JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #51 - September 2009 - 24

BUSINESS Human capital R&D engineer Research and development involves time, efforts and money, but it is becoming more and more important for the health of a company. Whether researchers and technical project managers are involved in R&D or in R&T, they are passionate and enthusiastic people. Here is one of them. AN INTERVIEW WITH ALFONSO DE BENITO MARTÍN, R&D, MATERIALS DEPARTMENT (ENGINEERING AND PROJECTS), ARIES COMPLEX, S.A. existing ones, qualification and implantation in production; working on project equipment in the concurrent engineering phases; and technical contacts with customers and materials suppliers. JCM: Which project are you most proud of? A. DE B. M.: All new projects involve a challenge, but without a doubt, one of the projects that gave us the highest satisfaction in the department was the development/manufacture of a leading edge by means of RTM. It was as if we had created a part out of nothing, since we only had some 2D drawings of a similar structure that Aries Complex S.A. is currently producing using prepregs and an autoclave curing process (see figure). At the moment, all our efforts are concentrated on the AIRBUS A350XWB aircraft project, for which we were awarded the VTP package and internal structures of the S19. JCM: Did you start your career with metallic materials? If so, how did you tackle composites as new materials? A. DE B. M.: I have been working with composites since university, and I continue to grapple with them now. However, we are working more and more with metallic materials, so I can say that in my case, the learning process is the other way round. JCM: Do you see a trend in the use of materials or a new kind of process in aeronautics? A. DE B. M.: Changes are usually slow in JEC Composites Magazine: How long have you been a R&D engineer and how did you become one? ALFONSO DE BENITO MARTÍN: My first contact with the world of R&D was at the San Sebastian University School of Industrial Technical Engineering (now the University Technical School) in the "Materials + Technologies" Research Group. In this laboratory, I carried out my project to get my bachelor’s degree. After finalizing my studies, I continued working in this department for some years, developing several investigative projects with companies and/or administrations. These projects were closely related to thermoset and thermoplastic matrices, both reinforced and unreinforced. I currently work in the private sector, concretely in the Engineering/R&D Department into the Aries Complex S.A. a Spanish company dedicated to design, manufacture and assembly of structural parts for the aeronautical sector. JCM: What are your responsibilities? A. DE B. M.: Within the department, we developed several activities, including identification of productive improvements; development of new manufacturing processes and generation of the necessary documentation, optimization of the the aeronautical sector, but one thing is certain: the sector is now looking at and working with more automated processes, especially processes intended to avoid the use of autoclaves, know as “out-ofautoclave processes”. Another strong trend in the aeronautical sector is cost reduction. Part of that reduction relies on the use of new materials, so investigation in this field aims at obtaining lighter materials with Leading edge improved made by RTM at Aries Complex S.A. properties. JCM: What piece of advice would you give to someone who would like to work in R&D? A. DE B. M.: In this case, I think that the advice would be given to governments: they definitely have to bet on R&D. One of the yardsticks to measure the progress of a country should be its capacity to invest in R&D, and of course to obtain great results. To be competitive, there is no better investment in the future of a country than R&D. We need to try to generate a culture around it in order to encourage people to spend time and efforts in R&D. More information: www.ariescomplex.com 24 jec composites magazine / No51 September 2009

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JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #51 - September 2009

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