More